Saturday, February 25, 2006
On Grammar and Its Role
Grammar is the science of language. As science establishes what happens in a given situation, so does grammar in a given sentence. While science experiments with the data in hand, grammar examines the usages in vogue. Grammar describes how words function in different contexts and determines how the syntax of a language should be.
A living organism, language is also subject to change. Conventions give way to current trends. Modern usages receive recognitions and the ancient ones become archaic. In the process, the why of the usages, whether current or prospective, needs to be explored and their acceptability or otherwise needs to be explained. This should precisely be the role of grammar in any language. English is no exception.
Grammar should meet the demands of the time. Clarity in communication is of paramount importance. When there is ambiguity in a usage, it is to be removed. When a logical contention in support of an expression is raised, it has to be accepted for scrutiny and analysis. The result may be positive or negative; the urge observed for a change should always be considered. Gone are the days when we frowned upon sentences like ‘He is taller than me’ and ‘It’s me’.
Now the question of when and where the grammar of a language should play its role arises. The first step in learning a language is to hear it spoken or read by a learned person. If that person takes adequate care to do justice to his duty, half the problem is solved. For, the listener, from the beginning, starts registering the standard and acceptable usages emanating from the connoisseur’s mouth. As long as these usages are correct and grammatical, the listener has the greatest advantage of being conversant with good language without deliberate exposure to grammar. And what he has learnt will remain in memory until, perhaps, he finds a change expedient and acceptable.
One need not be a mechanic to drive a car. The mechanic maintains the car and the driver drives it the way he likes and with the style he adopts. Though he may become a smart driver, his car needs to be kept in good condition. Education can be likened to the car. If we are able to impart updated, need-based instruction, the learner will, in due course of time, imbibe his own diction and style without having to study grammar in particular. However, the car driver, if slightly discerning, can excel in his performance. A bit of mechanical knowledge will enhance his expertise and encourage him to undertake long, confident drives. On the same analogy, if the language learner acquires a little grammatical knowledge, he will find himself fluent enough to manipulate the malleability of the sentences he might have to employ in order to meet the contextual requirements.
Language needs to be learned from the learned, preferably from teachers who can be taken for granted. A perfect language teacher ought to keep himself abreast of all aspects of the language he is teaching. He ought to be adept especially in the grammar of that language. He ought to watch the modern trend, too. Only then will he be able to effectively and efficiently explain its nuances as warranted by the situation.
English has become the international lingua franca. Most of the universities around the world teach English in two ways - as General subject and as Main subject. At the General level the learner is expected to acquire just a sort of working knowledge of the language while at the Main level he is required to thoroughly master the grammar as well as the language. Those who qualify themselves under the latter category will be competent to teach English in the manner it should be taught.
The teacher of English has to decide the method of instruction suitable for his students. A good teacher will be able to choose the best if he succeeds in correctly assessing the level of his students. He can then easily schedule the assignments in tune with their standards. The extent of grammar to be taught in the schedule can also be determined by him while preparing lessons for his students.
Yet, what is the role of grammar in the modern classroom? Is it optional or essential? It is, in fact, neither. The role of grammar in the modern classroom should be facilitative in nature and approach. As English is taught to both native and non-native students, the method to be pursued in the two cases cannot be the same. Nevertheless, both of them need to know grammar.
Grammar pronounces the acceptability of usages. We need to identify the usages considered acceptable. Are they the ‘standard’ ones spoken by the flimsy minority in the UK or the ‘popular’ ones adopted by the fluffy majority in the US? It may not be justifiable to choose either of them. We need to strike a balance between the two, because we see a seamless blend of both at the international level. The concepts of British English and American English seem to be losing their significance in the modern era and therefore their merger is not unlikely in a couple of decades from now. English may then become the world’s language. No one can claim to have exclusive sovereignty over it when it is the common wealth of the users of the world.
