# Does descriptive linguistics mean "anything goes"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-descriptive-linguistics-mean-anything-goes/971005>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 5, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-descriptive-linguistics-mean-anything-goes/971005 "2022-09-05T17:29:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-descriptive-linguistics-mean-anything-goes/971005/9 "2022-09-05T19:07:40Z")

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I still think that the writers of _The Big Bang Theory_ should not have put “data is” into the mouth of Sheldon Cooper. Nor let him use the word “fortuitous” to mean “fortunate,” either. He is definitely a prescriptivist, and a conservative one.

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