The act or practice of recording and describing actual language usage in a given speech community, as opposed to prescription, i.e. laying down norms of language usage.
A descriptive linguistic survey.
A sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species.
A set of characteristics by which someone or something can be recognized.
A scientific documentation of a taxon for the purpose of introducing it to science.
The act of describing; a delineation by marks or signs.
A form of a language that is institutionally promoted, regarded as the most "correct" or neutral variety; used by a population for public and formal purposes.
A language that has a standard form as one of its varieties; a language that has undergone standardization.