Viewed in this light and in the backdrop of Information Technology-dominated globalisation, the grammar of English in the modern classroom should be capable of catering to the universal needs of the ‘cosmozens’ - to use a portmanteau for cosmopolitan citizens. In order to achieve this end the universities need to evolve a common yardstick in respect of pronunciation, meaning and usage of the words in use and base their courses of study on that yardstick. An IRP (Internationally Recognized Pronunciation) can do away with the anomalous accent, stress and intonation being followed by the conglomerate community today. It can also usher in an era of uniformity in the teaching and learning of English. Then the teacher in the modern classroom need only allude to the subtlety involved in a particular expression for the general information of his students. During lectures, however, he will have to take adequate care of his own use of grammatically correct sentences that are being listened to by his students. A separate session on grammar may not therefore be necessary in a modern classroom.
To teach a language without much emphasis on its grammar and to prepare the learner to be capable of handling it with facility at anytime, anywhere would naturally call for concerted efforts on the part of the academia. A system of education equipped to address the needs of the changing time has to be put in place so that the role of grammar will turn to be one of enabling the learner to inculcate a sense of self-confidence for the purpose of using the language with ease throughout the world.
A living organism, language is also subject to change. Conventions give way to current trends. Modern usages receive recognitions and the ancient ones become archaic. In the process, the why of the usages, whether current or prospective, needs to be explored and their acceptability or otherwise needs to be explained. This should precisely be the role of grammar in any language. English is no exception.
Grammar should meet the demands of the time. Clarity in communication is of paramount importance. When there is ambiguity in a usage, it is to be removed. When a logical contention in support of an expression is raised, it has to be accepted for scrutiny and analysis. The result may be positive or negative; the urge observed for a change should always be considered. Gone are the days when we frowned upon sentences like ‘He is taller than me’ and ‘It’s me’.
Now the question of when and where the grammar of a language should play its role arises. The first step in learning a language is to hear it spoken or read by a learned person. If that person takes adequate care to do justice to his duty, half the problem is solved. For, the listener, from the beginning, starts registering the standard and acceptable usages emanating from the connoisseur’s mouth. As long as these usages are correct and grammatical, the listener has the greatest advantage of being conversant with good language without deliberate exposure to grammar. And what he has learnt will remain in memory until, perhaps, he finds a change expedient and acceptable.
One need not be a mechanic to drive a car. The mechanic maintains the car and the driver drives it the way he likes and with the style he adopts. Though he may become a smart driver, his car needs to be kept in good condition. Education can be likened to the car. If we are able to impart updated, need-based instruction, the learner will, in due course of time, imbibe his own diction and style without having to study grammar in particular. However, the car driver, if slightly discerning, can excel in his performance. A bit of mechanical knowledge will enhance his expertise and encourage him to undertake long, confident drives. On the same analogy, if the language learner acquires a little grammatical knowledge, he will find himself fluent enough to manipulate the malleability of the sentences he might have to employ in order to meet the contextual requirements.
Language needs to be learned from the learned, preferably from teachers who can be taken for granted. A perfect language teacher ought to keep himself abreast of all aspects of the language he is teaching. He ought to be adept especially in the grammar of that language. He ought to watch the modern trend, too. Only then will he be able to effectively and efficiently explain its nuances as warranted by the situation.
English has become the international lingua franca. Most of the universities around the world teach English in two ways - as General subject and as Main subject. At the General level the learner is expected to acquire just a sort of working knowledge of the language while at the Main level he is required to thoroughly master the grammar as well as the language. Those who qualify themselves under the latter category will be competent to teach English in the manner it should be taught.
The teacher of English has to decide the method of instruction suitable for his students. A good teacher will be able to choose the best if he succeeds in correctly assessing the level of his students. He can then easily schedule the assignments in tune with their standards. The extent of grammar to be taught in the schedule can also be determined by him while preparing lessons for his students.
Yet, what is the role of grammar in the modern classroom? Is it optional or essential? It is, in fact, neither. The role of grammar in the modern classroom should be facilitative in nature and approach. As English is taught to both native and non-native students, the method to be pursued in the two cases cannot be the same. Nevertheless, both of them need to know grammar.
