Class 1: An Introduction to Grammar and Grammars

Summary

This tutorial introduces different schools of grammar: normative, traditional, generative, and functional. It explains normative grammar's focus on correctness, contrasting it with social linguists' acceptance of language variation. The video promises further exploration of traditional, generative, and functional grammar in upcoming sessions, inviting viewers to engage with the content on various platforms.

Takeaways

• 📚 The tutorial series will cover different schools of grammar.
• 🏫 The main approaches to grammar include: normative, traditional, generative, and functional grammar.
• 📝 Normative grammar focuses on prescribing what is right or wrong in language use.
• 🌐 Different languages have different normative rules; for example, English and Spanish handle negatives differently.
• 🗣️ Social linguists study the relationship between linguistic forms and the social groups that use them.
• 🎵 An example of a normative grammar critique is the use of 'I can get no satisfaction' from a famous song.
• 🤔 The tutorial raises the question of which approach to language and grammar is correct: social or normative.
• 📅 Future tutorials will explore traditional, generative, and functional grammar in more detail.
• 🔍 The course will occasionally touch on social linguistics, pragmatics, and discourse analysis.
• 🌐 The tutorial encourages viewers to visit the website, follow on social media, and check out the YouTube channel for more content.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the exploration of different schools of grammar and their approaches to language.

What are the different schools of grammar mentioned in the script?

The script mentions four schools of grammar: normative grammar, traditional grammar, generative grammar, and functional grammar.

What does normative grammar focus on?

Normative grammar focuses on determining what is right and wrong in language usage, prescribing correct forms and usage according to established standards.

How does normative grammar differ from social linguistics?

Normative grammar prescribes rules for 'correct' language use, while social linguistics examines the relationship between linguistic forms and the social groups that use them, often accepting variations as valid.

What is an example given in the script where normative grammar and social linguistics might disagree?

The script gives the example of the phrase 'I can get no satisfaction' from a famous song. Normative grammarians might say it's incorrect, while social linguists would accept it as part of regional or social dialects.

What is the role of traditional grammar in the script's discussion?

Traditional grammar is one of the schools of grammar that will be discussed in the following tutorials, though the script does not detail its approach in this excerpt.

What is the significance of generative grammar in the script?

Generative grammar is listed as one of the schools of grammar that will be discussed in future tutorials, implying it has a significant role in the study of language structure.

What does functional grammar focus on according to the script?

The script does not detail functional grammar in this excerpt, but it is one of the schools of grammar that will be discussed in future tutorials.

How does the script suggest the audience can support the production of more material?

The script encourages the audience to visit their website, follow them on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to their YouTube channel to help grow their community and support the creation of more content.

What other approaches to language study are mentioned to be discussed peripherally in the tutorials?

The script mentions that social linguistics, pragmatics, and discourse analysis will be discussed peripherally in the tutorials.

What is the purpose of the tutorials according to the script?

The purpose of the tutorials is to introduce and discuss different approaches to grammar and language study, with a focus on normative, traditional, generative, and functional grammar.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Grammar Schools

The video script begins by introducing the topic of grammar and its various schools. It aims to explore different definitions and approaches to grammar. The script lists four main schools of grammar: normative, traditional, generative, and functional. The focus then narrows down to normative grammar, which is concerned with dictating what is correct or incorrect in language use. Examples are given, such as the incorrect use of 'lay' in English and the allowance of double negatives in Spanish. The script contrasts normative grammar with social linguistics, which studies the relationship between language forms and social groups. It ends by posing the question of which approach to adopt and briefly mentions upcoming tutorials on traditional, generative, and functional grammar, as well as social linguistics and pragmatics.

Keywords

💡Grammar

Grammar refers to the set of rules that dictate the structure of a language, including how words are formed and combined to create sentences. In the video, grammar is the central theme, with different schools of thought presented to explain language usage and correctness.

💡Normative Grammar

Normative Grammar is a prescriptive approach that establishes standards for what is considered correct or proper usage in a language. The video mentions that normative grammarians would correct forms like 'lay' instead of 'leg' and avoid double negatives in English, showing the prescriptive nature of this approach.

💡Traditional Grammar

Traditional Grammar focuses on the historical and conventional rules of language structure. Although not detailed in the script, it is implied that this approach would be one of the topics for future tutorials, suggesting its relevance to the overall discussion on grammar schools.

💡Descriptive Grammar

Descriptive Grammar is an approach that documents and analyzes how language is actually used by speakers, rather than prescribing how it should be used. The script contrasts this with normative grammar, highlighting the difference between prescribing correct language and describing actual usage.

