John Benjamins Publishing Company
A grammar as a communicative act, or what does a grammatical description really describe?
Abstract
A descriptive grammar is a document that is intended to communicate important and complex patterns of knowledge within a speech community. Previous conceptions of linguistic grammars have emphasized a metaphor in which the internal grammar of a language is perceived as a “machine” that transforms thoughts into language structure. Written grammars were conceived as schematic representations of such machines. The present paper argues for a different metaphor. Because a grammar is primarily an act of communication, a good grammar possesses qualities known to hold of other communicative acts. The paper invokes recent work in linguistic pragmatics to help potential grammar writers conceptualize and present their work as an efficient and engaging act of communication.
Abstract
A descriptive grammar is a document that is intended to communicate important and complex patterns of knowledge within a speech community. Previous conceptions of linguistic grammars have emphasized a metaphor in which the internal grammar of a language is perceived as a “machine” that transforms thoughts into language structure. Written grammars were conceived as schematic representations of such machines. The present paper argues for a different metaphor. Because a grammar is primarily an act of communication, a good grammar possesses qualities known to hold of other communicative acts. The paper invokes recent work in linguistic pragmatics to help potential grammar writers conceptualize and present their work as an efficient and engaging act of communication.
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
