The Teacher's Grammar Book

James D. Williams

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781135606497
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The Teacher's Grammar Book, Second Edition introduces the various grammars that inform writing instruction in our schools, and examines methods, strategies, and techniques that constitute best classroom practices for teaching grammar and writing. Designed for students who are preparing to become English or language arts teachers, as well as for credentialed teachers who want an easy-to-use guide to questions of methods, grammar, and teaching, this overview of basic English grammar includes the following major topics: a brief history of grammar, teaching grammar, grammar and writing, traditional grammar, transformational-generative grammar, cognitive grammar, dialects, black English, and Chicano English. New in the reorganized and fully updated Second Edition:
*new chapter giving a brief history of grammar and grammar instruction;
*new chapter on best practices--strategies and techniques that actually work;
*expanded chapter on cognitive grammar--a topic not found in other texts of this nature;
*expanded chapter on dialects;
*summary and evaluation of the minimalist program (Noam Chomsky's most recent revision of transformational-generative grammar)--a topic unique among texts of this kind; and
*reduced discussion of transformational grammar.

1
A Short History of Grammar

AGREEING ON A DEFINITION

Grammar is a term used to mean many different things. When teachers and administrators grow frustrated over errors in student writing, they often call for a return to “the basics,” which they define as grammar. And English teachers know very well what the response will be when they tell anyone what they do for a living: “Oh, I better watch what I say!” In this situation, grammar is being defined as how one speaks.

Many years ago, Hartwell (1985, pp. 352–353) organized some of these different meanings in an attempt to clarify our understanding of grammar by offering five different definitions, summarized here:

1. Aset of formal patterns in which thewords of a language are arranged to convey a larger meaning.
2. The branch of linguistics concerned with the description, analysis, and formulation of formal language patterns.
3. Linguistic etiquette.
4. School grammar, or the names of the parts of speech.
5. Grammatical terms used in the interest of teaching writing.

Hartwell’s (1985) taxonomy is certainly useful, and there is no question that teachers need to be aware of the many ways the term grammar is used throughout education and society. Nevertheless, it can be confusing. The taxonomy seems to separate “school grammar” from writing instruction when the two usually are connected. Also, it does not tell us much about the differences between spoken and written language, nor does it tell us anything about dialects. For this reason, I have chosen a definition of grammar that is concise but that is sufficiently broad to include a wide range of language features and forms:

Grammar is the formal study of the structure of a language and describes how words fit together in meaningful constructions.

This definition is not complete, and perhaps no single definition can be. Being generic, it does not, for example, take into account the fact that there are multiple ways—and therefore multiple grammars—to study the structure of a language. Nevertheless, this definition is essentially congruent with how specialists in language study—linguists—use the term. Indeed, grammar is an important area in linguistics, which includes not only grammar (often referred to as syntax) but also several other features of language, such as meaning (semantics), sound (phonology), dialects, pragmatics, and language acquisition. Furthermore, this definition has the advantage of linking grammar to education, which is important because this book is designed for teachers and because grammar has been such an important part of education throughoutWestern history. In fact, until modern times, grammar was the most important part of a young person’s education. Even now, we often refer to elementary school as grammar school.

GREEK BEGINNINGS

Like so many other elements ofWestern culture, the formal study of grammar began in ancient Greece, probably in the late 6th century BC, when a number of factors combined to motivate the Greeks to examine the structure of their language. However, the emergence of grammar study may not have occurred if the ancient Greeks had not already placed a high value on language. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, put into written form between 900 and 800 BC, provide some insight into the nature ofGreek education before the 6th century. In the Iliad, we find that the hero Achilles was tutored as a youth to be “a speaker ofwords and a doer of deeds” (9.454–455), and thework includes numerous speeches that illustrate the importance of speaking well. As Wheelock (1974) noted, “All this foreshadows the conspicuous place of … elocution and rhetoric in later Greek education” (p.).

In earlier times, education was in the hands of parents, with mothers educating their daughters and fathers educating their sons. But we see in The Iliad that by Homer’s time (and possibly much earlier), wealthy families commonly employed professional tutors. By the end of the 6th century, education had become systematized and more or less universal for boys, who began attending private schools at the age of 6 and continued at least until the age of 14. The government did not require attendance, but educationwas highly valued among all classes, and it seems that even poor parents somehowfound the means to provide tuition.

Young students were taught by a grammatistes, who provided instruction in the alphabet (grammata), reading, writing, and grammar. A grammatistes also gave instruction in other subjects, such as music and mathematics. When students were proficient readers and writers, they were deemed grammatikos, or literate. At this point, they began studying literature in earnest. Plato wrote in Protagoras that “when the boy has learned his letters and is beginning to understand what is written, as before he understood only what was spoken, they [the teachers] put into his hands the works of the great poets, which he reads sitting on a bench at school” (ll. 325–326).

