LANGUAGE-AND-GRAMMAR.docx

**LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR** Language is the expression of thought by means of spoken or written words. The English word language comes from the Latin word lingua, "the tongue/\' and was originally applied to oral speech. But the art of writing is now so common that it is quite as natural for us to spe...

**LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR** Language is the expression of thought by means of spoken or written words. The English word language comes from the Latin word lingua, "the tongue/\' and was originally applied to oral speech. But the art of writing is now so common that it is quite as natural for us to speak of the language in which a book is written as of the language in which an address is delivered, or a conversation is carried out. Many savage tribes (for example, the North American Indians) have a method of conversing in gestures without speaking at all. This is called sign-language. All language, however, is really the expression of thought by means of signs; for spoken words are signs made with the voice, and written words are signs made with the pen. Thus, when we speak or write the English word dog, we are just as truly making a sign as an Indian is when he expresses the idea dog by his fingers. Our spoken or written sign for dog cannot be understood by anybody who does not know the English language, for different languages have different words, that is, different signs, for the same thing or idea. Thus, the German word for dog is Hund; the Latin word for dog is cams, and so on. Most words are the signs of definite ideas. For example, soldier, sailor, dog, cat, horse, tree, river, house, shop, call up in our mind's images of persons or things; run, jump, write, travel, suggest kinds of action; red, black, tall, studious, careful, suggest qualities belonging to persons or things. **INTRODUCTION** By the aid of such distinct and picturesque words as these, we can express many thoughts and ideas; that is, we can talk or write after a fashion. But we cannot talk in a connected manner. If, for example, we wish to say that the house is on fire, we can express our thought imperfectly by saying simply, "House burn!" or "House! fire!" as a young child, or a foreigner who knew very little English, might do. But if we wish to express our thought fully, it would be natural to say, "The house is on fire." That is, besides the words that ex¬ press distinct ideas, we should use little words, the, is, on, which do not call up any clear picture in the mind. To express thought, then, language needs not merely words that are the signs of distinct ideas, but also several words like is, was, in, to, and, hut, if, which serve merely to join words together and to show their relations to each other in connected speech. The relations of words to each other in connected speech are shown in three ways: (1) by their form; (2) by their order or arrangement; (3) using words like and, if, to, from, by, etc. Thus, --- I. In the phrase "John's hat," the form of the word John\'s shows the relation of John to the hat; that is, it shows that John is the owner or possessor of the hat. II\. Compare the two sentences: --- John struck Charles. ---Charles struck John. The meaning is entirely different. In the first sentence, John gives the blow and Charles receives it; in the second, Charles gives the blow and John receives it. Yet the forms of the three words John, Charles, and struck are the same in both sentences. In each sentence the relation of the three words to each other is shown by the order in which they stand; the word which comes first is the name of the striker, and the word which follows struck is the name of the person who receives the blow. Let us examine the use of such words as of, by, to, from, and the like. In the following phrase, the honor of a gentleman, the relation of honor to gentleman is shown by the word of. The honor, we see, belongs to the gentleman. The relation in which a word stands to other words in the sentence is called its construction. Grammar is the science which treats the forms and the constructions of words. The study of grammar, then, divides itself into two parts: - \(2) the study of the different constructions which a word may have. The first of these parts is called the study of inflection, the second the study of syntax. Inflection is a change of form in a word indicating some change in its meaning. Syntax is that department of grammar which treats the constructions of words. In some languages, the constructions of words are shown mostly by means of inflection. Thus, in Latin, lapis means "a stone"; lapidis, "of a stone"; lapide, "with a stone"; lapidum, "of stones," and so on. The word lapis, it will be seen, changes its form by inflection as its construction changes. English was formerly rich in such inflections, but most of these have been lost, so that in modern English the constructions of many words must be shown either by their order or using various little words such as off, with. **INTRODUCTION** In speech, as in conduct, men are ruled by habit, and one's habits may be good or bad. The rules of grammar, like the