ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) (04/01/85)
This article is in response to several recent comments: > Why should anybody expect today's students to learn proper grammar > when they are exposed to improper grammar everywhere they go? > This is a general question about ending sentences with > prepositions. > It formally appears to be an illegitimate deed, but > such forms are universally spoken and otherwise used. Traditionally, the role of language study was largely prescriptive. In modern times, this role has largely been abandoned. Quoting from Winograd's "Computational Models for the Syntax of Natural Language": > Language is a form of human social behavior, and, like all behavior, > has been the subject of legislation and control throughout history. > Unfortunately, the metaphor of law is the predominant view of language > structure in our society. Schools teach grammar not as an analysis of > language as it is really used, but as a set of rules that must be > followed by students who wish to take their appropriate place in > the social structure. The main concen of prescriptive grammar is with > correctness or purity of the language. As with any legal structure, > those who live within it agree that there is a right way and a wrong > way to do things, and the job of a linguist (as judge and policeman) > is to make sure that things get done the right way. > > All of the current theories of linguistics reject this metaphor. > A language is a naturally occurring phenomenon that changes over > time and is defined by what people actually say, not what teachers > or academies think they should say. The job of linguist is to > understand how language is structured and how it came to be that > way, not to fight a losing battle of preventing its evolution > or forcing the conventions of one social class onto the rest of > society. Of course, there may be pratical reasons why one wants > to teach `correct' grammar to people, such as to enable them to > function within the social structure. A practical theory of > linguistics can provide a basis for language teaching. The widespread growth of such sentiments makes it difficult to answer any question about `linguistic correctness' except in a relative manner. It depends on who are you speaking to, or to whom are you speaking, perhaps. -michael