Missouri State University

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Subjective attitudes have a lot to do with how languages are evaluated. Before you begin... consider your opinions on the following statements provided.
Prescriptive attitude toward Languages
In my opinion,
Totally agree Somewhat agree Slightly agree Slightly disagree Somewhat disagree Totally disagree
6 5 4 3 2 1
Good language has more grammatical rules than bad language.
All languages change over time.
Normal speech is better than speech with an accent.
The English language is not as pure as it used to be.
My speech is more effective when my grammar is correct.
The ideal form of language is written.
A high score on this section indicates that you hold purist and prescriptive attitudes toward language. These attitudes are commonly held but do not reflect the insights on language that can be gained through systematic inquiry. All languages do change over time, even when the changes are resisted. Study of spoken language shows that all language use is rule-governed, even when the rules of the written language are more highly valued. Similarly, study of communicative effectiveness shows that being effective is not necessarily linked to grammatical correctness.

Believe in linguistic determinism
In my opinion,
Totally agree Somewhat agree Slightly agree Slightly disagree Somewhat disagree Totally disagree
6 5 4 3 2 1
Language controls the way we think.
In a particular language, you can say things that can't be said in other languages.
Some languages are more effective for business transactions than others.
Some languages are more complicated than others.
All human languages have equivalent words for some things, such as colors.
A high score on his section indicates that you believe in linguistic determinism, the theory that language directly determines thought. Although this is an intriguing idea, most linguists have abandoned the strong form of the hypothesis (direct determination) for a weak form, stating that thought is influenced by language, and that it can be relatively easy to express certain ideas in certain languages. But all human languages have the capacity to develop whatever forms of expression are needed by the users of the language.

A connection between language and social identity
  Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree
6 5 4 3 2 1
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they talk.
My language use at home is different from my language use at work.
Learning to do a new job can involve learning new ways to use language.
I adapt the way I talk depending on the people involved.
Communication difficulties cause interpersonal problems.
Communication difficulties cause political problems.
A high score on this section indicates that you believe there is a connection between language and social identity, and that this connection can have important consequences.

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