Prescriptive Grammar

set of norms or rules governing how a language should or should not be used rather than describing the ways in which a language is actually used. Contrast with descriptive grammar. Observations:

"There has always been a tension between the descriptive and prescriptive functions of grammar. Currently, descriptive grammar is dominant among theorists, but prescriptive grammar is taught in the schools and exercises a range of social effects." (Ann Bodine, "Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar." The Feminist Critique of Language, ed. D. Cameron. Routledge, 1998)

Q. What is Grammar? A. Grammar is the Art of Speaking and Writing truly and properly. Note, Dr. Wallis justly finds fault with our English Grammarians, where he says, All of them forcing our English tongue too much to the Latin method, have delivered many useless Precepts concerning Cases, Genders, and Declensions of Nouns; the Tenses, Moods, and Conjugations of Verbs; and also the Government of Nouns and Verbs, and other such like Things, which our Language hath nothing at all to do with. (James Greenwood, The Royal English Grammar: Containing What Is Necessary to the Knowledge of the English Tongue. 1737)

"To many people in the middle decades of the eighteenth century, the language was indeed seriously unwell. It was suffering from a raging disease of uncontrolled usage. . . . "There was an urgency surrounding the notion of astandard language, in the eighteenth century. People needed to know who they were talking to. Snap judgments were everything, when it came to social position. And things are not much different today. We make immediate judgments based on how people dress, how they do their hair, decorate their bodies--and how they speak and write. It is the first bit ofdiscourse that counts. "The prescriptive grammarians went out of their way to invent as many rules as possible which might distinguish polite from impolite speech. They didn't find very many--just a few dozen, a tiny number compared with all the thousands of rules of grammar that operate in English. But these rules were propounded with maximum authority and severity, and given plausibility by the claim that they were going to help people to be clear and precise. As a result, generations of schoolchildren would be taught them, and confused by them." (David Crystal, The Fight for English. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006)

Teaching Grammar
Grammar is central to the teaching and learning of languages. It is also one of the more difficult aspects of language to teach well. Many people, including language teachers, hear the word "grammar" and think of a fixed set of word forms and rules of usage. They associate "good" grammar with the prestige forms of the language, such as those used in writing and in formal oral presentations, and "bad" or "no" grammar with the language used in everyday conversation or used by speakers of nonprestige forms. Language teachers who adopt this definition focus on grammar as a set of forms and rules. They teach grammar by explaining the forms and rules and then drilling students on them. This results in bored, disaffected students who can produce correct forms on exercises and tests, but consistently make errors when they try to use the language in context. Other language teachers, influenced by recent theoretical work on the difference between language learning and language acquisition, tend not to teach grammar at all. Believing that children acquire their first language without overt grammar instruction, they expect students to learn their second language the same way. They assume that students will absorb grammar rules as they hear, read, and use the language in communication activities. This approach does not allow students to use one of the major tools they have as learners: their active understanding of what grammar is and how it works in the language they already know. The communicative competence model balances these extremes. The model recognizes that overt grammar instruction helps students acquire the language more efficiently, but it incorporates grammar teaching and learning into the larger context of teaching students to use the language. Instructors using this model teach students the grammar they need to know to accomplish defined communication tasks.

Facilitating Learning: The Teacher

Mastery of the subject This is so obvious, but so important that it can hardly be over-emphasised. A good teacher must keep abreast of his/her subject, and this is where research and teaching can be mutually enhancing. Pedagogical assumptions and practices

The teachers role is to facilitate. Learning may be facilitated by such means as:
o o o o o

logical sequencing of content; providing structure and a conceptual framework; directing students attention to objectives; encouraging learners to relate information to their own experiences and pre-knowledge to promote understanding and long-term retention; posing questions and problems, which may be the single most important tool in facilitating learning; an effective teacher encourages questions and asks the right ones.

The teachers attitudes/expectations impinge significantly on students performance. Educational psychologists call this the Pygmalion effect, after G.B. Shaws play where the heroine, Eliza Doolittle, observed: ...the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. Researchers have shown that teachers invariably convey their expectations, intentionally or otherwise, and create self-fulfilling prophecies. It is therefore important to set high expectations of success.

Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. And it can help everyone--not only teachers of English, but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning. (David Crystal, "In Word and Deed," TES Teacher, April 30, 2004) It is necessary to know grammar, and it is better to write grammatically than not, but it is well to remember that grammar is common speech formulated. Usage is the only test. (William Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up, 1938)

Hear the word glamour and what comes to mind? Celebrities, most likely--limousines and red carpets, swarms of paparazzi and more money than sense. But, odd as it may sound, glamour comes directly from a decidedly less glamorous word--grammar. During the Middle Ages, grammar was often used to describe learning in general, including the magical, occult practices popularly associated with the scholars of the day. People in Scotland pronounced grammar as "glam-our," and extended the association to mean magical beauty or enchantment. In the 19th century, the two versions of the word went their separate ways, so that our study of English grammar today may not be quite as glamorous as it used to be. But the question remains: what is grammar?

Descriptive Grammar and Prescriptive Grammar

In our Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms, youll find two definitions of grammar:
1. The systematic study and description of a language. 2. A set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language, usually intended as an aid to the learning of that language.

Descriptive grammar (definition #1) refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers. Prescriptive grammar (definition #2) refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used. Both kinds of grammar are concerned with rules--but in different ways. Specialists in descriptive grammar (called linguists) study the rules or patterns that underlie our use of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. On the other hand, prescriptive grammarians (such as most editors and teachers) lay out rules about what they believe to be the correct or incorrect use of language. (See What Is a SNOOT?)

Interfacing With Grammar

To illustrate these different approaches, let's consider the word interface. The descriptive grammarian would note, among other things, that the word is made up of a common prefix (inter-) and a root word (face) and that its currently used as both a noun and a verb. The prescriptive grammarian, however, would be more interested in deciding whether or not it is correct to use interface as a verb. Here's how the prescriptive Usage Panel at The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition passes judgment on interface:
The Usage Panel has been unable to muster much enthusiasm for the verb. Thirty-seven percent of Panelists accept it when it designates the interaction between people in the sentence The managing editor must interface with a variety of freelance editors and proofreaders. But the percentage drops to 22 when the interaction is between a corporation and the public or between various communities in a city. Many Panelists complain that interface is pretentious and jargony.

Similarly, Bryan A. Garner, author of The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, dismisses interface as "jargonmongers' talk." By their nature, all popular style and usage guides are prescriptive, though to varying degrees: some are fairly tolerant of deviations from standard English; others can be downright cranky. The most irascible critics are sometimes called "the Grammar Police." Though certainly different in their approaches to language, both kinds of grammar--descriptive and prescriptive--are useful to students.

The Value of Studying Grammar

The study of grammar all by itself will not necessarily make you a better writer. But by gaining a clearer understanding of how our language works, you should also gain greater control over the way you shape words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. In short, studying grammar may help you become a more effective writer. Descriptive grammarians generally advise us not to be overly concerned with matters of correctness: language, they say, isn't good or bad; it simply is. As the history of the glamorous word grammar demonstrates, the English language is a living system of communication, a continually evolving affair. Within a generation or two, words and phrases come into fashion and fall out again. Over centuries, word endings and entire sentence structures can change or disappear. Prescriptive grammarians prefer giving practical advice about using language: straightforward rules to help us avoid making errors. The rules may be over-simplified at times, but they are meant to keep us out of trouble--the kind of trouble that may distract or even confuse our readers. About Grammar & Composition attempts to integrate these two approaches to grammar--or, at the least, present them side by side. For instance, our discussion of the Basic Parts of Speech is

primarily descriptive, while our lesson on Correcting Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement is obviously prescriptive. Thus, the goal of this site is twofold: first, to deepen your understanding of the ways that the English language operates, and second, to serve as a practical guide as you work to become a more confident and effective writer. We look forward to hearing your suggestions on how we might do a better job of meeting both these goals. NEXT:

A prescriptive grammar lays out rules about the structure of a language. Unlike a descriptive grammar it deals with what the grammarian believes to be right and wrong, good or bad language use; not following the rules will generate incorrect language. Both types of grammar have their supporters and their detractors, which in all probability suggests that both have their strengths and weaknesses. Read more at http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/prescriptive-grammar.html#tSwHjTSGToaYEYTf.99

One common way to divide the different types of English grammars available is to label them descriptive or prescriptive, though a grammar may contain elements of both. The principles around which they are written are very different; a prescriptive grammar is one that lays down the rules for English language usage, while a descriptive grammar synthesises rules for English usage from the language that people actually use. A prescriptive grammarian believes that certain forms used are correct and that others, even though they may be used by native speakers, are incorrect. Many prescriptivists feel that modern linguistics, which tends to place emphasis on actual rather than perceived language usage, is responsible for a decline in the standard of language. Descriptivists look at the way people speak and then try to create rules that account for the language usage, accepting alternative forms that are used regionally and also being open to forms used in speech that traditional grammars would describe as errors.

