2. Definition
An approach to grammar which suggests that the
grammar of a language should be according to its
actual use, not how it should be used as the
description of Latin grammar. It is in contrast to The
Prescriptive Approach
3. Definition
Native speaker and those who have natural exposure
to the language are not taught the rules of grammar
but still they are aware of whether this grammatical
construction is good or not. Descriptive Grammar is
not judgmental. It drives rules from the use of
language.
4. In linguistics:
● we take a descriptive approach, not a prescriptive one;
● we’re interested in what people do say (descriptive) not
what they should say (prescriptive).
5. Linguistics:
● describes utterances
● describes languages
● takes a descriptive approach to language
● is not about what people ‘ought to say’
Example:
I didn’t see nobody and I didn’t do nothing.
6. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS:
This is one type of descriptive approach in which a test framework is organised and
different categories are put into empty slots. For example.
i. I heard a __ yesterday.
ii. The __ makes a lot of noise.
We can put categories like cat, radio, child, car, etc, in these slots. As all these
categories are fit into these slots we assume that these belong to one grammatical
category "noun."
7. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS:
There are many categories which cannot fit into these slots such as Cathy, Mary, the
professor with Irish accent, the cat, etc. For this we have to devise a new test
framework which could be like this.
i. __ makes a lot of noise.
These categories (the cat, the professor with Irish accent, etc )are fit into these slots,
more appropriately these categories are "noun phrases."
ii. I heard ___ yesterday.
8. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS:
In Latin description pronouns were "used in place of nouns" but with these
exercises like structural analysis we can look that it is more appropriate to
say that "pronouns are used in place of noun phrases (not just nouns)" as
we can see that "the cat, the professor with Irish accent," etc are noun
phrases.
