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"They have a plentiful lack of wit"*
Dec. 20th, 2008 07:52 pmWords, words, words.
Language is in constant flux, a word that means something is one context doesn't mean the same in another.
Or in the words of Inigo Montoya:
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means".
This is especially true when it comes to the way we talk about behaviour.
What, pray, is the difference between Normal behaviour and Normative behaviour?
At a glance, not much.
On second thought a whole lot, at least in my mind.
The two words are not interchangeable and as much as I enjoy mixing up the lingo and inserting my own ideas when expressing... well... moi (e.g. I'm a Grrl and not a girl), it irks me when I see those two words mixed up.
Normative denotes, at least in my understanding of the word and in the context of behaviour, the value put upon said behaviour. It's also a word specifically used in academia, mainly high theory, philosophy and social sciences.
Normality is simply put, non-deviation from what is considered socially acceptable.
It is normal for people to seek out romantic relationships with other people.
It is normative for people of the opposite sex** to see romantic relationships with each other.
In the News, when I hear about violence in schools and what kids do to each other, teachers, parents, whoever always comment that they never expected [Kid A] to behave this way; after all, Zie is a normative child.
And it grates me.
Really it does.
A person cannot be Normative as an adjective!
They are either Normal or Not! There is no value put upon them as people.
*sigh*
But again, who am I to decide which way the wind blows when it comes to use of language, right?
*Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 2
** I hope I can be forgiven for this terrible anachronism.
Language is in constant flux, a word that means something is one context doesn't mean the same in another.
Or in the words of Inigo Montoya:
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means".
This is especially true when it comes to the way we talk about behaviour.
What, pray, is the difference between Normal behaviour and Normative behaviour?
At a glance, not much.
On second thought a whole lot, at least in my mind.
The two words are not interchangeable and as much as I enjoy mixing up the lingo and inserting my own ideas when expressing... well... moi (e.g. I'm a Grrl and not a girl), it irks me when I see those two words mixed up.
Normative denotes, at least in my understanding of the word and in the context of behaviour, the value put upon said behaviour. It's also a word specifically used in academia, mainly high theory, philosophy and social sciences.
Normality is simply put, non-deviation from what is considered socially acceptable.
It is normal for people to seek out romantic relationships with other people.
It is normative for people of the opposite sex** to see romantic relationships with each other.
In the News, when I hear about violence in schools and what kids do to each other, teachers, parents, whoever always comment that they never expected [Kid A] to behave this way; after all, Zie is a normative child.
And it grates me.
Really it does.
A person cannot be Normative as an adjective!
They are either Normal or Not! There is no value put upon them as people.
*sigh*
But again, who am I to decide which way the wind blows when it comes to use of language, right?
*Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 2
** I hope I can be forgiven for this terrible anachronism.
