Grammar Essay
Q1: a) Prescriptive grammar is a book of rules governing the socially correct usage of the English language. It can be categorized as an ‘applied’ grammar since it is very much grammar in everyday use. However, despite its common use and application in everyday language, many educationalists and linguists see prescriptive grammar, including its cult of correctness, as problematic. Problematic in the sense that is has been criticized for not taking account of language change and stylistic variation, and for imposing the norms of some groups on all users of a language (1998), particularly the use of the English language. In addition, educationalists and linguists questioned whether isolated instruction in the rules of language use and the names of the parts of language transfer into an ability to write clearly and fluently. It has been discussed by linguists as exemplifying specific attitudes to language and usage (1998). Somehow, the classic trivium of grammar, rhetoric, and logic has lost much of its power. In addition, problems can be encountered in terms of pronunciation and grammar. The underlying rationale is that some people speak the ‘correct version’ of the language, and that other people speak a dialect, such as of diglossia, or the division of a language in ‘high’ and ‘low’ forms to be used by people of high and low status respectively. As it is taught in the classroom, an emphasis on accuracy in the fluency of language instruction is first achieved. In other words, the students are encouraged to speak first to develop confidence, and then to examine errors later. This has often been accompanied by a perception that standards of written and spoken language are falling since measurements of language performance is often done in relation to accuracy rather than fluency or creativity in language use (2007).
b) Both prescriptive and descriptive types of grammar, among other types, are used in discourse. As mentioned earlier, prescriptive grammar is the grammar applied in everyday use. It establishes a ‘correct’ way to speak or write, and is based on an appeal to ‘logical principles’ and Latin grammar in the guise of English. In addition, prescriptive approach is easier to teach, as it there is always one right answer ( 1993), thus, is explicitly taught in schools. It has been reported that this type of grammar is an account of a language that sets out rules or prescriptions for how it should be used and for what should not be used, based on norms derived from a particular model of grammar (1998). This approach insists that however many variables might be found, there are better and worse choices, and it will specify at least which is most appropriate, more likely which is acceptable, or, in its most rigorous application, which is correct ( 1993). On the other hand, in comparison to prescriptive grammar, descriptive grammar is also an applied grammar, which represents an approach that describes the grammatical constructions that are used in a language, without making any evaluative judgments about their ‘correctness’ or otherwise. It attempts to precisely describe the linguistic processes a particular user employs, and does not tell the user how to speak or understand. In descriptive grammars, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ ways to speak or write. This type of approach may offer several possible answers, each appropriate in one or another context. Even in spelling and pronunciation, where prescription may seem less problematic, description may sometimes be more nearly accurate. Prescription says judgment is the correct spelling, but description accurately points out that even Edited English considers judgement correct too ( 1993). Another example or application of this difference can be observed in the use of the Microsoft Word program of computers. The Microsoft Word program automatically marks and/or corrects the typewritten word, phrase, or sentence, which it believes not to comply with the English standard. In this regard, the type of grammar being used in the Microsoft Word program is the prescriptive grammar, thus, if a descriptive grammar or approach would be used, then it will be marked or automatically changed by the program itself.
Q2: It has been reported that register is an important term in stylistic analysis, as it refers to a distinctive style of utterance that is related to the context of that utterance. In stylistics and sociolinguistics, it refers to a variety of language defined according to its use in social situations. In grammar, the term is seen as specifically opposed to varieties of language defined according to the characteristics of the user. In this regard, it can be understood that register in this sense also refers to the style of language a user employs in order to express a certain message (2007). As such, a number of factors must be taken note off in order to be able to convey and express a certain message. Such factors influence a particular writer or speaker, as these factors serve to motivate, hinder, limit, encourage, and feed the amount and type of information or style one is supposed to be using in expressing a message. These factors are primarily social factors, for social factors emphasizes the fact that human beings are social beings, thus, speaking and listening cannot solely be done individually. This stresses the fact that users of any language need a listener, to which the message is intended to be conveyed.
