Editing Linguistic description (section)

{{short description|Work of objectively describing a particular language}}
{{redirect|Linguistic analysis|the logical and philosophical school|Analytic philosophy|and|Ordinary language philosophy}}
{{Linguistics|Topics}}
{{Anthropology|linguistic}}

In the [[Linguistics|study of language]], '''description''' or '''descriptive linguistics''' is the work of [[Objectivity (science)|objectively]] analyzing and describing how [[language]] is actually used (or how it was used in the past) by a [[speech community]].<ref name="FPencyclo">[[#FPencyclo|François & Ponsonnet (2013)]].</ref> 

All academic research in [[linguistics]] is descriptive; like all other scientific disciplines, it aims to describe reality, without the bias of preconceived ideas about how it ought to be.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kordić|first=Snježana|author-link=Snježana Kordić|year=2010|language=sh|title=Jezik i nacionalizam|trans-title=Language and Nationalism|url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf|series=Rotulus Universitas|location=Zagreb|publisher=Durieux|page=60|doi=10.2139/ssrn.3467646|isbn=978-953-188-311-5|lccn=2011520778|oclc=729837512|ol=15270636W|id={{CROSBI|475567}}. {{COBISS|13436977}}|archive-date= 1 June 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601175359/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf|access-date=11 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Harimurti Kridalaksana|author-link1=Harimurti Kridalaksana|editor1=Kushartanti|editor2=Untung Yuwono|editor3=Multamia Lauder|title=Pesona bahasa: langkah awal memahami linguistik|chapter=Bahasa dan Linguistik|year=2007|location=Jakarta|publisher=Gramedia Pustaka Utama|isbn=9789792216813|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8rt2JikaPCoC|pages=11–12|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=André Martinet|title=Eléments de linguistique générale|year=1980|publisher=Armand Colin|location=Paris|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ElmentsDeLinguistiqueGGnraleAndrnMartinet/page/n172 6]–7|isbn=9786024523695|url=https://archive.org/details/ElmentsDeLinguistiqueGGnraleAndrnMartinet|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Moch. Syarif Hidayatullah|title=Cakrawala Linguistik Arab (Edisi Revisi)|year=2017|publisher=Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia|pages=5–6, 18|isbn=9786024523695|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dLs8DwAAQBAJ|language=id}}</ref> Modern descriptive linguistics is based on a [[structural linguistics|structural approach]] to language, as exemplified in the work of [[Leonard Bloomfield]] and others.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hans Heinrich Stern|chapter=Concepts of language|title=Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching: Historical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Applied Linguistic Research|year=1983|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=136|isbn=9780194370653|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6T3eo5ltFAC}}</ref> This type of linguistics utilizes different methods in order to describe a language such as basic data collection, and different types of elicitation methods.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Chelliah|first=Shobhana|title=Handbook of Descriptive Linguistic Fieldwork|publisher=Springer Netherlands|year=2011}}</ref>