Folk Linguistics

Folk linguistics is a term applied to the amateur study of linguistics. The term is often used as a pejorative.

The linguist Ray Jackendoff points out that applying folk linguistics to education can be potentially damaging to the attainment of students who speak less standard dialects. Characterising different speech as good or bad can have a serious effect.

The term folk linguistics can also refer to ideological ideas of language, such as nationalist views of language. The scientific understanding of language by linguists often contradicts that of native speakers.