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Grammar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grammar
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Inlinguistics,grammaristhesetofstructuralrulesgoverningthecompositionofclauses,phrases,andwords inanygivennaturallanguage.Thetermrefersalsotothestudyofsuchrules,andthisfieldincludes morphology,syntax,andphonology,oftencomplementedbyphonetics,semantics,andpragmatics.

Contents
1Useoftheterm 2Etymology 3History 4Developmentofgrammars 5Grammarframeworks 6Education 7Seealso 8Notesandreferences 9Externallinks

Useoftheterm
Thetermgrammarisoftenusedbynonlinguistswithaverybroadmeaning.AsJeremyButterfieldputsit, "GrammarisoftenagenericwayofreferringtoanyaspectofEnglishthatpeopleobjectto."[1]However, linguistsuseitinamuchmorespecificsense.Speakersofalanguagehaveintheirheadsasetofrules[2]for usingthatlanguage.Thisisagrammar,andthevastmajorityoftheinformationinitisacquiredatleastin thecaseofone'snativelanguagenotbyconsciousstudyorinstruction,butbyobservingotherspeakers muchofthisworkisdoneduringinfancy.Learningalanguagelaterinlifeusuallyinvolvesagreaterdegree ofexplicitinstruction.[3] Theterm"grammar"canalsobeusedtodescribetherulesthatgovernthelinguisticbehaviourofagroupof speakers.Theterm"Englishgrammar",therefore,mayhaveseveralmeanings.Itmayrefertothewholeof Englishgrammarthatis,tothegrammarsofallthespeakersofthelanguageinwhichcase,theterm encompassesagreatdealofvariation.[4]Alternatively,itmayreferonlytowhatiscommontothegrammars ofall,orofthevastmajorityofEnglishspeakers(suchassubjectverbobjectwordorderinsimple declarativesentences).Oritmayrefertotherulesofaparticular,relativelywelldefinedvarietyofEnglish (suchasStandardEnglish). "AnEnglishgrammar"isaspecificdescription,studyoranalysisofsuchrules.Areferencebookdescribing thegrammarofalanguageiscalleda"referencegrammar"orsimply"agrammar."Afullyexplicit grammarthatexhaustivelydescribesthegrammaticalconstructionsofalanguageiscalledadescriptive grammar.Thiskindoflinguisticdescriptioncontrastswithlinguisticprescription,anattempttodiscourageor

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suppresssomegrammaticalconstructions,whilepromotingothers.Forexample,prepositionstranding occurswidelyinGermaniclanguagesandhasalonghistoryinEnglish.JohnDryden,however,objectedto it(withoutexplanation),[5]leadingotherEnglishspeakerstoavoidtheconstructionanddiscourageitsuse.[6]

Etymology
Furtherinformation:Grapheme ThewordgrammarisderivedfromGreek(grammatiktechn),whichmeans"artof letters",from(gramma),"letter",itselffrom(graphein),"todraw,towrite".[7]

History
Furtherinformation:Historyoflinguistics ThefirstsystematicgrammarsoriginatedinIronAgeIndia,withYaska(6thcenturyBC),Pini(4thcentury BC)andhiscommentatorsPingala(c.200BC),Katyayana,andPatanjali(2ndcenturyBC).IntheWest, grammaremergedasadisciplineinHellenismfromthe3rdcenturyBCforwardwithauthorslikeRhyanus andAristarchusofSamothrace,theoldestextantworkbeingtheArtofGrammar(), attributedtoDionysiusThrax(c.100BC).LatingrammardevelopedbyfollowingGreekmodelsfromthe1st centuryBC,duetotheworkofauthorssuchasOrbiliusPupillus,RemmiusPalaemon,MarcusValerius Probus,VerriusFlaccus,andAemiliusAsper. TolkppiyamistheearliestTamilgrammarithasbeendatedvariouslybetween3rdcenturyBCand3rd centuryCE. AgrammarofIrishoriginatedinthe7thcenturywiththeAuraiceptnances. ArabicgrammaremergedwithAbualAswadalDu'alifromthe7thcenturywhointurnwastaughtthe disciplinebyAliibnAbiTalib,thefourthhistoricalcaliphofIslamandfirstImamforShi'iMuslims. ThefirsttreatisesonHebrewgrammarappearedintheHighMiddleAges,inthecontextofMishnah (exegesisoftheHebrewBible).TheKaraitetraditionoriginatedinAbbasidBaghdad.TheDiqduq(10th century)isoneoftheearliestgrammaticalcommentariesontheHebrewBible.[8]IbnBaruninthe12th centurycomparestheHebrewlanguagewithArabicintheIslamicgrammaticaltradition.[9] Belongingtothetriviumofthesevenliberalarts,grammarwastaughtasacoredisciplinethroughoutthe MiddleAges,followingtheinfluenceofauthorsfromLateAntiquity,suchasPriscian.Treatmentof vernacularsbegangraduallyduringtheHighMiddleAges,withisolatedworkssuchastheFirstGrammatical Treatise,butbecameinfluentialonlyintheRenaissanceandBaroqueperiods.In1486,AntoniodeNebrija publishedLasintroducionesLatinascontrapuestoelromancealLatin,andthefirstSpanishgrammar, Gramticadelalenguacastellana,in1492.Duringthe16thcenturyItalianRenaissance,theQuestionedella linguawasthediscussiononthestatusandidealformoftheItalianlanguage,initiatedbyDante'sdevulgari eloquentia(PietroBembo,ProsedellavolgarlinguaVenice1525).ThefirstgrammarofSlovenelanguage waswrittenin1584byAdamBohori.