rules of politeness, are matters of custom or usage. We obey them because other people obey them, and because, if we do not, we shall be thought careless or uneducated. In other words, the rules of grammar get their authority from usage. By usage means the practice of the best writers or speakers, not merely the habits of the community in which a person happens to live. There are, of course, varieties in usage, so that it is not always possible to pronounce one of two expressions grammatical and the other ungrammatical. In some cases, too, there is room for difference of opinion as to the correctness of a particular form or construction. But in a language like English, which has been written and studied for centuries, all the main facts are well settled. Usage, then, is practically uniform throughout the English-speaking world. Pronunciation differs somewhat in different places, but educated Englishmen, Americans, and Australians all speak and write in accordance with the same grammatical principles. Since language is the expression of thought, the rules of grammar agree, in the main, with the laws of thought. In other words, grammar accords, in the main, with logic, which is the science that deals with the way in which our minds act when we think or reason. There are, however, some exceptions. Every language has its peculiar phrases or constructions which appear to be irregular, but which, because they have become established by usage, are not ungrammatical. These are called idioms (from a Greek word meaning "peculiarities"). For example, if we say, "When are you going to study your lesson?" we use the word going in a peculiar way without any reference to actual motion or going. We mean simply "When shall you study?" This use of "are you going" for "shall you" is, then, an English idiom. **DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE** One may speak or write grammatically and still not speak or write in what is called a good style. In other words, language may be grammatical without being clear, forcible, and in good taste. Thus, in the sentence: "Brutus assassinated Caesar because he wished to become king," no rule of grammar is broken. Yet the style of the sentence is bad because the meaning is not clear; we cannot tell who it was that desired the kingship --- Caesar or Brutus. Again, "He talks as fast as a horse can trot" is perfectly grammatical, but it would not be an elegant expression to use of a great orator. Good style, then, is impossible without grammatical correctness, but grammatical correctness does not necessarily carry with it good style. The ability to speak and write correctly does not depend on a knowledge of grammatical rules. It is usually gained by unconscious imitation, as children learn to talk. Yet an acquaintance with grammar is of great help in speaking and writing. It enables one to criticize oneself and to decide between what is right and what is wrong in many doubtful cases. Grammar, then, is useful as a tool. But the study of grammar is also valuable as training in observation and thought. Language is one of the most deli¬ cate and complicated instruments which men use, and a study of its laws and their application is a worthy occupation for the mind. **DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE** Language never stands still. Every language, until it dies (that is, until it ceases to be spoken at all), is in a state of continual change. The English which we speak and write is not the same English that was spoken and written by our grandfathers, nor was their English precisely like that of Queen Elizabeth's time. The farther back we go, the less familiar we find ourselves with the speech of our ancestors, until finally we reach a kind of English which is quite as strange to us as if it were a foreign tongue. Such changes take place gradually, --- so slowly, indeed, that we are hardly aware that they are going on at all,--- but in the long run they may transform a language so completely that only scholars can recognize the old words. In¬ deed, the changes may go so far that entirely new languages are formed. Thus, from Latin, the language of the ancient Romans (which is now dead), have come, by these gradual changes, a whole group of modern languages, including French, Italian, and Spanish, differing from each other so much that a Frenchman cannot understand a Spaniard any better than he can an Englishman. The changes which a language undergoes are of many different kinds. Most of them, however, we can observe in our own experience if we stop to think of what takes place for us. They affect (1) vocabulary, that is, the stock of words which a language possesses, (2) the meanings of words, (3) their pronunciation and spelling, (4) their forms of inflection, (5) their construction, that is, the way they are put together in expressing thought. I. Many words and phrases which once belonged to the English language have gone out of use entirely. Such words are said to be obsolete (that is, "out of use"). Thus holt ("wood"), couth ("known "), thiik (" that same "), achatour (" buyer "), wcirray (" to wage war "), are obsolete words. Many words and phrases, though obsolete in spoken