Prescientific grammar period

Prescientific grammar period

(late 16th c. – late 19th c.)

Approaches to grammar:

1. Prescriptive / normative (how to use forms) – since 16th century (W.Lily, Ch.Butler, J.Brightland, R.Lowth, L.Murray)

2. Descriptive / explanatory / scientific (what forms are used) – 19th century (H.Sweet, O.Jespersen, E.Kruisinga, H.Poutsma, G.Curme, H.Gleason, J.Nesfield, R.Zandvoort)

3. Structural / transformational / generative (how to generate, what happens in transforming) – 20th century (N.Chomsky, Ch.Fries, N.Trubetzkoy, L.Bloomfield, W.Francis, P.Roberts)

4. Sociolinguistic / communicative / functional (how forms work / are used) (N.Slyusareva)

5. Cognitive (how grammar forms reflect mental models)

6. Variation (how grammar forms vary and transform)

Western tradition:

The Western tradition for the study of grammar derives from the Greek philosophers, who treated it in their discussions of logic and rhetoric, and the study was taken up by Roman scholars.

This tradition continued in the works on Latin grammar that were produced in the medieval and renaissance periods, when Latin was the language of learning.

The grammar that was taught in the early grammar schools in England was Latin grammar, not English grammar.

Prescientific grammar period

(late 16th c. – late 19th c.)

1. Early / Prenormative grammar

Until 17th c., grammar -> study of Latin

In grammar schools in England people studied Latin at that time.

William Lily was an English classical grammarian and scholar. He was an author of the most widely used Latin grammar textbooks written in English.

Importance: model for arranging the material, possibility of presenting English forms in a similar way, using Latin categories and terminology.

First English Grammar:

William Bullokar. A Bref Grammar for English (1585)

Literal imitation of Lily’s Latin grammar:

- 5 cases of nouns

- 8 parts of speech (Adj = N)

Difference of the English structure from Latin

- Analytical forms

- Charles Butler: 2 cases

J. Wallis – Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae was a work on English grammarpublished in 1653:

- No cases -> -‘s = possessive adj

John Brightland – A Grammar of the English Tongue (1711) is writtenin verse:

- 4 parts of speech (names, qualities, affirmations (=V), particles)

- Notion of SENTENCE (unlike Lat.), simple & compound

17th c. – 16 titles

18th c. – 270 titles

- 8 word classes like in Latin (N = substant. + adj)

- Declinable & indeclinable parts of speech (W.Bullokar)

- Words with number & without number (B.Jonson)

- Article (B.Jonson)

- Parts of the sentence: S, P, O (< logical terms)

- Syntax: N+N, N+Adj

- Word Order

General features of Prenormative Grammars:

- Imitating Latin grammar (“yoke of Latin gr.”)

- Trying to break with the Latin tradition (inconsistently)

- Influence of logic

Prescriptive/normative grammars:

- 1760s – late 19th c. (beg. 19 c. – 900 new books)

- Stated (prescribed) strict rules of grammar usage > setting up standards of correctness (movement to establish an English Academy < H.Swift, Dryden, Defo)

- practical teaching of English (a wider audience)

- Appealing to reason, laws of logic considered to be universal

Early prescriptive grammar:

- Bishop Robert Lowth. “ Short Introduction to English Grammar, with critical notes” (1762):

- Aim: to present a standard English grammar that taught its readers to express themselves with "propriety" and to accurately evaluate constructions for correctness.

- Laying down rules and illustrating them by examples

- 2 cases of N and 3 cases for Pron (Nom., Posses., Obj)

- Phrase

- Lindley Murray (Lawth’s student) “ English Grammar Adapted to the Different Classes of Learners” (1795) – underwent 50 editions

- C.P.Mason. English Grammar (1858)

- 9 parts of speech;

- Article => Adj

- 3 cases for N (Nom., Posses., Obj.)

- Kinds of phrases & relations between words

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