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GrammarsofnonEuropeanlanguagesbegantobecompiledforthepurposesofevangelizationandBible translationfromthe16thcenturyonward,suchasGrammaticaoArtedelaLenguaGeneraldelosIndiosde losReynosdelPer(1560),andaQuechuagrammarbyFrayDomingodeSantoToms. In1643thereappearedIvanUzhevych'sGrammaticasclavonicaand,in1762,theShortIntroductionto EnglishGrammarofRobertLowthwasalsopublished.TheGrammatischKritischesWrterbuchder hochdeutschenMundart,aHighGermangrammarinfivevolumesbyJohannChristophAdelung,appeared asearlyas1774. Fromthelatterpartofthe18thcentury,grammarcametobeunderstoodasasubfieldoftheemerging disciplineofmodernlinguistics.TheSerbiangrammarbyVukStefanoviKaradiarrivedin1814,whilethe DeutscheGrammatikoftheBrothersGrimmwasfirstpublishedin1818.TheComparativeGrammarof FranzBopp,thestartingpointofmoderncomparativelinguistics,cameoutin1833.

Developmentofgrammars
Mainarticles:HistoricallinguisticsandHistoryofEnglishgrammars Grammarsevolvethroughusageandalsoduetoseparationsofthehumanpopulation.Withtheadventof writtenrepresentations,formalrulesaboutlanguageusagetendtoappearalso.Formalgrammarsare codificationsofusagethataredevelopedbyrepeateddocumentationovertime,andbyobservationaswell. Astherulesbecomeestablishedanddeveloped,theprescriptiveconceptofgrammaticalcorrectnesscanarise. Thisoftencreatesadiscrepancybetweencontemporaryusageandthatwhichhasbeenaccepted,overtime,as beingcorrect.Linguiststendtoviewprescriptivegrammarsashavinglittlejustificationbeyondtheirauthors' aesthetictastes,althoughstyleguidesmaygiveusefuladviceaboutstandardlanguageemployment,basedon descriptionsofusageincontemporarywritingsofthesamelanguage.Linguisticprescriptionsalsoformpart oftheexplanationforvariationinspeech,particularlyvariationinthespeechofanindividualspeaker(an explanation,forexample,forwhysomepeoplesay"Ididn'tdonothing",somesay"Ididn'tdoanything", andsomesayoneortheotherdependingonsocialcontext). Theformalstudyofgrammarisanimportantpartofeducationforchildrenfromayoungagethrough advancedlearning,thoughtherulestaughtinschoolsarenota"grammar"inthesensemostlinguistsusethe term,particularlyastheyareoftenprescriptiveratherthandescriptive. Constructedlanguages(alsocalledplannedlanguagesorconlangs)aremorecommoninthemodernday. Manyhavebeendesignedtoaidhumancommunication(forexample,naturalisticInterlingua,schematic Esperanto,andthehighlylogiccompatibleartificiallanguageLojban).Eachoftheselanguageshasitsown grammar. Syntaxreferstolinguisticstructureabovethewordlevel(e.g.howsentencesareformed)thoughwithout takingintoaccountintonation,whichisthedomainofphonology.Morphology,bycontrast,referstostructure atandbelowthewordlevel(e.g.howcompoundwordsareformed),butabovethelevelofindividualsounds, which,likeintonation,areinthedomainofphonology.[10]Noclearlinecanbedrawn,however,between syntaxandmorphology.Analyticlanguagesusesyntaxtoconveyinformationthatisencodedviainflectionin syntheticlanguages.Inotherwords,wordorderisnotsignificantandmorphologyishighlysignificantina purelysyntheticlanguage,whereasmorphologyisnotsignificantandsyntaxishighlysignificantinan

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analyticlanguage.ChineseandAfrikaans,forexample,arehighlyanalytic,andmeaningisthereforevery contextdependent.(Bothdohavesomeinflections,andhavehadmoreinthepastthus,theyarebecoming evenlesssyntheticandmore"purely"analyticovertime.)Latin,whichishighlysynthetic,usesaffixesand inflectionstoconveythesameinformationthatChinesedoeswithsyntax.BecauseLatinwordsarequite (thoughnotcompletely)selfcontained,anintelligibleLatinsentencecanbemadefromelementsthatare placedinalargelyarbitraryorder.Latinhasacomplexaffixationandsimplesyntax,whileChinesehasthe opposite.

Grammarframeworks
Mainarticle:Grammarframework Various"grammarframeworks"havebeendevelopedintheoreticallinguisticssincethemid20thcentury,in particularundertheinfluenceoftheideaofa"universalgrammar"intheUnitedStates.Ofthese,themain divisionsare: Transformationalgrammar(TG) Systemicfunctionalgrammar(SFG) PrinciplesandParametersTheory(P&P) LexicalfunctionalGrammar(LFG) GeneralizedPhraseStructureGrammar(GPSG) HeadDrivenPhraseStructureGrammar(HPSG) Dependencygrammars(DG) Roleandreferencegrammar(RRG)

Education
Furtherinformation:Orthography Prescriptivegrammaristaughtinprimaryschool(elementaryschool).Theterm"grammarschool"historically referstoaschoolteachingLatingrammartofutureRomancitizens,orators,and,later,Catholicpriests.Inits earliestform,"grammarschool"referredtoaschoolthattaughtstudentstoread,scan,interpret,anddeclaim GreekandLatinpoets(includingHomer,Virgil,Euripides,Ennius,andothers).Theseshouldnotbe confusedwiththerelated,albeitdistinct,modernBritishgrammarschools. Astandardlanguageisaparticulardialectofalanguagethatispromotedaboveotherdialectsinwriting, education,andbroadlyspeakinginthepublicsphereitcontrastswithvernaculardialects,whichmaybethe objectsofstudyindescriptivegrammarbutwhicharerarelytaughtprescriptively.Thestandardized"first language"taughtinprimaryeducationmaybesubjecttopoliticalcontroversy,becauseitestablishesa standarddefiningnationalityorethnicity. Recently,effortshavebeguntoupdategrammarinstructioninprimaryandsecondaryeducation.Theprimary focushasbeentopreventtheuseofoutdatedprescriptiverulesinfavorofmoreaccuratedescriptiveonesand tochangeperceptionsaboutrelative"correctness"ofstandardformsincomparisontononstandarddialects.

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ThepreeminenceofParisianFrenchhasreignedlargelyunchallengedthroughoutthehistoryofmodern Frenchliterature.StandardItalianisnotbasedonthespeechofthecapital,Rome,butonthespeechof FlorencebecauseoftheinfluenceFlorentineshadonearlyItalianliterature.Similarly,standardSpanishisnot basedonthespeechofMadrid,butontheoneofeducatedspeakersfrommorenortherlyareaslikeCastile andLen.InArgentinaandUruguaytheSpanishstandardisbasedonthelocaldialectsofBuenosAiresand Montevideo(RioplatenseSpanish).Portuguesehasfornowtwoofficialwrittenstandards,respectively BrazilianPortugueseandEuropeanPortuguese,butinashorttermitwillhaveaunifiedorthography.[11] TheSerbianlanguageisdividedinasimilarwaySerbiaandtheRepublikaSrpskausetheirownseparate standards.Theexistenceofathirdstandardisamatterofcontroversy,someconsiderMontenegrinasa separatelanguage,andsomethinkit'smerelyanothervarietyofSerbian. Norwegianhastwostandards,BokmlandNynorsk,thechoicebetweenwhichissubjecttocontroversy: EachNorwegianmunicipalitycandeclareoneofthetwoitsofficiallanguage,oritcanremain"language neutral".Nynorskisendorsedbyaminorityof27percentofthemunicipalities.Themainlanguageusedin primaryschoolsnormallyfollowstheofficiallanguageofitsmunicipality,andisdecidedbyreferendum withinthelocalschooldistrict.StandardGermanemergedfromthestandardizedchancelleryuseofHigh Germaninthe16thand17thcenturies.Untilabout1800,itwasalmostentirelyawrittenlanguage,butnowit issowidelyspokenthatmostoftheformerGermandialectsarenearlyextinct. StandardChinesehasofficialstatusasthestandardspokenformoftheChineselanguageinthePeople's RepublicofChina(PRC),theRepublicofChina(ROC)andtheRepublicofSingapore.Pronunciationof StandardChineseisbasedontheBeijingdialectofMandarinChinese,whilegrammarandsyntaxarebased onmodernvernacularwrittenChinese.ModernStandardArabicisdirectlybasedonClassicalArabic,the languageoftheQur'an.TheHindustanilanguagehastwostandards,HindiandUrdu. IntheUnitedStates,theSocietyforthePromotionofGoodGrammardesignatedMarch4asNational GrammarDayin2008.[12]

Seealso
Category:Grammarsofspecificlanguages Ambiguousgrammar Governmentandbinding HarmonicGrammar Higherordergrammar Grammeme Linguistictypology Listoflinguists Paragrammatism Syntax Universalgrammar Usage

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Notesandreferences
1. ^JeremyButterfield,(2008)DampSquid:TheEnglishLanguageLaidBare,OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford. 978019923906.p.142. 2. ^Traditionally,thementalinformationusedtoproduceandprocesslinguisticutterancesisreferredtoas"rules." However,otherframeworksemploydifferentterminology,withtheoreticalimplications.Optimalitytheory,for example,talksintermsof"constraints",whileConstructiongrammar,Cognitivegrammar,andother"usage based"theoriesmakereferencetopatterns,constructions,and"schemata" 3. ^O'Grady,WilliamDobrovolsky,MichaelKatamba,Francis(1996).ContemporaryLinguistics:An Introduction(http://books.google.co.uk/books? id=djhsAAAAIAAJ&q=Contemporary+Linguistics&dq=Contemporary+Linguistics).Harlow,Essex:Longman. pp.47464539.ISBN9780582246911. 4. ^Holmes,Janet(2001).AnIntroductiontoSociolinguistics(http://books.google.co.uk/books? id=qjdqxecifHcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Introduction+to+Sociolinguistics+Holmes)(seconded.).Harlow, Essex:Longman.pp.7394.ISBN9780582328617.formorediscussionofsetsofgrammarsaspopulations, see:Croft,William(2000).ExplainingLanguageChange:AnEvolutionaryApproach (http://books.google.co.uk/books? id=5_Ka7zLl9HQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Explaining+Language+Change+Croft).Harlow,Essex:Longman. pp.1320.ISBN9780582356771. 5. ^RodneyHuddlestonandGeoffreyK.Pullum,2002,TheCambridgeGrammaroftheEnglishLanguage. Cambridge(UK):CambridgeUniversityPress,p.627f. 6. ^Lundin,Leigh(20070923)."ThePowerofPrepositions"(http://criminalbrief.com/?p=216).OnWriting. Cairo:CriminalBrief. 7. ^Harper,Douglas."Grammar"(http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=grammar).OnlineEtymological Dictionary.Retrieved8April2010 8. ^G.Khan,J.B.Noah,TheEarlyKaraiteTraditionofHebrewGrammaticalThought(2000) 9. ^PinchasWechter,IbnBarn'sArabicWorksonHebrewGrammarandLexicography(1964) 10. ^Gussenhoven,CarlosJacobs,Haike(2005).UnderstandingPhonology(http://books.google.co.uk/books? id=gHp_QgAACAAJ&dq=Understanding+Phonology&cd=1)(seconded.).London:HodderArnoldd. ISBN9780340807354. 11. ^http://www.languagesandnumbers.com/howtocountinportuguesebrazil/en/porbra/ 12. ^NationalGrammarDay(http://nationalgrammarday.com/) AmericanAcademicPress,The(ed.).WilliamStrunk,Jr.,etal.TheClassicsofStyle:TheFundamentalsof LanguageStyleFromOurAmericanCraftsmen.Cleveland:TheAmericanAcademicPress,2006.ISBN0 978728203. Rundle,Bede.GrammarinPhilosophy.Oxford:ClarendonPressNewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1979. ISBN0198246129.

Externallinks
ArchibaldHenrySayce(1911)."Grammar".InChisholm,Hugh.EncyclopdiaBritannica(11th ed.).CambridgeUniversityPress Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grammar&oldid=594176033" Categories: Fiction Grammar Style(fiction)

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