Eng¬ lish and in prose writing, are still used in poetry. Such words are called archaic (that is, ancient). Examples are ruth ("pity"), sooth (" truth "), wot (" know "), Ween ("think"), eke ("also"). **DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE** But changes in vocabulary are not all in the way of loss. New words and phrases are always springing up, whether to name new things and ideas or merely for the sake of variety in expression. Thus, within the memory of persons now living the words telegraph, telegram, telephone, dynamo, and the like, have come into existence and made good their place in the English language. Both processes --- the rise and the disappearance of words --- may be observed by everyone in the case of what we call slang. Slang words spring up almost daily, are heard for a time from the lips of old and young, and then vanish (become obsolete), only to be replaced by newcomers. Now and then, however, a slang word gets a footing in good use and so keeps its place in the language. Thus, mob, snob, boss, chum, were originally slang, but are now recognized members of the English vocabulary. **II. Changes in meaning**. ---- The words of a living language are constantly changing in sense. Old meanings disappear and new meanings arise. Thus, in the following passages from Shakespeare, the italicized words all bear meanings which, though common three hundred years ago, are now out of use (obsolete): --- She is of so sweet, so gentle, so blessed a condition. \[Condition here means "character" or "nature." Advance your standards. \[Advance means "lift up."\] Make all the money thou canst. \[Make here means "collect," "get together," not, as in modern English, "earn" or "gain."\] **III. Changes in pronunciation and spelling.** --- The business of spelling is to indicate pronunciation. In a perfect system, words would be spelled as they are pronounced. Such a any large dictionary will afford abundant illustration of obsolete words and senses of words. See, for example, such a dictionary under boiler, cheer, favor, secure, convince, instance, insist, condescend, wizard, comply, soon, loot, mote, whilom, trow, hight. system, however, has never been in use in any language, and, indeed, is impracticable, for no two persons pronounce exactly alike. Even if a perfect system could be invented, it would not remain perfect forever, since\*the pronunciation of every language is constantly changing so long as the language is alive at all. In the last five hundred years the pronunciation of English has undergone a complete transformation. Our spelling, also, has been much altered, but, as everybody knows, it is far from doing its duty as an indicator of the sounds of words. IY. Inflection, as we have learned, is a change of form in a word indicating some change in its meaning. Thus, walk, walks, walking, walked, are all inflectional forms of the same verb. In the time of Alfred the Great, in the ninth century, our language had many inflectional forms which it has since lost. Its history, indeed, is in great part the history of these losses in inflection. English of the present day has very few inflectional forms, replacing them using various phrases (see page xv). The study of such changes does not come within the scope of this book; but a few of them will be mentioned, from time to time, to illustrate modern forms and constructions. Y. The changes which our language has undergone in the matter of grammatical construction are numerous and com¬ plicated. The general tendency, however, especially for the past two hundred years, has been in the direction of law and order. Hence very many constructions which are now regarded as errors were in former times perfectly acceptable. In reading Shakespeare, for instance, we are continually meeting with forms and expressions which would be ungrammatical in a modern English writer. Two practical cautions are necessary: \(1) A construction which is ungrammatical in modern English cannot be defended by quoting Shakespeare. \(2) Shakespeare must not be accused of "bad grammar" because he does not observe all the rules of modern English syntax. The language which one uses should always lit the occasion. Colloquial English (that is, the language of ordinary conversation) admits many words, phrases, forms, and constructions which would be out of place in a dignified oration or a serious poem. On the other hand, it is absurd always to "talk like a book," that is, to maintain, in ordinary conversation, the language appropriate to a speech or an elaborate essay. We should not "make little fishes talk like whales." In general, written language is expected to be more careful and exact than spoken language. A familiar letter, however, may properly be written as one would talk. The poetical style admits many archaic (that is, old) words, forms, and constructions that would be out of place in prose. It is also freer than prose with respect to the order or arrangement of words. The solemn style resembles in many ways the style of poetry. It preserves such words as thou and ye, and such forms as hath, doth, saith, findest, findeth, and the like, which have long been obsolete in everyday language.