Republic of Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

Laoang Campus

Laoang N. Samar

SUBJECT Principles and Theories of Language Acquistion

INSTRUCTOR Dr. Ma. Asuncion G. Desales

TITLE GRAMMAR

REPORTER Carl jay G. Acedera

COURSE/YEAR. BSED I - ENGLISH MAJOR

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WHAT IS GRAMMAR?

We use the term "grammar" with a systematic ambiguity. On the one hand, the term refers to
the explicit theory constructed by the linguist and proposed as a description of the speaker's
competence. On the other hand, it refers to this cimpetence itself.

N. Chomsky and M. Halle, The sound Pattern of English

GRAMMAR

• The structure and system of a language, or of languages in general, usually considered to

consist of syntax and morphology
DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR

• The sounds and sound patterns, the basic units of meaning, such as words, and the rules to
combine them to form new sentences constitute the grammar of a language. The grammar,
then, is what we know; it represents our linguistic competence. To understand the nature of
this internalized,unconcious set of rules, which is part of every grammar of every language.

Every human being who speaks a language knows its grammar. When linguists wish to
describe a language, they attempt to describe the grammar of the language that exists in the
mind of its speakers. There maybe some differences among speakers knowledge, but there
must be shared knowledge, because it is the grammar that makes it posisible to communicate
through language. To the extent that the linguist's description is a true model of speakers'
linguistic capacity, it will be a successful deacription of the grammar and of the language itself.
Such a model is called a descriptive grammar. It does not tell you how you should speak; it
describes your basic linguistic knowledge. It explains how it is possible for you to speak and
understand, and it tells what you know about the sounds, words, phrases, and sentences of
your language.