The study of Homerwas a central part of elementary education in Greece because his poems contain moral messages that were deemed vital for children. In addition, the poems represented the ideal form of language that students were expected to mimic so as to preserve the “purity” of Homeric Greek. Thus, Greek education developed a prescriptive stance with respect to language and grammar, defining notions of “correct” and “incorrect” language use in terms of adherence to literary norms that characterized Greek hundreds of years in the past.¹ To better understand the educational difficulties associated with this approach, we might consider what our language arts classeswould be like today if we used the language of Shakespeare as a model for correct English.

Greeks of 6^th century Athens obviously knew that their language was different from what Homer used. The language had changed, as all living languages do. This troubled the Greeks greatly, because they viewed the Homeric period as a golden age. Change necessarily meant decline. And although it may seem ironic to us because we honor the great contributions to civilization that Greece made from about 600 to 300 BC, the Greeks of the period often sawthemselves as living in the dark ages after a fall from the golden age of their legendary heroes. They appear to have responded, in part, by initiating the study of language in an effort to understand its structure and stem the tide of change.

The 6^th century also marked the beginning of what might be called an “intellectual explosion,” typified by the emergence over the next 350 years of heretofore unparalleled art, drama, mathematical discoveries, political theory, and philosophy. As intellectuals began pondering the nature of the world around them, it was natural that they turned their attention to language and began asking questions about its structure. In addition, the rise of democracy and public debate of civic issues exerted a significant influence on all facets of Greek life, especially in Athens.² Citizens needed to speak persuasively and correctly if they were to guide the ship of state. Powerwas linked to speaking ability, which was the result of study and practice. Thus, the careful study of language, both grammatical and rhetorical, grew to paramount importance and formed the basis of Greek education.

During their first 3 years of classes, from about age 6 to 9, students studied the alphabet, reading, spelling, and the beginnings of writing. At around age 9, they began studying grammatical terminology and relations: nouns, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and so on. By age 12, students were focusing on literature, memorizing long passages that celebrated moral virtues, courage, duty, and friendship, and they were introduced to the fundamentals of rhetoric. A majority of young boys finished their formal education at age 14 and began working, either with their fathers or as apprentices. Those from families with the means went on to secondary education, concentrating on rhetoric, music, and mathematics. All males were required to complete 2 years of military duty at age 18, and afterwards it was possible to participate in advanced studies— what we might think of today as college—with a private tutor. The most well-known private tutors, called Sophists, focused their teaching on rhetoric, although their courses of study included other topics.

Even though this book is about grammar, a brief discussion of rhetoric is necessary here. Rhetoric, like grammar, has many different definitions today, but in the ancient world it was understood primarily to be the art of persuasive public speaking. The nature of Greek democracies was such that important decisions, made by a large group of citizens sitting in assembly, often hinged on a leader’s speaking ability. The court system also demanded speaking skill, for all persons appearing in court were required to represent themselves. There were no attorneys. The most famous example of this system at work is the trial of Socrates, reported by his student Plato, in which we see the philosopher answering the charges against him and arguing his case.

Rhetoric was a highly organized field of study in the ancient world. It focused on what are called “the five offices”: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Invention may be best understood as a process of developing topics and arguments. When students in a literature class interpret a novel, for example, they must practice invention not only to develop an interpretation (deciding what to write) but also to find ways to support it. Arrangement involved how best to organize a speech, whereas style was related to the tone or voice of the speech, whether it would be formal or informal, sophisticated or plain. Memory was very important because speakers did not use notes or talking points but had to give the appearance of speaking extempore; also, their speeches were usually quite long—1 or 2 hours—so developing the ability to memorize was crucial to success. Delivery was related to style but focused more on gestures and postures. Many handbooks on rhetoric during the Renaissance, for example, provided numerous illustrations of hand gestures and postures intended to evoke specific responses from audiences.

A counterpart of rhetoric was dialectic, or what is sometimes referred to as “philosophical rhetoric.” Rhetoricwas almost completely pragmatic; that is, its aimwas to get things done through persuasive discourse either in the governing assemblies or in the law courts. Dialectic, however, was not pragmatic but rather sought to discover truth. Plato claimed that philosophical rhetoric would convince the gods themselves (Phaedrus, 273e), and his Socratic dialogues are examples of dialectic. Over the centuries, the understanding of both rhetoric and, especially, dialectic changed, gradually moving closer together. By the time of the late Roman period, St. Augustine could declare in On Dialect (De dialectica) that “Dialectic is the science of arguing well” (I.1). By the Middle Ages, dialectic had changed again and was understood primarily as logic, which was considered a part of grammar.

