A balance between prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar
Keep a balance between prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar
It is widely accepted that language is constantly changing in phonetics, morphology, semantic, syntax, and other components (Yule, 2006). Language is so emotive that brings out two opposite views—traditional and current. Traditional view argues that language is given, static and regularized by rules, like a machine. Correctness and purity are of most concern and change is corruption. On the contrary, current view states that language is organic, like a growing tree. It is largely arbitrary rather than being given. Meanings are constructed and negotiated. We describe rules based on authentic language in real life and focus on acceptability, therefore changes are welcome. Traditional view and current view correspondingly lead to prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. Prescriptive grammar is a set of rules for the proper use of language decided by some influential grammarians (Yule, 2006). It emphasizes on correctness and purity. In contrast, descriptive grammar is fluid and organic. It describes reality from authentic data and is up-to-date. Prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar oppose to each other in many aspects and yet also complement each other. Following are three examples which reflect different approaches to grammar.
The first example is the preposition after 'different’. In the light of the equal status of different varieties of language, we can ignore the slight difference in the preposition. Apparently, the construction 'different from' is standard English without objections. We can consider it as a lingua franca, one language used by common agreement (Fromkin, 2006). ‘Different to' and 'different than' are popular expressions in British English and American English respectively (Hornby, 1997). British English and American English are two varieties of English, or we can regard them as two dialects showing differences in grammar in different geographical regions and social groups (Fromkin, 2006). The traditionalists are impressed by Latin (dis-=‘from’) and insist that ‘from’ is the correct one (Crystal, 2003). Nevertheless, English-speakers around the world speak divergent languages and each of the language has developed its own agreed grammatical forms (Aitchison, 1999). In addition, any variety of English is equal to the other in all fairness (Davies, 2005). To unify the terms is impossible. Accordingly, ‘different to' and 'different than' are acceptable to those who approve descriptive approach. English-speakers have the liberty to choose the preposition as long as it can be understood by listeners, except in formal written language.