💡Functional Grammar

Functional Grammar examines language in terms of its functions and purposes within communication. The video script indicates that this approach will be discussed in future tutorials, hinting at its importance in understanding the practical use of language.

💡Social Linguists

Social Linguists study the relationship between language and society, including how different social groups use language. The script uses the example of double negatives to illustrate how social linguists might view language use as acceptable within certain dialects or social groups.

💡Prescriptive

Prescriptive refers to the practice of dictating how language should be used, often based on established rules and norms. The video contrasts prescriptive grammar with descriptive approaches, showing a debate between what is correct and what is actually used.

💡Language Variation

Language Variation is the concept that language changes and differs across regions, social groups, and contexts. The video script mentions regional and social dialects as examples of variation, emphasizing the diversity in language use.

💡Dialects

Dialects are regional or social varieties of a language that have distinct vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The script uses dialects to illustrate how language rules can differ across communities, affecting what is considered grammatically correct.

💡Linguistic Forms

Linguistic Forms refer to the structures and elements of language, such as syntax, morphology, and phonology. The video discusses how these forms relate to social groups, indicating that language structure can be influenced by social factors.

💡Pragmatics

Pragmatics is the study of how context influences meaning in language. Although mentioned as a peripheral topic in the script, pragmatics is crucial for understanding how language is used in real-world communication beyond strict grammatical rules.

Highlights

Introduction to different schools of grammar

Definition of normative grammar

Normative grammar dictates right and wrong language use

Example of normative grammar in English: correct past tense forms

Differences in normative grammar across languages

Social linguists' perspective on language use

Social linguistics focuses on the relationship between language forms and social groups

Example of social linguistics: regional or social dialects

The decision between adopting a social or normative view of language

Introduction to traditional grammar

Introduction to generative grammar

Introduction to functional grammar

Plan to discuss traditional, generative, and functional grammar in future tutorials

Occasional mentions of social linguistics and pragmatics

Mention of peripheral approaches like discourse analysis

Encouragement to visit the website for more tutorials

Invitation to follow on Instagram and Facebook for updates

Promotion of the YouTube channel for free tutorials and courses

Thank you note and closing

Transcripts

[Music]

hi

this is of tutorials we will be dealing

with grammar or rather different

definitions of grammar or different

schools of grammar so basically what we

will know is what is grammar or rather

which are the different schools of

grammar so the next question we want

answer is which are the different

approaches or schools of grammar here is

a non-inclusive list number one

normative grammar number two traditional

grammar number three

jayati grammar number four functional

grammar the next question we will answer

is what does each of this approach is

focused on so what is normative grammar

well no matter grammar or grammarians

will tell us what is right and what is

wrong

for instance they would tell us that in

English the verb lie as a past form leg

now laid is the wrong form is the right

form and we will also learn that in

English we can use double negatives we

can't say for instance I don't know

nothing we should say I don't know

anything in Spanish however we to say no

sin Allah I don't know nothing

so in different languages different

normative grammars would tell people

what they should say what they can say

and what they cannot say on the other

hand there are some linguists called

social linguists who will focus on the

relationship that there exists between

linguistic forms and the social groups

that make use of those in those

linguistic forms therefore if we look at

the expressions such as I can get the

satisfaction aligned from a very famous

song some normative Ramirez will say

that that is wrong whereas social

linguists will say that there is ok

there is a line used by some people

speaking some either regional or social

dialects

so I can get no satisfaction with your

k4 loom whereas I can get most of your

fat so this faction will be wrong or

normative or prescriptive grammarians

so the question seems to be which

approach do we decide to adopt what is

right and what is wrong

depends on whether we adopt is socially

wasting view of language or language and

grammar or a normative prescriptive view

of language or grammar so we have just

briefly introduced the first approach

normative a prescriptive grammar in the

following tutorials we will be

discussing traditional grammar genetic

grammar and functional grammar in turn

this will take quite some time and but

we will focus on these three approaches

mainly and from time to time we will get

a word in on social linguistics

pragmatics discourse analysis but this

will be more peripheral approaches to

this course if you like our tutorials

and videos please visit our websites WWF

own language comm or follow us on

instagram at FM language and also on

Facebook if M language studies and

teaching this will help us grow and keep

producing material for you see you and

last but not least we also have our

YouTube channel which is also FM

language there you can watch some of our

tutorials and courses for free thank you

[Music]