Tuesday, October 30, 2007

#10. Grammar and Learning Language

Why do we learn grammar? Is it essential to learning a language?
Based on my experience of learning and teaching grammar, it seems like a good supplement but not a necessity to learning language. We can get what we want to say across in ungrammatical sentences, and we can understand other people who speak "wrongly." However, for everyone to communicate in the most effective (and by this, I mean least ambiguous) way, there needs to be an established set of rules governing what people say and how they say it. Using correct grammar lessens misunderstandings and misinterpretations between people. So the question arises: can grammar only be acquired through formal learning or do we absorb grammar as we do words when we're young? And another question follows from this train of thought: is there more of a necessity to learn grammar when we're learning second languages?

We can acquire our first languages as babies without formally being taught grammar at all. The linguist Patrick Hartwell divided grammar into some categories. "Grammar 1 refers to the internalized set of linguistic patterns that convey meaning. Grammar involves rules of phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics that are all internalized, usually by the age of 5." In other words, Grammar 1 is the grammar that allows us as babies to construct meaningful phrases and that which we use unconsciously on a daily basis. "Grammar 2 deals with linguist’s attempts to describe and analyze formal language patterns." Both Grammar 1 & 2 are usually what linguists concern themselves with the most.
Chomsky expanded his original theory of an innate language acquisition device (LAD) to Universal Grammar, "a single grammatical system which is transmitted genetically and accounts for the ability of all normal humans to learn and speak their native language." According to Chomsky, Universal Grammar is what allows children to deduce the structure of their native languages from "mere exposure." I think this is what Hartwell would call Grammar 1.
So we don't need to be taught grammar when we're babies. So why do they make us study what nouns and verbs are in school? Apparently, educators cannot agree on their answer to this question. They've even called them the "Grammar Wars."
Hartwell's Grammar 3 and 4 are the types of grammar we learn in school. These are the established rules for "proper" writing and speaking. According to my limited research, instruction of grammar began with the Greeks. They weren't so strict about "correctness," though. Grammar had more to do with style. This evolved into an isolated instruction of prescribed rules. English teachers have believed that this system works well, but a New Zealand study conducted by Elley, Barham, Lamb, and Wyllie (1975) found that English grammar instruction had “virtually no influence on the language growth of typical secondary students.” Another study (Harris, 1962) found that five high school students who received two years of formal grammar instruction performed worse on a test about sentence complexity and surface errors than students who recieved no such education.
So, I didn't really find the answer to my question. I'm continuously finding out that language or linguistics is a difficult field to study. There are no real certain answers, only lots of speculation. So, here's my two cents:
From my experience as a semi-native speaker of English and Korean and a student of French as a second language, I think some grammar is innate and some has to be learned. The innate part is sufficient for simple communication. Babies can say "me want cookie" and parents can understand them just fine. We somehow acquire the basics of stringing words together to make sense. So as long as I know enough of the words in French, I can make crude sentences like a baby. Speakers of English as a second language often have trouble with putting "the"s and "a/an"s in the right places. They might say "After the graduation, I can get the job to earn the money," and even though it sounds awkward, we can understand what they're saying. But not perfectly. Hence, the need for rules. Knowing and employing perfect grammar doesn't make you a great writer or the most effective speaker, but it helps you express your thoughts the best way they can be expressed. So we should learn grammar, but not emphasize it so much that it clouds the more important skills, such as writing well and speaking persuasively.

http://www.msu.edu/user/patter90/grammar.htm
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/foreignlang/conf/grammar.html
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?noframes;read=984
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003934.html
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/lang/gloss.php

2 comments:

Warner S said...

I like that you differentitated between grammar in our first and second languages. For me personally, I use better grammar in my second language. If someone (or myself) uses a bad grammatical sentence in English (such as using "good" instead of "well'), I rarely notice. However if someone in Spanish says "Estoy bueno", I like freak out because I know it doesn't make sense grammatically. I think this is because I was taught Spanish grammar and structure very strictly while learning it, whereas English kind of developed on its own. But it's definitely an interesting concept-I mean, in reality why is saying "I'm good" such an issue? We clearly understand what is being said. Very interesting post :)

Autumn Albers said...

i apologize-someone was using my computer and it automaticall put there name in for posting haha. "warner's" comment is mine :)