REFERENCE GRAMMAR

MARICHELE A. DE GUZMAN

LecturerGraduate Studies,Master

in EducationMajor in English

Language TeachingPanpacific University

North PhilippinesUrdaneta City,

Pangasinan

WHAT IS A REFERENCE GRAMMAR?

A reference grammar is a prose-like description of the major grammatical constructions in a language, illustrated with examples. A description of the grammar of a language, with explanations of the principles governing the construction of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Americans use the present perfect tense less than speakers of British English and a British teacher might mark wrong some things that an American teacher would say are

correct.

1. US Did you do your homework yet?

Brit. Have you done your homework yet?

2. US I already ate.Brit. I’ve already eaten.

3. Brit. I’ve got two sisters.US I have two sisters.

4. Brit. I’ve got to go now.US I have to go now.

Examples of different words being used in British and American English

angry (brit.) = Mad (US) autumn = fallboot (of a car) = trunk chemist’s = drug storecupboard = closet flat = apartmentlift = elevator nappy = diaperpavement = sidewalk petrol = gas/gasolinerubbish = trash tap = faucettrousers = pants

Required training and courses In order to write a reference

grammar you should be trained in descriptive linguistics. The following courses combined with practical help will equip you to produce a suitable reference grammar:

• Phonetics • Phonology • Morphology • Syntax • Semantics • Field methods

PARTS OF A REFERENCE GRAMMAR _________________________________

Although reference grammars vary considerably in length and scope, a good one

should consist minimally of the following substantive parts:

INTRODUCTION An introductory section or chapter should provide essential background material on the language and its speakers, including

genetic affiliation, sociolinguistic situation (demography, dialects), ethnography, and a brief review of previous literature. This

section does not have to be very long, but it is absolutely necessary in order to orient the reader to the language as a vehicle for

communication used by real people.

BODY The main part of the grammar is usually

organized according to some structural organizing principle. One principle is to begin with "smaller" units of structure and to work one's way up to the larger and normally more complex units, for example:

• phonemes • nouns • nominal predications • verbs

• verbal predications • compound predications • complex predications • discourse structure

  Index A good index is what turns an ordinary grammar

into a true reference grammar. One "test" often apply to published grammars is to look up some grammatical feature that ought to be treated in any reference grammar, such as relative clauses or causatives, and check on how long it takes to find an example of that feature. If it takes longer than five minutes, the grammar fails the test. Since the purpose of a reference grammar is to make detailed information on a language accessible, a good measure of its success in accomplishing its intended purpose is how easily that detailed information can be found. Without a good index, the best reference grammar in the world is almost useless.

BIBLIOGRAPHY The grammar should contain a bibliography

of all previous literature on the language, plus other works cited in the grammar.

ABBREVIATIONS All descriptive linguistic work involves

abbreviations. A good informative list of all the abbreviations found in the grammar is an important tool to allow the reader to comprehend and use it.

Strengths of reference grammar

A reference grammar is … designed to teach someone about the

language and to give readers a reference tool for looking up specific details of the language.

Organized according to universal structural categories.

Contains chapters which consist mostly of explanation the plus one or two examples of every point mentioned.

Written for individuals who have some understanding of language as a universal phenomenon and who wish to learn how the particular language described fits into universal understandings of human language.

1. Rarely clear cut distinctions between one language and another and slowly accumulating differences in speech forms which becomes very difficult to say that when two people speak the” same language” or when they speak “different languages”.2. Show overlapping in language forms3. Language variation which specifies any distinguishable form of a language.

Weaknesses of Reference Grammar

Implications of reference grammar

The two varieties of English most widely found in print and taught around the world are British and American - it is therefore important for teachers to be aware of the major differences between the two. And while lexical differences are the easiest ones to notice, a knowledge of grammatical and phonological differences can be useful not only for teachers to be aware of, but also to be able to deal with should they come up in class.

An important point to make is that different doesn’t mean wrong. Comments such as “American English is inferior to British English”, or “American English is better than British English” have no solid basis other than the speaker’s opinion. The truth is that no language or regional variety of language is inherently better or worse than another. They are just different. Students will often have very firm beliefs on which English they think is better/easier to understand/clearer etc. While it may be true for that particular individual, there is no evidence to suggest that one variety is easier to learn or understand than the other

Mother-tongue speakers of the language who want to understand more about their language.

Organized in terms of the forms that the readers already know how to use, but are not aware of their significance to the grammar as a whole.

Linguists who want information on the language for comparative purposes.

Organized in terms of a universal outline designed to help the reader make meaningful comparisons between the language described and other languages

Thank you very much for listening!