Exploring Language and Linguistics

PREVIEW

‘Grammar’ is a word that is known to almost everyone, but it is clear that people have different attitudes towards and preconceptions about it. This chapter tries first of all to tease these out before attempting to identify what grammar really ‘is’. A definition is offered which emphasizes the role of grammar as a resource for creating meaning. A number of approaches to grammar, which help to conceptualize it, are then discussed. This is followed by a description of some of the most important aspects of English grammar: word classes, clause elements and clause combination. Grammar is not treated as a monolith, however, and several dimensions of variation are examined. There is then a section showing how all this can be applied to solving problems. Finally, a revised set of attitudes is put forward for consideration.

INTRODUCTION

‘Grammar’ is a troublesome and emotive word, with many meanings and implications for different groups of people. It is more in the public domain than any of the other chapter titles in this book. Few people can come to the study of grammar without preconceived notions. Here are just some of the potential attitudes to the discipline.

For some linguists,‘grammar’ is a cover term for syntax and morphology (see Chapters 4 and 6, this volume). But grammar is more than just a combination of these two areas. Its function and purpose are what counts, as the rest of this chapter will demonstrate. Indeed, it is clear that most people's conception of grammar is at odds with that of linguists.

For some teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), grammar is a crutch to rely on in difficult circumstances. For others, it is a distraction from the real task of learning languages. For still others, grammar is a tool to be used occasionally to make generalizations. And for yet others – though they are a dying breed – grammar is an inseparable part of learning a foreign language.

For learners of foreign languages, grammar is a collection of separate rules (‘rules of thumb’), given by their teachers and textbooks (and usually simplified, though they do not know it), which may occasionally be helpful (though there is the danger, long recognized, that learners may take the learning of such rules as a substitute for learning the language – see the distinction between primary and secondary grammar below).