Who among the following believes that language can be described in terms of regularities and patterns or rules?

• A. Pragmatism
• B. Structuralism
• C. Descriptivism
• D. Prescriptivism

Answer: (B)

Structuralism treats language as a structured system of rules and regularities. It looks for the patterns that govern how sounds, words, and sentences connect, aiming to describe the underlying structure that makes language work. This perspective seeks the rules and relationships that organize language as a system, rather than focusing solely on how people use it in specific contexts.

That’s why it matches the idea of describing language in terms of regularities and patterns. Pragmatism centers on use and context; descriptivism describes language as it is without prescribing norms; prescriptivism imposes rules about how language should be used.