Who's Right?
As with so much in English, both sides have a lot to offer. Pure prescriptivist grammar will lead to artificial claims that are hard to maintain in light of the facts. While prescriptivists would prefer the use of the past subjunctive after if (If I were you, etc), it is very difficult to claim that everyone who uses was is wrong, especially as they are the majority in spoken language. Google puts past subjunctive just over 10% ahead, though it is recording written text only. While there are still traditionalist grammarians claiming that they are right and half the population is wrong,

most have modified their approach and talk of this form as preferable, or describe it as formal register, and ESL examination boards no longer test it, bit accept both. There are also zealous descriptivists, who instead of genuinely describing English language usage, feel they should give it a hand to change and develop, by encouraging the demise of forms they see as old-fashioned. Those who fall into this trap, such as recommending avoiding whom, or claiming it is no longer relevant are themselves simply neo-prescriptivists, though favouring development and change rather than conservativism.
Read more at http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/descriptive-prescriptivegrammar.html#xb1bl6zqDrUVKp6P.99

Descriptive English Grammar vs Prescriptive English Grammar

Monday, 01 March 2010 18:34 Written by Neal Chambers

Sparky: English grammar is really difficult. Mr.Maru: Why is that? Sparky: well, sometimes I read a grammar rule and study it but people don't speak that way. Mr.Maru: Can you give me an example? Sparky: Using their, a teacher told me I shouldn't use their for a single person, but people use it all the time. Mr.Maru: Yes, they/them/their is often used to talk about a single person. Some people do think it is wrong though. Sparky: Why? Mr.Maru: There are different kinds of grammar for English you can use - one is descriptive and one is prescriptive.

What is the difference between prescriptive and descriptive grammar? What is descriptive grammar? What is prescriptive grammar? Let's go over some examples and explanations.

What is Descriptive Grammar?

Language is constantly changing. It is a unique organic system that is never static. English has become an important language because it has evolved and adapted over several hundreds of years to become what it is today. As the language changes the rules for the language change as well. If the majority (50% or more) use the language one way that becomes the new rule. Changes happen slowly because there are over a billion English speakers in the world, but they do still happen. Descriptive grammar describes how grammar is actually being used. It can also be called colloquial grammar. When speakers start to change the language, descriptive grammar helps to describe what is happening. For example, using 'they/their/them' to mean 'he or she/his or her/him or her' is a common piece of descriptive grammar. For example, An individual can update their profile with their name and address. Another grammar point that is becoming more common is using the verb 'graduate' without 'from'. For example, I graduated Japan university. I graduated from Japan university. (standard usage) Descriptive grammar is important to know because it describes how the language is actually being used. However, it is sometimes considered too casual or incorrect by some. It is not appropriate to use this type of grammar for school papers or business documents.

What is Prescriptive Grammar?

Prescriptive grammar is more familar to us. This is the type of grammar that is described in most older textbooks and reference books. If you are an ESL/EFL student you have studied these rules in class and drilled sentences with this grammar. If you are a professional writer you have seen these rules in the style guides such as the AP style guide that are in common use.

Prescriptive grammar is usually the safest type of grammar to use. Professors and teachers expect you to use this type of grammar and publishers will require you to use it. Be sure to check the appriopriate guides for your industry.

Where does Prescriptive Grammar Come From?

About 500 years ago, there weren't any grammar rules for English. The same word had several different spellings. There were different regional dialects of English that had their own structure and vocabulary. William Bullokar wrote one of the first grammars for English in 1578. He also invented a standard alphabet for the English language. This first grammar book was written like the Latin grammar books written during the 16th century. William wanted English to become a widely used language. It had to be accepted by academics and scholars. So, he created rules similar to rules in Latin. Latin was used by academics and religious scholars at that time and it was highly respected. At the same time, English was seen as a common language used by the people and not highly respected.

Which is better Descriptive Grammar or Prescriptive Grammar?

This is a difficult question. You must think about your audience (the people reading or listening to you). If your audience is academic or you are writing for business, it's better to use prescriptive grammar. In more casual situations, like emails, friendly chats, or (some) blogs, it's perfectly acceptable to use descriptive grammar