PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR vs DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR

Descriptive Grammar

 Focuses on describing the language as it is used, not saying how it should be used.
 Think about a prescriptive rule like “Don’t split infinitives”. A descriptive grammarian would see
a sentence like “To boldly go where no man has gone before” and would try to describe how the
mental grammar can cause that ordering of words, rather than saying that the surface form is
faulty due to prescriptive rules.
 Focuses on describing the manner how either native or non-native speakers use the language on
a daily basis. Therefore, it includes a set of rules about language based on how it is actually
used, not how it should be used. Linguists often follow this approach to grammar, where they
can study the rules or patterns that underlie the speaker’s use of words and sentences.
 Since this approach basically focuses on identifying and explaining the varied use of the
language according to the user, this grammar discipline does not explain what is correct and
what is incorrect. In other words, one can also describe this grammar approach as an ‘objective
description of the grammatical constructions of the language’.

Prescriptive Grammar

 Describes when people focus on talking about how a language should or ought to be used.
 In a similar way, a prescriptive grammar tells you how you should speak, and what type of
language to avoid. This is commonly found in English classes as well as other language classes,
where the aim is to teach people how to use language in a very particular (typically described as
‘proper’ or ‘correct’) way.
 Explains or rather prescribes rules on how a language should or ought to be used by the
speakers. As a result, prescriptive grammar consists of a set of rules that teach the speaker the
most accurate and the correct manner to use the language, highlighting what should be used
and what should be avoided so that he can achieve that certain grammar and the language
standard.
 In a way attempts to enforce rules concerning “correct” or “incorrect” language usage, unlike
descriptive grammar. In brief, this approach to grammar specifies how a language should be
used and what rules should be followed as derived from a particular model of grammar.
Prescriptive grammars are often employed for teaching those who use nonstandard or non-
native language forms. The terms ‘prescriptivism’ and ‘normative grammar’ also refer to this
approach to grammar.
 Accordingly, as described by Greenbaum, (1996) “…A prescriptivist view of language implies a
distinction between “good grammar” and “bad grammar,” and its primary focus is on standard
forms of grammar and syntactic constructions. Among native speakers of practically any
language, a prescriptivism approach to grammar often encompasses many ideas, opinions, and
judgments about how and when grammar rules should be used.”
Prescriptive vs Descriptive Grammar

For example, if a person says;

“He and me were arguing about the presentation”.

A descriptive grammarian will explain this sentence as grammatical while a prescriptive grammarian will
say this sentence is incorrect since it has violated the standard grammar rules with the incorrect usage of
‘me’ with “He” (where it should be He and I). Therefore, prescriptive grammar attempts to establish the
standard in the language.

DEFINITION

 Descriptive grammar is the approach to grammar that is concerned with describing the usage of
language by native or non-native speakers without reference to proposed norms of correctness
or advocacy of rules based on such norms.
 Prescriptive grammar, on the other hand, is an approach to grammar that is concerned with
establishing norms of correct and incorrect usage and formulating rules based on these norms
to be followed by users of the language.

PRINCIPLE

 Descriptive grammar takes the principle that the language usage can vary according to varied
speakers. Thus, it does not consider what ‘correct’ or incorrect grammar is.
 Prescriptive grammar takes the principle that the long existed grammar rules created by the
native speakers are the ‘correct’ and the variations are ‘incorrect.’

GRAMMAR RULES

 The rules are made according to the daily usage of the language by the speakers. Therefore , no
specific or standard rules are there in descriptive grammar, rather the rules describe and explain
the speaker’s manner of language usage. On the contrary, there are specified and standard set
or grammar rules in prescriptive grammar that should be followed by the speaker in their usage.

CONCLUSION

 Descriptive and prescriptive grammar are two approaches to grammar in a language. While
descriptive grammar is a subjective study of the use of language by speakers , prescriptive
grammar attempts to impose certain normative grammar rules on the speakers in order to
reach the accepted standard of that language.
 FORMAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND PEDAGOGIC GRAMMAR

FORMAL OR FUNCTIONAL?

If the voice of the sentence is passive...

A. How can the sentence be written into active?

B. Why did the speaker use passive voice?

Formal Grammar

 Sees grammar as a set of rules which specify all the possible grammatical structures of the
language.
 Identifies distinctions between grammatical sentences and ungrammatical sentences.
 Focuses on the forms of grammatical structures and their relationship to one another.

Functional Grammar

 Sees language first and foremost as a system of communication and analyzes grammar to
discover how it is organized to allow speakers and writers to make and exchange meanings.
 Focuses on the appropriateness of a form for a particular communicative purpose in a particular
context.
 Is concerned with the functions of structures and their constituents and with their meanings in
context.

EXAMPLE:

STATEMENT

1. I had also been rejected by the law faculty.

ANALYSIS

 In analyzing the voice of this sentence, both formal and functional grammarians would agree in
calling it a passive voice sentence.

Formal Grammarian

 Would be primarily interested in finding the best abstract representation of the structure of the
sentence and in how it might be related to the structure of the active voice sentence.
o (1) I had also been rejected by the law faculty.
o (1) a. The law faculty had also rejected me.
Formal Grammar Analysis

 Rules can be set out to show how sentence 1 may be derived from sentence 1a. These would
specify (1) the movement of the constituent the law faculty to a position at the end of the
sentence following the preposition by; (2) the movement of the constituent me to the front of
the sentence and its change in form to /; and (3) the change from had . . . rejected (an active
form of the verb) to had . . . been rejected (a passive form of the verb).

Functional Grammarian

 Would also take note of such formal differences between the active and passive structures.
However, he or she would be more concerned with questions such as:
o How the communicative effect of the message in the sentence is different when it begins
with rather than with the law faculty,
o What the effect is of putting the law faculty at the end of the sentence, and
o What features of the context may have led the writer to select passive rather than active
voice.

Functional Grammar Analysis

 Voice system shows emphasis of the subject whether it is the doer or the receiver. A speaker
may decide which voice to use depending on what he wants to emphasize. In sentence 1, the
speaker must have wanted to emphasize himself as the victim of the situation or action caused
by the law faculty, rather than the people who have caused the situation.

Pedagogical Grammar

 Pedagogical grammar refers to the grammatical content taught to a student learning a language
other than his or her first language or the methods used in teaching that content. The goal of
this type of grammar is primarily to increase fluency and accuracy of speech, rather than to
impart theoretical knowledge.
 Courses in pedagogical grammar often teach students about grammatical concepts that are
intuitive to a native speaker, but may be difficult for a nonnative speaker.
 A native English speaker needs little instruction in order to invert words in a sentence to form a
question; that is, "You do know me" becomes "Do you know me?" Someone learning English as
a second or foreign language, however, might need an explanation of how to make this
inversion.
 Occupies a middle ground between the areas of prescriptive and descriptive grammar.
 In order for a language learner to speak well, most of his or her utterances will need to conform
to the grammatical rules set forth in prescriptive grammar. On the other hand, it helps to
understand the way native speakers actually use language — through descriptive grammar . This
is necessary for the learner to make sense of slang or other non-standard ways of speaking, such
as ending sentences with prepositions.