Re: Why grammar is so complex a subject

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005, 12:52 AM CET, Gary Shannon wrote:

 > I think I've finally figured out why grammar is so
 > complex. It's because it's an artificial attempt to
 > discover "rules" in what is really a monsterous
 > collection of exceptions. There ARE no rules; only
 > exceptions! Tens of thousands of unique patterns of
 > words learned by rote which, in reality, have no
 > underlying theoretical reason for existing other than
 > generations of acquired habits passed down with a bit
 > of alteration and streamlining from one generation to
 > the next.

In my understanding, grammar tries to catalogize the
exceptions in that it tries to point out the most likely way
how something is expressed. That we try to think of language
as having regular patterns is, considering your realization,
maybe only due to the brain always seeking for them.
For the same reason, you can sometimes see animals or
other common structures/patterns in the shape of clouds.

Carsten

--
Keywords: grammar

"Miranayam cepauarà naranoaris."
(Calvin nay Hobbes)