Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- List of contributors
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Listening
- Chapter 2 Speaking
- Chapter 3 Reading
- Chapter 4 Writing
- Chapter 5 Grammar
- Chapter 6 Vocabulary
- Chapter 7 Discourse
- Chapter 8 Pronunciation
- Chapter 9 Materials development
- Chapter 10 Second language teacher education
- Chapter 11 Psycholinguistics
- Chapter 12 Second language acquisition
- Chapter 13 Bilingualism
- Chapter 14 Sociolinguistics
- Chapter 15 Computer-assisted language learning
- Chapter 16 Observation
- Chapter 17 Classroom interaction
- Chapter 18 English for academic purposes
- Chapter 19 English for specific purposes
- Chapter 20 Assessment
- Chapter 21 Evaluation
- Chapter 22 Syllabus design
- Chapter 23 Language awareness
- Chapter 24 Language learning strategies
- Chapter 25 Task-based language learning
- Chapter 26 Literature in the language classroom
- Chapter 27 Genre
- Chapter 28 Programme management
- Chapter 29 Intercultural communication
- Chapter 30 On-line communication
- Postscript: The ideology of TESOL
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Chapter 5 - Grammar
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- List of contributors
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Listening
- Chapter 2 Speaking
- Chapter 3 Reading
- Chapter 4 Writing
- Chapter 5 Grammar
- Chapter 6 Vocabulary
- Chapter 7 Discourse
- Chapter 8 Pronunciation
- Chapter 9 Materials development
- Chapter 10 Second language teacher education
- Chapter 11 Psycholinguistics
- Chapter 12 Second language acquisition
- Chapter 13 Bilingualism
- Chapter 14 Sociolinguistics
- Chapter 15 Computer-assisted language learning
- Chapter 16 Observation
- Chapter 17 Classroom interaction
- Chapter 18 English for academic purposes
- Chapter 19 English for specific purposes
- Chapter 20 Assessment
- Chapter 21 Evaluation
- Chapter 22 Syllabus design
- Chapter 23 Language awareness
- Chapter 24 Language learning strategies
- Chapter 25 Task-based language learning
- Chapter 26 Literature in the language classroom
- Chapter 27 Genre
- Chapter 28 Programme management
- Chapter 29 Intercultural communication
- Chapter 30 On-line communication
- Postscript: The ideology of TESOL
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The term grammar has multiple meanings. It is used to refer both to language users' subconscious internal system and to linguists' attempts explicitly to codify – or describe – that system. With regard to the latter, its scope can be broad enough to refer to the abstract system underlying all languages (i.e. a universal grammar) or, more narrowly, to the system underlying a particular language (e.g. a grammar of English). It can also refer to a particular school of linguistic thought (e.g. a stratificational grammar) or to a specific compendium of facts for a general audience (e.g. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language; Quirk et al. 1985) or to a particular audience (e.g. a pedagogical grammar for students or for teachers).
While these uses may differ in purpose and scope, they seek minimally to explain the same phenomena: how words are formed (morphology) and how words are combined (syntax). Additionally, a study of English grammar includes function words, such as frequently occurring articles, whose role is largely syntactic (i.e. not lexical since they may not have an inherent meaning). Some grammars also include phonology and semantics, but the usual interpretation of grammar is limited to the structural organisation of language.
Background
LINGUISTICS
Linguists make a distinction between two types of descriptive grammars. Formal grammars take as their starting point the form or structure of language, with little or no attention given to meaning (semantics) or context and language use (pragmatics).
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001
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