This document discusses different types of grammar including descriptive, prescriptive, traditional, and modern grammar. It provides examples to illustrate each type. Prescriptive grammar specifies how language should be used by following certain rules, while descriptive grammar objectively describes how a language is actually used. Traditional grammar is based on Latin grammar principles and is prescriptive, focusing on distinguishing correct from incorrect usage. The origin of language was debated in ancient Greece between views that language is natural or a social convention. Both sides provided arguments but ultimately language is viewed as naturally developing over time through social interactions.

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1. Meaning of Grammar.
The term grammar is used in number of different senses. The grammar of language may be
understood to a full description of the form and meaning of the sentences of a language or else it
may cover only certain, variously the limited, parts of such a description.
According to Cowan (2008) grammar is the set of rules that describes how words and group of
words can be arranged to form sentences in particular language.
Generally, grammar is the set of structural rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases,
and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules and this
field includes phonology, morphology, and syntax, often complemented by phonetics, semantics
and pragmatics.
Grammar can be classified as descriptive, prescriptive, traditional or modern grammar.
Meaning of prescriptive grammar.
Prescriptive grammar, specifies how language should be used and what grammar rules should be
followed. The main objectives to the prescriptive grammar is the treatment of styles, there are
three styles; formal, informal, and neutral. For instance.
i. He advised us to by whom it had been designed? (formal)
ii. Who had it been designed by. (Informal)
iii. He know how had designed it. (Neutral)

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Prescriptive grammar, can be largely seen as guiding principles of language style and standard
usage socially accepted as norms of effective communication. (Hinkel, 2004). Prescriptive
is a set of explicit rules for using language that are taught or enforced, so that people will use the
language in a particular way. Prescriptive grammar aims to tell its readers what grammatical
rules they should follow. (Huddleston, 1984).
Prescriptive grammar is rule binded grammar. The classical examples of prescriptive grammar
rules are as follows:-
 A sentence or clause should not end on preposition example; This is what I came here
for, where are you going to?
 With non-count nouns such as money, water or equipment, “less” or “little” should be
used, and “few” or “fewer” are used for countable nouns.
Example; I work in a small office with less than 20 people or The crowd that comes here
gets fewer and fewer every year.
Those are some of rules which are not required to be broken.
Meaning of descriptive grammar.
Descriptive grammar is a study of language, its structure and its rules as they are used by
speakers from all walks of life, including standard and non-standard varieties. Descriptive
grammar describes the language, its structure and the syntactic rules that govern sentence and
phrase as used by a given or particular society in given context (Greenbaum & Quirk, 1990).

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It should be noted that descriptive grammar is non-judgmental and does not have the goal of
determining what represents good or bad language, correct or incorrect structure, grammatical or
ungrammatical forms.
Example of sentences in descriptive grammar are:-
 Him and me we are neighbors.
 I don’t know nothing.
Meaning of traditional grammar.
Traditional grammar (also known as school grammar), is largely based on the principles of Latin
grammar. In linguistics a traditional grammar is a framework for the description of structure of
language. Traditional grammar is the layout of how language should be used by speakers.
According to Allen, (1990), traditional grammar refer to the type of grammar study done prior to
the beginnings of modern linguistics. Grammar in the traditional sense, is the study of the
structure and formation of words and sentences, usually without much reference to sound and
meaning. In the more modern linguistics sense, grammar is the study of the entire interrelated
system of structures, sounds, words, meanings, sentences, within a language.
Traditional grammar is prescriptive because it focuses on the distinction between what some
people do with language and what they ought to do with it according to pre-established
standards. Traditional grammar supplied an extensive set of prescriptive rules along with the
exception (Purpura, 2004).

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Purpura (ibid) explains one typical prescriptive rule of traditional grammar: The first person
singular of the present tense verb to “be” is “I am”. “Am” is used with “I” in all cases except in
first, personal singular negative tag and yes no questions which are contracted. In this case the
verb “are” is used instead of “am” for example I am in a real bind, aren’t I?
The classical example of the prescriptive English grammar which is also traditional can be
reflected to how its rules are broken. The following are some of traditional grammar rules:-
 A sentence should not end on a preposition (Stranded preposition)
Example: Where are you going to? (Incorrect).
Where are you going? (Correct).
 Singular subject nouns (pronouns) should have singular pronouns references.
Example: Every student needs to open their books on page 20. (Incorrect).
Every student needs to open his/her book on page 20.
According to Oldoz (1994), Traditional grammar is prescriptive rather than descriptive because it
lays down the norms of correct usage of language. It makes clear distinction between good and
bad grammar. It is strict and consider the following:
 Never begin a sentence with conjunction example “and”
Example: And my mother is intelligent (incorrect).
The correctness of the sentence might be that, “My father and mother are intelligent”.

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 Do not split the infinitive.
Example. To really understood.
To adjourn the meeting.
 Do not use will for shall and vice versa.
 Use “must” for internal compulsion and “have” for external compulsion.
Conclusion.
Therefore, despite the fact that traditional grammar is informal, unscientific full of contradictions
and inconsistencies, in explicit, inadequate, and prescriptive uneconomical and unwholesome
and it ignores spoken language, language change, contemporary usage and all varieties of
language, it is still crucial unit of English language, thus there is no need for whole scale change,
it needs surely to be mended rather than ended.

