Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Teaching English

View Poll Results: Which is better?
Descriptive Grammar 182 69.47%
Prescriptive Grammar 80 30.53%
Voters: 262. This poll is closed

Closed Thread
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 17-Aug-2003, 16:47
Editor, UsingEnglish.com
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 34,371
Home Country: UK
Native Language: British English
Current Location: Philippines
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

Which do you prefer?
  #2  
Old 18-Aug-2003, 10:06
Red5's Avatar
Webmaster, UsingEnglish.com
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,166
Home Country: England
Native Language: British English
Current Location: England
Member Type: Interested in Language
Default

For reference:

Descriptive Grammar

Prescriptive Grammar
__________________
Red5
Webmaster, UsingEnglish.com
  #3  
Old 11-Nov-2005, 16:33
Newbie
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2
Exclamation Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

I've got a big request. Write me the titles of good books which describe descriptive and prescriptive grammar, please.
  #4  
Old 12-Nov-2005, 08:40
Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Threadstarter  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 34,371
Home Country: UK
Native Language: British English
Current Location: Philippines
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

For descritpive grammar, this is very good:
http://www.usingenglish.com/amazon/us/0194420981.html (Michael Swan Practical English Usage)
For presecriptive grammar, try Fowler's English Usage:
http://www.usingenglish.com/amazon/us/0198610211.html

Last edited by Red5; 05-Dec-2006 at 22:48.
  #5  
Old 10-Feb-2006, 06:06
Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 19
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

Descriptive has the edge in my opinion but prescriptive also has a role to play.

Language use is forever evolving and it should because old forms are often unnecessarily complex or do not serve current needs.

For example, "swimmed" is often used rather than swam in common speech. Why should people have to learn countless irregular verb forms just because they survived the modernization of the English language? Although it makes me cringe, there is nothing inherently better about the form "went" verses the form "goed". It's just an archaic convention.

The prescriptive approach is also valuable in that universal comprehension requires that everyone "speaks the same language". There are already many different regional forms of English. To an extent localized variations of English defeat the core purpose of language, communication.
  #6  
Old 26-Feb-2006, 23:56
Sebaylias's Avatar
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 37
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

If you're a linguist than it must, or can only be descriptive, if you're a teacher of English than both must play a part.
That's all really.

Presriptive grammar no longer exists for us linguists since it is our job to describe what we see/hear not inform what it should be in BBC English :)
  #7  
Old 14-Mar-2006, 06:35
Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 13
Member Type: Student or Learner
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

While studying TESL I discovered I learnt grammar in the descriptive manner. I may not know for sure what is wrong in certain sentences but I was able to get top marks for English at every school exam.
  #8  
Old 19-Aug-2006, 17:39
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,064
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

"Which is better?" is the wrong question. The major problem with prescriptive grammar has been, and it continues to this day, that most, many, whatever the number, of the "rules" of prescriptive grammar are simply false.

Even the prescriptions that work, methods of citation, punctuation, the little conventionss we use for writing are not cast in stone.

There actually isn't any such thing as prescriptive grammar. If there is/was a prescription, it is/was false. Why? Because prescriptive grammar simply delineates correct versus incorrect based on mere opinions. How can any scientific pursuit be based on opinions? It's an impossibility!

Descriptive grammar completely fills the bill. It lets us know where each and every collocation [in a wider sense, not in the narrow sense of one sentence/utterance] used by a native speaker fits into the language.

Last edited by riverkid; 20-Aug-2006 at 02:10.
  #9  
Old 02-Sep-2006, 15:48
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 12,971
Member Type: Other
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

Quote:
Originally Posted by riverkid View Post
How can any scientific pursuit be based on opinions? It's an impossibility!
Quite interesting since that's the exact argument traditionalists have in the past used against descriptive grammars. Seems as if the winds are changing: same flow, different direction.

The thing is, both camps are housed with rules; both have something worthwhile to offer. Why choose just the one?

I agree with you river, " 'Which is better?' is the wrong question", but is sure does make for a great debate.
  #10  
Old 03-Sep-2006, 08:20
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,335
Default Re: Descriptive or Prescriptive grammar?

I agree with Riverkid and Casiopea - it's a wrong question. One does not exclude the other. The question is a fallacy which I ,unfortunately, can't define (contradictory premises?).
Closed Thread

Bookmarks

Tags
prescriptive, grammar, descriptive


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Is there a grammar of spoken English? M56 General Language Discussions 25 09-Feb-2009 00:58
prescriptive and descriptive language vegas Ask a Teacher 3 12-Mar-2007 06:17
hi, What is prescriptive and descriptive grammar? Mad-ox Ask a Teacher 5 14-Dec-2006 09:36
Prescriptive grammar and Descriptive grammar zoobinshid Ask a Teacher 7 08-Sep-2005 13:25
prescriptive vs descriptive Anonymous Ask a Teacher 1 11-Oct-2004 06:02


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:19.



Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.