Types of Grammar

Reasons for prescriptivism

- Increased social mobility (Industrial Revolution!) - grammars for the upper classes to maintain social distance (e.g. Robert Lowth. 1762. A Short Introduction to English Grammar. London. - most influential grammar!) - grammars for the lower classes to close the linguistic gap (e.g. William Cobbett. 1818. A Grammar of the English Language. New York. -for lower class)

Early Modern English problems (1500-1700)

-Disparity between spelling and sound since the Great Vowel Shift -Spelling reformers since mid-16 th century: John Hart (1570), William Bullokar(1580) - radical spelling reforms -Richard Mulcaster(1582): more measured approach that was more successful -minor changes (one spelling for one form), no big changes

ascertainmnet of english steps

1. Codify the rules of English, settle disputes, standardize all its forms and functions 2. Refine the language, remove defects, correct unwanted tendencies 3. 'fix', i.e set and solidify, the standard of English for eternity

Process of Standardization

1. Selection of a variety (usu. the variety of the socially most powerful speakers) 2. Elaboration of function (mostly vocabulary, stylistic conventions, writing system adaptations, punctuation and the like) 3. Codification (in dictionaries and grammars) 4. Acceptance (by the (majority) of the population)

Middle English

1100-1500

Early Modern English

1500-1700

Late Modern English

1700-1900

pedagogical grammar

A book specifically designed for teaching a foreign language, or for developing an awareness of the mother tongue. Such 'teaching grammars' are widely used in schools, so much so that many people have only one meaning for the term 'grammar': a grammar book

Reference Grammar

A grammatical description that tries to be as comprehensive as possible, so that it can act as a reference book for those interested in establishing grammatical facts (in much the same way as a dictionary is used as a 'reference lexicon'. Several north European grammarians compiled handbooks of this type in the early 20th century, the best known begin the seven-volume Modern English Grammar (1909-49) by the Danish grammarian Otto Jespersen (1860-1943), and A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (1985) by Randolph Quirk (1920-2017) et al.

descriptive grammar

An approach that describes the grammatical constructions that are used in a language, without making any evaluative judgements about their standing in society. These grammars are commonplace in linguistics, where it is standard to practice to investigate a corpus of spoken or written material, and to describe in detail the patterns if contains

Principles (hint: age of reason)

Authority ('best writers), Model of Latin, Etymology, Reason (analogy)

Methods of Prescriptivism

Etymology: study of the origin of words and how their meaning changed over time Appeal to Authority: use of one's 'personal' authority and harsh language to make a claim, use of 'best writers' (best writers are not always consistent) Logic/Reason: Latin Model: Samuel Johnson: 'every language must be servilely formed after the model of some one of the ancient

A model of (national) varieties of English aka. Kachru's(1985) Circle Model of English

Inner Circle: "L1 countries" UK, Irealnd, USA, Cdn, Aus, NZ, SAfr(and a few very little ones); "norm-providing" Outer Circle "L2 countries with historical importance and some institutionalization of English (incl. 'official languages'):" India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, ...; "norm-developing" Expanding Circle: "Foreign language with no historical ties, without major governmental backing": China, Asia, Europe (lingua franca), "norm-receiving"

Key Prescriptive publications (2)

Johnson, Samuel. 1755. A Dictionary of the English Language. (London: W. Strahan)(leading dictionary until Oxdic, used citations to illustrate use of words, realized language change could not be stopped) Lowth, Robert. 1762. A Short Introduction to English Grammar. (London: R. Dodsley)

Types of Dictionaries

Learners, desk, graded, historical

3 prescriptive rules

avoid preposition stranding avoid split infinitives avoid wrong case

Language change (internal)

changes in the "system" of language

Age of Reason

rationalist philosophy: knowledge can be derived from principles (not just experiences)

Language change (external)

social, political changes

grammar (everyday notion)

the socially "approved" language in a particular setting, usually an official or public setting, e.g. this is between you and me

grammar (linguistics)

the system of language, its allowed patterns