<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<p>The article maps the linguistic views on the common language users as non-experts in the field of linguistics and their ability to think reflectively and rationally about issues related to language. An overview of attitudes towards non-linguists is presented against the background of the development of linguistics, ranging from a structural understanding of language with an emphasis on standard language cultivation and linguistic prescription, through a sociolinguistic approach that emphasizes the role of the language user as a creator of the linguistic norm and its variation, to the view of folk linguistics and citizen linguistics, which examine how ordinary people in various forms of public communication present their opinions, beliefs, as well as their myths and ideologies about language. At the same time, the paper argues for the view that some folk knowledge and beliefs about language are not only incorrect or inaccurate, but, on the contrary, that they provide valuable information for linguistics about the background of language behaviour and language change. The material was drawn from the databases of Slovak linguistic journals and the specialized corpus of the journal <italic>Slovenská reč</italic>.</p>
</abstract>

The article maps the linguistic views on the common language users as non-experts in the field of linguistics and their ability to think reflectively and rationally about issues related to language. An overview of attitudes towards non-linguists is presented against the background of the development of linguistics, ranging from a structural understanding of language with an emphasis on standard language cultivation and linguistic prescription, through a sociolinguistic approach that emphasizes the role of the language user as a creator of the linguistic norm and its variation, to the view of folk linguistics and citizen linguistics, which examine how ordinary people in various forms of public communication present their opinions, beliefs, as well as their myths and ideologies about language. At the same time, the paper argues for the view that some folk knowledge and beliefs about language are not only incorrect or inaccurate, but, on the contrary, that they provide valuable information for linguistics about the background of language behaviour and language change. The material was drawn from the databases of Slovak linguistic journals and the specialized corpus of the journal Slovenská reč.

„We“ and „they“ in the linguistic construction of the image of language (or the reflection of lay people in Slovak linguistics)

Journal of Linguistics/Jazykovedný casopis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The article maps the linguistic views on the common language users as non-experts in the field of linguistics and their ability to think reflectively and...

„We“ and „they“ in the linguistic construction of the image of language (or the reflection of lay people in Slovak linguistics)

Published Online: Feb 02, 2024

Page range: 661 - 690

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jazcas-2024-0017

Keywords
dichotomy of linguist and non-linguist, common language user, prescriptive linguistics, sociolinguistics, folk linguistics

© 2024 Gabriela Múcsková, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

„We“ and „they“ in the linguistic construction of the image of language (or the reflection of lay people in Slovak linguistics)

Published Online: Feb 02, 2024

Page range: 661 - 690

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jazcas-2024-0017

Keywordsdichotomy of linguist and non-linguist, common language user, prescriptive linguistics, sociolinguistics, folk linguistics

© 2024 Gabriela Múcsková, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
dichotomy of linguist and non-linguist, common language user, prescriptive linguistics, sociolinguistics, folk linguistics