Abstract
This contribution focuses on the question of whether languages can become corrupted. In general, linguists take the view that there is no such thing as “language corruption”; in their opinion, languages only change. Laymen, on the other hand, are not convinced by the linguistic arguments. In this paper, the stand is taken that it is not surprising at all that laymen are not willing to accept the view taken by linguists, since linguists and laymen focus on two different issues. Linguists are primarily concerned with the linguistic development as such (and the rise of the new form), whereas laymen focus on the actual acceptability of the new form. In addition, of further importance to the resistance that many changes meet with is the fact that present-day Dutch is heavily influenced by its substandard varieties, i.e. those varieties which, in the eyes of many speakers, have little or no prestige.
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