
Grammar Without Grammaticality
Growth and Limits of Grammatical Precision
De Gruyter Mouton (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 20. June 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
XVII, 341 pages
978-3-11-048806-7 (ISBN)
Description
Linguists have standardly assumed that grammar is about identifying all and only the 'good' sentences of a language, which implies that there must be other, 'bad' sentences- but in practice most linguists know that it is hard to pin those down. The standard assumption is no more than an assumption. A century ago, grammarians did not think about their subject that way, and our book shows that the older idea was right: linguists can and should dispense with the concept 'starred sentence'. We draw on corpus data in order to support a different model of grammar, in which individuals refine positive grammatical habits to greater or lesser extents in diverse and unpredictable directions, but nothing is ever ruled out. Languages are not merely alternative methods of verbalizing universal logical forms. We use empirical evidence to shed light on the routes by which school-age children gradually expand their battery of grammatical resources, which turn out to be sometimes counter-intuitive. Our rejection of the 'starred sentence' concept has attracted considerable discussion, and we summarize the reactions and respond to our critics. The contrasting models of grammar described in this book entail contrasting pictures of human nature; our closing chapter shows that grammatical theory is not value-neutral but has an ethical dimension.
Reviews / Votes
"Overall, this is an important work that all linguists should read (even/especially if they are generative grammarians)."Helen Aristar-Dry in: LINGUIST List 25.4363More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Berlin/Boston
Germany
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student
Product notice
Klappenbroschur
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
534 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-11-048806-7 (9783110488067)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Geoffrey Sampson | Anna Babarczy
Grammar Without Grammaticality
Growth and Limits of Grammatical Precision
Book
12/2013
1st Edition
De Gruyter Mouton
€189.95
Shipment within 7-9 days

Geoffrey Sampson | Anna Babarczy
Grammar Without Grammaticality
Growth and Limits of Grammatical Precision
E-Book
11/2013
1st Edition
De Gruyter Mouton
€189.95
Available for download
Persons
G. Sampson, University of South Africa & Sussex University; A. Babarczy, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary.