Re: Unilang: the Grammar

On Tue, 24 Apr 2001, Oskar Gudlaugsson wrote:

> I think that technically there is no such thing as
> "grammar", as distinct from morphology, syntax, etc; or so I
> understand modern linguistic terminology. Is grammar the
> total of those, excluding all phonology? In any case, I open
> a "grammar" thread to discuss in entirety various things
> that I don't feel to belong properly to either morphology or
> syntax.
The term 'grammar' is ambiguous like 'word'. Many linguists use
'grammar' to refer to the unconscious knowledge a native speaker
has about her language. This includes phonology (and phonetics!)
as well as morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

'Grammar' can also refer to a written description of a
language, as Yoon Ha observes. This is also common usage.

I've also heard the term 'grammar' used in the way you suggest
above; that is, structural features of a language which exclude
phonology. As a phonologist, I think it a poor definition :-).

Dirk

--
Dirk Elzinga                          dirk.elzinga@m.cc.utah.edu

"The strong craving for a simple formula
has been the undoing of linguists."               - Edward Sapir