A descriptive grammar is, by definition, one based on naturally occurring linguistic data1 and describing the usage producing them. The object of the present website, just as of most linguistic grammars, is the descriptive grammar. Its definition must, however, be complemented by some provisos.
Actual usage is full of variation. In principle, it is the linguist's task to identify the underlying principle of such variation instead of suppressing it. There are, however, exceptions to this principle:
Orthographic variation
The language description comprises a chapter on writing. Texts written in the object language display orthographical variation. It makes a difference whether the variant writing is found in earlier linguistic descriptions of the language or instead in written products of (non-specialist) members of the speech community.
- Variant writing in earlier descriptions of the language is (hopefully) not random, but the product of a difference in the underlying orthographical rules. It is a topic in the chapter dedicated to writing, since the user must be supported in his task of using different descriptions of the same language.
- The latter kind of variation in writing is typically a consequence of insufficient standardization or insufficient familiarity with or adherence to the standard orthography. This is generally of no interest to the user of the grammar, and the grammar is therefore not descriptive in this respect. An exception may be provided by principled variation. This may occur if writers who do not follow the standard follow their own principle. To this extent, they behave like a specialized linguist who follows deviant principles, and their usage may then be mentioned just as the former kind of variation.
If the language already has a standardized orthography which the present description adheres to, then the latter may be considered descriptive with respect to the orthography insofar as it describes the existent standard. Otherwise, the chapter on orthography is prescriptive.
Phonetic variation
Performance defects
Natural texts are replete with speech errors, lapses, false starts, hesitations and so forth; oral texts more than written ones.
1 Naturally occurring data are data whose origin is independent from the researcher (Lehmann 2004).