Both Plato and his student Aristotle wrote about grammar, but the first complete grammar book we know about was written around 100 BC by Dionysius Thrax, a native of Alexandria who taught in both Athens and Rome. His Art of Grammar (Techne grammatike) set the standard for all grammar books until the 20th century. The following excerpt illustrates how his influence exists even today and should seem very familiar: “A sentence is a combination of words, either in prose or verse, making a complete sense.… Of discourse there are eight parts: noun, verb, participle, article, pronoun, preposition, adverb, and conjunction” (Dionysius, 1874, pp. 326–339).

GRAMMAR IN ROME

Greece had several prosperous colonies in Sicily and southern Italy, and the sheer vitality of Greek culture meant that it exerted an important influence on Rome from the earliest days. As Rome grew in power and size, it assimilated numerous Greek customs and practices, including the educational system.Therefore, grammar also held a central place in Roman schools. Dykema (1961) noted that Romans, like the Greeks, believed that knowledge of grammatical terms was fundamental to correct language use.

Indeed, the influence of Greece ran throughout Roman education. Students studied both Greek and Latin poets, following the Greek tradition of basing grammar study on literary texts. The most influential grammars of the Roman period were written by Donatus (Ars grammatica) in the 4th century AD and Priscian (Institutiones grammaticae) in the 6th century AD. These writers were so popular that their texts became the basis for grammar study throughout the Middle Ages.

One of the foremost teachers during the Roman period was Quintilian (circa 35–95 AD), who wrote The Education of the Orator (Institutio de oratoria), a collection of 12 books on education from childhood through adulthood. Quintilian described an educational program that was clearly Greek in almost every respect, with grammar instruction in the early years, followed by logic and rhetoric. This three-part taxonomy came to be called the trivium. Educa-tionwas not compulsory, but, as in Greece, nearly every child, regardless of status, attended school. In an age without electricity, all work, including school work, began at dawn and ended around 2 p.m. We know from Quintilian that students were expected to devote considerable time to homework, or “private study” (1974, I.ii.12). The length of the school year is uncertain, but we do know that classes began toward the end of March and may have ended around the time of the Saturnalia religious festival on December 17.

From ages 6 to 12, students studied the alphabet, reading, writing, and arithmetic. ³ Secondary education was from ages 12 to 16 and was not nearly as universal as primary education owing to the higher cost and the need for children without means to go to work. At the elementary level, students began studying Greek, and this study intensified at the secondary level. Educated people in Rome were expected to be bilingual. The emphasis on grammar—both Latin and Greek—increased as a result, and Quintilian reported that the secondary teacher should be prepared to address the parts of speech, declensions, conjugations, inflections, pronunciation, and syllables (I.iv). Quintilian was a strong advocate for correctness in language, and he argued that the study of grammar would enable students to produce error-free speech and writing. He described the ideal student as one “who is spurred on by praise, delighted by success, and ready to weep over failure” (1974. I.ii.7)—an indication that teachers’ views have changed little in the last 2,000 years.

GRAMMAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Roman education concentrated on what is known as the seven arts of the triv-ium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy). When the Roman Empire collapsed around 475 AD, the educational system that had been in place throughout the Mediterranean for a thousand years disappeared.Within two generations, near universal illiteracy replaced near universal literacy.

The significance of the Greco-Roman education system with respect to grammar was at least twofold. As the Empire expanded, it provided schools or modified curricula in existing schools to meet Roman standards. Grammar instruction throughout Europe therefore had a coherent orientation that emphasized adherence to a literary norm. However, after the Empire collapsed, the fragmented European societies had a new Golden Age—the time of the Empire— and Latin was their bridge to a more civilized and sophisticated past.

The Church emerged from the collapse of civilization not only as the most powerful social force in Europe but also as the sole repository of classical knowledge. Soon it found itself in a difficult position. For at least 200 years before the fall of the Empire, the Church had been a fierce opponent of education. “The wisdom of man is foolish before God”was a favorite expression among the clergy. But rampant illiteracy was an obstacle to priesthood; a priest who could not read could not instruct parishioners in the lessons of the Bible. In this context, knowledge of Latin also became a source of power. Although theVenerable Bede translated portions of the Bible into English as early as the end of the 7th century, vernacular translations were rare and essentially uncirculated. Nearly all copies of the Bible existed only in Latin. Thus, even as the Latin languagewas changing rapidly into Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, the Church schools continued to use Latin as the basis of instruction and continued to teach Latin grammar. When Latin ceased being a living language—that is, when it no longer had any native speakers—the o...