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Question number two.
Language, is a system of conventional, vocal signs, by means of which human beings
communicate (Algeo, 2010). This definition has several important terms, each of which is
examined in some detail in following sections. These sections are system, signs, vocal and
conventional, in which human beings communicate.
Language is a natural means to enable communication among people, a living entity that it has
its own peculiar laws, by means of which alone can it develop a system of contracts whose
foundation was laid in times unknown and a social institution interwoven with sounds (Ergin,
1990).
Hence, language can be defined as a system of arbitrariness, vocal symbols by means of which a
social group cooperates. The language has the peculiar characteristics such as arbitrariness,
displacement, productivity, and duality. These features are differentiating the human and non-
human beings.
Disputes means to engage in argument (debate) to argue irritably with irritating persistence or to
struggle against. The origin of language is contradicting; the contradiction arose when human
being began to use language. The Greek writers were the part and parcel to this question. Greek
thinkers had two different approaches of human civilization. First view is life subsequently
deteriorated man’s material lot worsened and he became susceptible to a variety of dangers and
disadvantages.

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Second view, “human beings are learning to control their environment and acquiring the
accoutrement of civilization. These two anthropological theories led to two rather different
approaches to the beginnings. Linguistics thought in ancient Greece is mainly linked to such
philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Dionysius Thrax, or groups like Stoics. It is
characterized by opposing ideas such as language is by nature or by social convention (Robins,
1997).
The question debated was: “the question debated is language due to Physis (nature) or to Namos
(naming)?” in other terms “is language governed by nature which is physis, as any other natural
phenomena like falling of rain, or it is result of social convention (agreement) that is nomes?
(Lyons, 1968).
According to Ostwald (2011) those who supported the first point were called naturalists,
example; Plato, whereas the other group was called the conventionalists like Aristotle (384-322
BC) who claimed that language cannot be but conventional, simply because the relation between
the things or names is arbitrary. Their views were as follows:
Naturalist: examples Plato, Socrates, and Stoics. These people argued that language is by nature
that is language is a system of arbitrary signs. Language was due to physis and logical deduction
of that it is not invented by the human kind. For instance the name “table” was natural given to
the thing (that four legged, flat-toped piece of furniture used to eat on) and was not invented “out
of the blue”).

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WHY? Their explanation was that, their language, and especially vocabulary contained a
lot of onomatopoeic words (sound like words, like “meowing” “boom” or “splash”. They
put forward that this sound symbolism plays as important role in the naming of many
things. In short, the naturalists claim that the existence of such onomatopoeic words
proves their theory and that language is not the fruit of invention.
However; conventionalists disagreed with them for two main reasons:
i. Onomatopoeic words vary from a language to another like “knock-knock” in
English and its French equivalent “toc-toc”, which shows that each speech
community invented its own onomatopoeic words.
ii. The majority of words in a given language are obviously not onomatopoeic words.
On the other hand, Plato (427-347 BC) was a conventionalist as introduced the question about
the correctness of names in his Cratylus dialogue. In this debate, Socrates examines two
extremely opposing views. Hermogenes considers that the correctness of names (ortholes and
onomaton) is purely a linguistic convention, suggesting that each individual has the freedom to
use words the way he want even if they differ from one person to another.
The second opposing view, in the same debate of Crytylus, Socrates explored the correctness of
the names claiming that the etymology or original form of words contains a description of the
named thing. In this sense the correctness of the names is the result of a law (nomos) and a
custom (ethos), arising out of an arrangement or social contract between the members of a
community (International Journal of Language and literature, Vol. 3 (1), June, 2015).

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After discussing the disputes which were prevalent on the nature of language during the Greek
period, basing on their views and evidences on both sides conventionalists and Naturalists. It
seems that the language was primarily natural in nature.
To explain this view, various principles are involved apart from onomatopoeic and sound
symbolism, the principle involved are in terms of which words could be derived from, or related
to, one another and these are codified in time as the traditional principle of etymology (John,
1968).
The meaning of word might be extended by virtue of some “natural” connection between the
original and the secondary application.
For example, - The mouth of river.
- The neck of a bottle.
Second form of word might be derived from that of another by the addition, deletion,
substitution, and transposition of sound. (Granted some “natural” connection in the meanings of
the two words). It is only by a very free and uncontrolled use of the second set or principles,
operating upon the form of a word, that the naturalist could maintain their position claiming to be
able to deliver all words from a primary set of word of “natural” origin.

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By the second century before Christ another question was debated: “is language regular or
irregular?”
Regular means it focuses on rules; in other words it is analogical. Analogists explained that
language is regular and organized. This regularity helps people to acquire it by
overgeneralization.
The analogists reasoning (reflection) rules can be seen on:
 Singular and plural.
Example. Car + -s form the plural form “cars”
Chair + -s forms the plural form “chairs”
Girl + -s forms the plural form “Girls”
Hence, the plural form of words according to analogists
requires the addition of “s” at the end of the word.
 Also regularity appears in tense formation of the verbs. In forming tenses of the
verbs, regular pattern of adding “-ed” in simple past tense of a verb is applied.
Example: play – played.
Kick – kicked.

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Irregular on the other hand focuses on the exceptions that are Anomalists. According to the
Anomalists, language is regular because rules are not always followed. This can be seen in the
following word classes as:
 Noun: Goose – Geese
Man – men
Tooth – teeth
Hence, these words do not systematically denote the plural form and therefore they are irregular
nouns.
 Verbs: see – saw
Buy – Bought
Sell – Sold.
These words also are known as irregular verbs since they do not follow the regular pattern of
adding “-ed” when forming simple past tenses.
Conclusion.
Generally, the accepted view of those who study language professionally is that language is an
arbitrary, cultural construct; language, on this view, is learnt by listening to speakers of the
language of the particular community into which an infant is born; the words used in the
language as well as the particular grammar or syntax of the language have developed historically
as a social product and been handed down by tradition

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