Learn English – Adjective of “ignore”

The term Afghan is both the noun (for people and things) and the adjective in Dari (the variety of Persian used in Afghanistan. The term afghani is a separate noun, referring to a small unit of currency.

We have evidence in English from usage much earlier than the events of post-1978 showing Afghan as both a noun and an adjective, e.g. Afghan carpet, Afghan hound, and a knitted or crocheted Afghan (lap blanket), thanks to contacts between the Raj (British colonists of the Subcontinent) and Afghans.

I am frustrated when I hear academics using afghani as a noun (other than to mention the coin) and adjective with their students, thus perpetrating the error.

Although the term argumentative can be used here, the more common term for this type of work is discursive writing. Here's a definition the adjective discursive from Merriam Webster:

1 a : moving from topic to topic without order : rambling

1 b : proceeding coherently from topic to topic

2 : marked by analytical reasoning

Note that this usage derives from the last two definitions, not the first!!!

Here's an example taken from the Cambridge University website for IELTS teaching:

• The texts may be written in different styles, for example, narrative, descriptive or discursive/argumentative.