Discussing -splain - At the intersection of prescriptivism, language policing and moral gradience

Lutzky, Ursula and Lawson, Robert (2022) Discussing -splain - At the intersection of prescriptivism, language policing and moral gradience. Language Under Discussion, 6 (1). ISSN 2329-583X

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Abstract

This discussion note offers a response to Judith Bridges’ focus article “Explaining ‘‑splain’ in digital discourse”. We review some of the article’s core findings on the bound morpheme ‑splain, utilised in words such as whitesplain, covidsplain, and thinsplain, and expand on them by addressing three key concerns: we situate the construction and use of ‑splain formations in a more expansive version of prescriptivism, what we refer to as ‘prescriptivism 2.0’; discuss them within the context of language policing and political correctness; and ask whether forms ending in ‑splain are subject to moral gradience, highlighting directions and opportunities for future research.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.31885/lud.6.1.258
Dates:	Date Event 27 June 2022 Accepted 27 August 2022 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	-splain, prescriptivism, language policing, moral gradience
Subjects:	CAH19 - language and area studies > CAH19-01 - English studies > CAH19-01-01 - English studies (non-specific) CAH19 - language and area studies > CAH19-01 - English studies > CAH19-01-07 - linguistics
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > College of English and Media
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2024 14:18
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2024 14:18
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15738

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