Regarding the touchstone of grammar

[branchandroot]

The Stages of Grammar:

1. Innocence. "Grammar? What's that? I'm just tryin to write, here, man."

2. Knowledge of Good and Evil. "This is a noun. This is a verb. This is a comma. This is a comma splice... oh, crap."

3. Dogmatism. "The rules say it is wrong to start a sentence with a preposition, for ever and ever amen."

4. Evangelism. "I know all the rules, and when I see an error I must point it out!"

5. (If a grammarian soul progresses past Evangelism, several variations may manifest in the penultimate stage.)

--A. Relativism. "Correct grammar depends on context, such as dialogue versus instruction."

--B. Apostasy. "Who needs grammar? It's all arbitrary! There is no truth!"

--C. Enthusiasm. "We shall remake grammar entirely, cleaving only to the original linguistic structures of English! Down with the corrupt and luxurious dictates of the Latinists!"

6. Ethical Grammar. "Language is a living and fluid thing. The need for consistent written structures to aid comprehension must be balanced with the changing ways language users shape the language by their use."

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Comments

[stormyseasons]

hehehe...I wonder if students of the English Language department in the universities who actually have an enthusiasm for syntax and grammar count in stage 6...

[branchandroot]

Sometimes! Though I expect many of them are at 4 and have a crisis of faith in their future...

[stormyseasons]

..at least, my current classmates seem to be at stage 6. at least in front of the lecturer anyway. given the many headaches grammar theory gives us. by the time we survive syntax 2201, we're past the crisis of faith stage and into the 'how can we describe grammar better' stage