Grammar pronounces the acceptability of usages. We need to identify the usages considered acceptable. Are they the ‘standard’ ones spoken by the flimsy minority in the UK or the ‘popular’ ones adopted by the fluffy majority in the US? It may not be justifiable to choose either of them. We need to strike a balance between the two, because we see a seamless blend of both at the international level. The concepts of British English and American English seem to be losing their significance in the modern era and therefore their merger is not unlikely in a couple of decades from now. English may then become the world’s language. No one can claim to have exclusive sovereignty over it when it is the common wealth of the users of the world.
Viewed in this light and in the backdrop of Information Technology-dominated globalisation, the grammar of English in the modern classroom should be capable of catering to the universal needs of the ‘cosmozens’ - to use a portmanteau for cosmopolitan citizens. In order to achieve this end the universities need to evolve a common yardstick in respect of pronunciation, meaning and usage of the words in use and base their courses of study on that yardstick. An IRP (Internationally Recognized Pronunciation) can do away with the anomalous accent, stress and intonation being followed by the conglomerate community today. It can also usher in an era of uniformity in the teaching and learning of English. Then the teacher in the modern classroom need only allude to the subtlety involved in a particular expression for the general information of his students. During lectures, however, he will have to take adequate care of his own use of grammatically correct sentences that are being listened to by his students. A separate session on grammar may not therefore be necessary in a modern classroom.
To teach a language without much emphasis on its grammar and to prepare the learner to be capable of handling it with facility at anytime, anywhere would naturally call for concerted efforts on the part of the academia. A system of education equipped to address the needs of the changing time has to be put in place so that the role of grammar will turn to be one of enabling the learner to inculcate a sense of self-confidence for the purpose of using the language with ease throughout the world.
# posted by Anglophile @ 8:27 PM 
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Ever since the first written symbols were recorded more than 5000 years ago language has been the basis of human communication. Communication is a process of involving a sender and a receiver. The writer or speaker sends a message which is supposed to elicit response from reader or listener. This communication is two way process. Poor communication occures when the line is broken between sender and receiver and the best meanse of communication is usage of correct language.
English if not quite a universal language, is closer to bieng one than any other language ever has been. Most people learn how to speak English through imitation and follow the rules of grammer that we heard and pass them on through our own spoken words. Sometimes we inherit errors in the use of language and we may be totally unaware until they are brought to our attention. The problem is that these errors can lessen our credibility as a speaker or writer. Most of us take laguage for granted. We follow up listening and speaking without much knowledge about or appreciation for grammatically correct language we use.
English if not quite a universal language, is closer to bieng one than any other language ever has been. Most people learn how to speak English through imitation and follow the rules of grammer that we heard and pass them on through our own spoken words. Sometimes we inherit errors in the use of language and we may be totally unaware until they are brought to our attention. The problem is that these errors can lessen our credibility as a speaker or writer. Most of us take laguage for granted. We follow up listening and speaking without much knowledge about or appreciation for grammatically correct language we use.
# posted by 
: 11:57 AM
: 11:57 AM
The current method of teaching languages is to be modified.A child born in any country can learn to speak the mother tounge without even studying or knowing grammar. In some schools, many students can speak two or three languages; just because their class mates are from different states.
Hence, I think two type of systems are necessary.
One ,to teach to speak a language as a child learn to speak the mother-tounge.
Second, to teach the language as literatue.
thomaskandanat@gmail.com
Hence, I think two type of systems are necessary.
One ,to teach to speak a language as a child learn to speak the mother-tounge.
Second, to teach the language as literatue.
thomaskandanat@gmail.com
Literature is different from language. The question here is whether the grammar of a language needs to be taught separately. If a child is exposed to an environment where langauge (mother tongue or foreign tongue) is spoken correctly, there is hardly any need for the child to learn grammar, for it will already have learnt to speak that language very well.
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