John Benjamins Publishing Company
Contextualizing a grammar
Abstract
The grammar of a language is not only un système ou tout se tient; it also lies within a nexus involving time, space, and social relationships. On the dimension of time, descriptive and historical linguistics are not totally separate: native speakers’ knowledge of their language may include recognition of archaic forms and foreign borrowings. As for space, native speakers’ knowledge also includes awareness of geographical dialect variation. On the social dimension, the relevance of sociolinguistic variation is now widely recognized. Linguists who undertake to write grammars should consider all these factors, particularly as regards the interrelatedness between the grammar, the lexicon, and text collections.
Abstract
The grammar of a language is not only un système ou tout se tient; it also lies within a nexus involving time, space, and social relationships. On the dimension of time, descriptive and historical linguistics are not totally separate: native speakers’ knowledge of their language may include recognition of archaic forms and foreign borrowings. As for space, native speakers’ knowledge also includes awareness of geographical dialect variation. On the social dimension, the relevance of sociolinguistic variation is now widely recognized. Linguists who undertake to write grammars should consider all these factors, particularly as regards the interrelatedness between the grammar, the lexicon, and text collections.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
- Contextualizing a grammar 11
- Writing grammars for the community 19
- Collective field work 25
- Grammars and the community 45
- From parts of speech to the grammar 71
- Grammar writing for a grammar-reading audience 113
- A grammar as a communicative act, or what does a grammatical description really describe? 127
- A typology of good grammars 143
- Thoughts on growing a grammar 173
- The linguistic example 199
- Index 215
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
- Contextualizing a grammar 11
- Writing grammars for the community 19
- Collective field work 25
- Grammars and the community 45
- From parts of speech to the grammar 71
- Grammar writing for a grammar-reading audience 113
- A grammar as a communicative act, or what does a grammatical description really describe? 127
- A typology of good grammars 143
- Thoughts on growing a grammar 173
- The linguistic example 199
- Index 215
