Welcome

Doesn't’t sound “simple?’ The libraries, bookstores, schools, universities and Internet and are filled with instructions on how to learn languages, especially English, our current lingua franca. Those same entities are also filled with words, phrases and expressions that give information about languages. The Problem lies in the fact that almost all of the information is ABOUT learning language. It compares to one’s reading through a recipe book to learn every way to bake a cake but never baking a cake. To learn languages, we must learn the grammar. Even if we don’t know that we are learning a grammar with our native language, we are, indeed, learning the grammar. What is grammar, anyway? Why do we need it? Do we always need to know grammar in order to use a language? The answer is: yes, we do. We may not learn formal or book grammar but we must learn grammar in order to gain the first ability needed to speak a language. We learn the grammar of a language for one reason and only one reason:  to create sentences that another speaker of a language can understand when they hear them or read them. A grammar describes a language. It presents the rules that govern the use of the language and, in so doing, gives us the rules we need to understand to learn the language. In gaining these rules, we gain the ability to learn and teach the language to others. We gain the ability to form our knowledge into sentences and all ancillary grammatical forms that will carry our thoughts from our own mind to the mind of another person. This ability is unique to humans and gives us the superiority over the rest of the world. A grammar is our first and most important intellectual tool. I will prove this as I explain how language works and why it works. A grammar gives us the ability to pass our knowledge on to our progeny and to the world. Don Liston

 

 

The words, phrases and sentences used to define grammar are almost endless. Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary of English, Eleventh Edition says: Main Entry: grammar: Pronunciation: *gra-m*r Function: noun Etymology: Middle English gram ere, from Anglo-French grammar, modification of Latin grammatica, from Greek grammatik*, from feminine of grammatikos of letters, from grammat-, gramma — more at  GRAM Date: 14th century 1 a : the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their functions and relations in the sentence  b : a study of what is to be preferred and what avoided in inflection and syntax 2 a : the characteristic system of inflections and syntax of a language b : a system of rules that defines the grammatical structure of a language 3 a : a grammar textbook  b : speech or writing evaluated according to its conformity to grammatical rules 4 : the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique  *a grammar of the theater*;  also   : a set of such principles or rules   –grammarian \gr*-*mer-*-*n\  noun  But wait! There’s more! Main Entry: generative grammar Pronunciation: usually *je-n*-r*-tiv- Function: noun, Date:1959

2 : TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR You can find seven grammar references in Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Oxford English Dictionary, the array of huge books found in every good library provides even more words, phrases and descriptions of grammar.  This one includes four pages of description and definition including the following: 1. a. That department of the study of a language which deals with its inflexional forms or other means of indicating the relations of words in the sentence, and with the rules for employing these in accordance with the established usage, usually including also the department which deals with the phonetic system of the language and the principles of its representation in writing. Often preceded by an adj. designating the language referred to, as in  Latin, English, French grammar. In seventy-seven words they describe grammar for the firs t definition. The next four pages goes into detail offering more information than most people want to know. In spite of the barrage of words in the dictionary, grammar is simply the description of the language and the rules that govern its use. It is not simple, but it is learnable. It isn’t easy, but as I will explain later it is certainly within the reach of any learner or scholar that wants to become fluent in a language. The first part of this series of lectures deals with language, itself and how it came into being as a grammar. After that, there are the details of language and what grammar is to linguists. . .  . and, as I always say, “Did you understand me and does this help?” Don Liston