Social factors include the receiver of the message or the person a user is talking to, the origin, ethnicity or the nationality of the speaker and the listener or receiver, the topic of the conversation, the purpose of the discussion or conversation, and the location from where the speaker and the listener is. Such social factors are important in determining the choice of language or style/register one would be using. Anyhow, one can switch from one language code or style to the other depending on the estimation of how effective a particular code or style will serve a particular purpose. For example, such choose of register or style is important in the use of a particular language in Hong Kong, particularly in terms of linguistic repertoire, or the notion that all language users have a variety of ways of expressing themselves in speech or in writing. Each of these ways of using language is associated with a particular social context or social meaning. In Hong Kong, since there are many bilingual and trilingual language users, there are many interesting and characteristic ways in which Hong Kong people use different languages, and often in the same conversation. In societies like Hong Kong where multilingualism is the norm, different languages acquire different social meanings, and switching between them is an important communicative strategy. In terms of the user and the receiver of the language or message, the style or language to be used depends upon the comfortable language used by both speaker and listener. If the speaker knows how to speak two languages or more, he or she must use the style or language that must be understood by the receiver or listener. In terms of the origin or ethnicity of both the speaker and the listener, one has the option to speak his or her ‘mother tongue’ in expressing or conveying a particular message. The language and style to be used is also dependent upon the purpose and the topic of the discussion, thus, becoming important social factors in terms of using a particular style or language. Equally important is the location from where the speaker and the listener are. For example, one might speak Cantonese socially, use English and Mandarin at work, and sometimes use Malay in telephone calls to friends in Singapore. This is important in the relevant existence of the speech community, which is defined by the common patterns of language use in a particular community. Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong form a large and influential local speech community, but the existence of a number of speech communities in Hong Kong makes it a multilingual community. In addition, interlanguage or pidgin language also exists in Hong Kong, which is neither a standard form of the mother tongue nor a standard form of the target language to be learned. The pidgin language develops between people who do not have a common language, but it is not a learner’s language. It has no native speakers and has a narrow range of functions, usually in trade. ‘Chinglish’ or the mixture of Chinese and English used by early traders in Hong Kong is an example (2007).
Q3: It has been reported that if there is cohesion and coherence in a written text, then the sentences display some kind of mutual dependence. Words, phrases, and sentences do not occur at random, thus, eliciting the expression or conveying the message effectively and efficiently. Coherence is achieved by the information structure in a text. It refers to the way the ideas and concepts in a text are similarly connected together, and thus, is related to the concept of cohesion, which refers to techniques and devices that an author or speaker uses to ‘glue’ a text together (2007). In this regard, the concept of coherence is determined as the ‘glueness’ or sticking together of the texts in order to convey a particular meaning. On the other hand, the concept of cohesion is determined as the different means in order for texts to be connected to one another. In addition, the way in which an author develops the topic or topics in a text is also an important part of the information structure of the text. Topic development is often revealed by the use of linking words such as, ‘first’, ‘next’, and ‘finally’. In between paragraphs, topic development is an important feature of text cohesion. As such, it can be perceived that good cohesion is evident when the interpretation of one feature is clearly dependent upon another elsewhere in the sequence (2007).
In relation to such concepts, two linguists, namely, have written extensively about cohesion in texts in 1989, and have identified several types of cohesive devices, which can be used in order to observe and analyze the cohesion and coherence in a sentence. These cohesive devices include conjunctive relations, coreference, substitution, ellipsis, repeated forms, lexical relationships, and comparison, and would be discussed in detail. Conjunctive relations is a type of cohesion device, which determines that what is about to be said is explicitly related to what has been said before, through such notions as contrast, result and time. Conjunctive elements are not devices for reaching out into the preceding or following text like reference, ellipsis or substitution. Rather, they are cohesive by virtue of their specific meanings. In a specific grammar book of Mandarin Chinese, the function of conjunction is called ‘sentence linking’, with two kinds, namely, forward-linking and backward-linking. The positions of the linking elements in Chinese can be unpredictable (2004). In this sense, it can be perceived that the conjunctive linking in the English and the Chinese languages are not similar. Using conjunctive devices in the English language would produce a different meaning in the Chinese language. Another cohesion device is coreference, which refers to features that cannot be semantically interpreted without referring to some other feature in the text. Anaphoric or backward interpretation and cataphoric or forward interpretation must be recognized in order to produce the right meaning. This emphasizes the relationship between two items in which both refer to the same person or thing and one stands as a linguistic antecedent of the other. The third cohesion device is substitution, which replaces a previous expression with another. Ellipsis on the other hand is a piece of structure that is omitted, and can be recovered only from the preceding discourse. It is very common in both spoken and written English. Repeated forms are expressions repeated in whole or in part. This is used in order to repeatedly refer to the topic or subject talked about in the sentence or conversation. Lexical relationships establish semantic, through synonymy, paraphrase and collocation, and pragmatic or presupposition connectedness, in which it operates over larger stretches of text since it establishes chains of related references. In this regard, one lexical item enters into a structural relationship with another. The last form of cohesion device is comparison, in which a compared expression is presupposed in the previous discourse (2007).
From the model of cohesion and its underlying devices, it can be understood and perceived that this model is an important aspect in the analysis of sentences and texts. This is because through this model, one would be able to realize and examine the cohesion and coherence of words, phrases, and sentences that would be essential in providing meaning and relevance to the speaker and listener. In addition, this model would serve to be an excellent guide, which would serve to provide information and knowledge on any human being, willing to learn and understand a specific language. In today’s generation, communication and interrelationship are one of the most important aspects in terms of improvement and development, thus, the model of cohesion would be an edge for any individual, who aims to communicate effectively. Another importance of knowing this model is the appreciation that would follow if a particular individual knows how to interpret, translate, and understand texts. As such, new knowledge and skills are gained, which can be used in one’s advantage.
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