Term

The term ‘grammar’ goes back to the Ancient Greek τέχνη γραμματική (téchnē grammatikḗ), lit. “skill in writing”. Both in Ancient Greece and Rome, a comprehensive grammatical treatise included orthography, morphology and syntax. In a modern perspective, its subject matter was confined to the system of a language. It included orthography because it was about writing rather than speaking and because it was prescriptive rather than descriptive. It systematically excluded the lexicon and the semantics; and it did not treat with phonology beyond a bit of phonetics associated with the orthography.

Language system

The system of a language comprises the inventory of linguistic units and the patterns (rules) of their use. It is commonly articulated in the following components:

1. Distinctive system: phonology
2. Significative system:
• lexicon
• morphology and syntax.

The distinctive system deals with distinctive units (language sounds), with an interface to phonetics. The significative system deals with significative units (language signs). The significative system pairs sound with meaning. It thus includes semantics, with an interface to pragmatics (with cognition and communication). The areas connected by interfaces are outside the language system.

Object- and meta-level

As in other subdomains of linguistics, the same term ‘grammar’ designates both a segment of the object area of the discipline and the subdiscipline devoted to it. Thus, grammar is, in the first place, a certain aspect of a language as above – dubbed grammar_O –, but in a derived sense – grammar_M – also that part of linguistics dealing with this aspect of language.

Scope of the term

The term ‘grammar_M’ has uses which only differ by which of the above components they include:

1. In its narrowest use, the term only includes morphology and syntax.
2. In a wider use, it also includes phonology.
3. In a yet wider use, it includes the entire language system as above and also orthography.
4. In its widest use, it includes an entire language description; thus, not only the language system as in #3 plus phonetics and pragmatics, but also the setting of the language and the speech community.

These are, in the first place, differences in the scope of a term. There are, e.g., books entitled Grammar of the X language which only deal with field #1 and others which deal with field #4. They are not necessarily associated with differences in theoretical conceptions concerning the nature of the above components. The present website follows usage #1.

Descriptive vs. prescriptive grammar

Again as in other areas of linguistics and even of some other disciplines devoted to aspects of human life, there are two approaches in dealing with grammar: Either a grammar_M is a description by scientific methods, where the scientist observes phenomena, orders, analyzes and describes them as systematically as possible. Or else a grammar_M is a set of rules to be observed in using that part of the language system, that is, normative rules of correct grammatical usage. The former approach is descriptive grammar, the latter is prescriptive grammar. In the history of the discipline, grammar_M started out as a prescriptive enterprise, but presently is mostly exercised as a descriptive discipline.¹

Structural vs. functional grammar

As part of the significative system of language, grammar is concerned with signs, thus, generally speaking, with the association of sound with meaning and, specifically, the association of structure with function. Structural grammar_M concentrates on the patterns and rules by which complex signs – from words up to sentences – are formed. Functional grammar_M concentrates on the cognitive and communicative functions fulfilled by the formation and use of signs. The two approaches necessarily complement each other.

Grammar vs. lexicon

The lexicon of a language comprises the set of significative units, including their structural and semantic relations.

The grammar of a language comprises two kinds of objects:

1. the patterns of combining significative units into larger ones, formulated in terms of morphological and syntactic constructions or rules
2. the set of those significative units (viz., grammatical formatives) whose choice is determined by rules of grammar.

There is no fixed border between lexicon and grammar.

¹ Both by its name and by its purpose, orthography is necessarily a prescriptive discipline.