Categorical imperative of language description
Describe your language in such a way that the maxim of your description could serve, at the same time, as the maxim of the description of any other language. (Lehmann 1989, § 3)
Lehmann, Christian 1989, “Language description and general comparative grammar”. Graustein, Gottfried & Leitner, Gerhard (eds.), Reference grammars and modern linguistic theory. Tübingen: M. Niemeyer (Linguistische Arbeiten, 226); 133-162.
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Requirements
- The description must bring out the specific characteristics of this language.
- Where all languages are alike, the description must follow a universal model.