English 8- Grammar
http://english8.wiki.lovett.org/Grammar
6/4/2010 12:43:00 AM
Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.
~Richard C. Trench
gram·mar (noun)

1. rules for language
o the system of rules by which words are formed and put
together to make sentences
1
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English Plus+ News, January 2000
How Did We Get English Grammar Rules?
Who made these rules and why?
Virtually every written human language has
developed rules for its use. English is no
different. Sometimes people wonder where
these rules came from and who made them.
God did not give them on a mountaintop.
Why are we taught them? Why do so many
people try to follow them?
In European nations, grammar was
developed to teach Latin. Latin had become
1
the lingua franca of Western Europe because
of the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled, and
people from all over Europe could
communicate in that language regardless of
what their native language was. After the fall
of the Roman Empire, the Latin language was
still used as a lingua franca because most
literate Western Europeans had learned it. A
little later it became the official language of
the Western (later Roman Catholic) Church.
Latin after the Fall
2
By the eighth or ninth century, the language
of Rome had changed. It was no longer the
language of Julius Caesar or even of St.
Jerome the Bible translator (the Latin of the
Catholic mass). There were no native
speakers of classical or church Latin any
more. Still, it was very useful for literate
people to learn it. It was the language of the
Western Church, international politics, and
most existing European literature.
The Origins of Grammar as We Know It
3
Since there were no longer any
"conversational Latin" classes, teachers of
Latin began teaching it according to its
patterns - the way the words related to one
another and formed sentences. This became
known as grammar, the art of writing.
The word grammar comes from the Greek
word gramma which means "writing" or
"letter." This root is also found in other
English words like parallelogram and
telegram. Grammar school was the basic
school where students learned to read and
4
write. In the late Roman period and Middle
Ages that meant reading and writing Latin.
Consequences of Grammar
The system for analyzing Latin became
codified. This was useful for two reasons.
First, readers could read older Latin
documents. Second, writers could
communicate with people who knew Latin,
regardless of their native tongue, and be
understood because schools throughout
Western Europe taught it according to the
same rules.
5
Some argue that Julius Caesar might not
have been able to completely understand the
Magna Carta (A.D. 1215), but that is not the
point. Any educated person living in Europe in
1215 would have understood it!
What about English?
At this time the vernacular languages, the
native languages of the people, did not really
have grammar rules as such. Those
languages were of more limited scope. They
tended to be local. On the island of Great
6
Britain alone there are recognized between
thirty and fifty distinct dialects of English. In
the Middle Ages, most of them would not
have been mutually intelligible.
The West Saxon (Wessex) dialect had
become the literary standard in Old English
because that is where rulers like Alfred the
Great came from. When the Frenchspeaking Normans conquered England in
1066, there was no standard at all for three
centuries. The spoken language of the
government was French. The language of the
Church and official government documents
7
was Latin. English was the language of the
conquered lower classes.
The 1300's & London English
By the fourteenth century, England had lost
most of its Norman domains to the French.
The leaders lost their connections to French
speakers. Serious writers like poet Geoffrey
Chaucer and Bible translator John Wycliffe
began writing in English. Their standard
became the English of London. If we read
their work, however, we begin to see that it
was not terribly standardized by our
8
reckoning. Words were sometimes arranged
unusually and frequently spelled differently.
English of the Late Middle Ages was not at all
like the orderly Latin of the grammar schools.
Frankly, there was no great need for it to be
standardized. Most of the population was
illiterate. Most spoke dialects different from
the Midlands English of London. If someone
had gone to a village or city in Yorkshire with
a written document from London, he would
probably have to translate it for the locals
whether the document were written in Latin,
French, or English.
9
Now the English dialects at this time were
not entirely static. As London grew in
influence, its words and style became more
recognizable in other parts of the realm.
When the government began conducting its
official spoken work in English, it became
more necessary to be able to understand and
be understood in the Midlands English. But
this mostly affected the elite minority, those
in government and those literate in English.
The BIG Change
10
In the fifteenth century something would
happen that would change all that. Something
so revolutionary that it would completely alter
the history of the continent and in England
would contribute to making the language of
the London middle and upper classes the
standard for English.
.
Who made these rules and why?
We read about how Latin (and to a lesser
extent Koine Greek and Hebrew) had
become studied in Europe and analyzed
11
using Latin grammar techniques. This
was not the case with the living
languages such as English until the late
1400's when a major development
changed things. Suddenly it became more
important that English and other European
languages follow some sort of rules.
That major devlopment, of course, was the
Printing Press.
Suddenly it was possible for people to make
many copies of the written word. It was
possible to disseminate information much
12
more quickly and widely. And, naturally,
those who disseminated the information
wanted it to be understood by as many
readers as possible.
The English Patent and King Arthur
The first printing press in England began
operation in 1485, the same year that the
War of the Roses ended. The printer was
William Caxton, an educated scholar and
translator. The first book that he printed was
made for his English audience--Sir Thomas
13
Malory's collection of King Arthur stories
known as La Morte D'Arthur.
With some 30 or so regional dialects in
England, Caxton knew that he could not
publish so that every reader would
understand every word. Instead, he chose to
write and translate English into a form that
would be understood by as many people as
possible.
There are two obvious reasons for this. First,
he wanted to communicate. He wanted to
make the writings as widely understandable
14
as possible. Second, he wanted to profit from
his printing press. The larger his potential
audience, the larger his potential sales.
The Problems with Language Anarchy
Caxton wrote about some of the problems
that he had. Since London was the nation's
capital and largest city, he chose as much as
possible the language spoken in and around
London.
15
Even then he had some problems. He wrote,
for example, that folks from one side of the
Thames normally said twa eggis, or two eggs.
Those from other side normally said zw' eien
for the same thing (more like modern Dutch
or German). He decided that he liked the
sound of twa eggis better. Today it is
pronounced two eggs, and some scholars say
that Caxton's choice may be why we say two
instead of zwa for the second whole number.
In order to make the written word more
intelligible, Caxton and others realized that it
would be necessary to try to make spelling
16
more uniform and to organize grammar rules
for English in the manner that languages like
Latin were taught in the schools.
The Evolution of the Rules
This is what happened. It did not happen all
at once. Gradually, the Midlands or London
English became the standard for writing. It
also became a standard at least in England
for pronunciation in some influential schools.
Widely published works like Bibles and the
Book of Common Prayer often became
17
standards for spelling because more readers
were familiar with these. By the 1700's,
writers were compiling dictionaries and
English grammars as English literacy grew.
The overall effect was that a Standard
Written English evolved. There was an
element of snob appeal, in that the "correct"
English was often that spoken by the more
educated. However, since the educated class
included most clergy and teachers, the
standard spread and most people became
familiar with it. More important than
educational uniformity, though, was simple
18
necessity. People wanted to do business and
communicate with one another. A standard
grammar and spelling would help. It still
does.
Free Trade vs. Elitist Intervention
Interestingly, in England most of the
standards were set or codified by individuals
like Caxton. Printers copied the spelling and
grammar used by other printers. The first
English dictionary was compiled by Samuel
Johnson, pretty much working on his own.
Several grammar books became widely used,
19
all done by individual teachers usually using
familiar Latin models.
About the only "sanctioned" effort in English
was the committee of 54 translators
authorized by King James I to translate the
Bible in 1611. That Authorized or King James
Bible became a standard only because it was
widely used, not because the King authorized
it. (Technically, he only authorized the
translation of it. No one authorized the final
product.)
20
Other languages, notably French, have
attempted to have an official elite sanction
what is proper or taught. Even today, the
French Academy does this. English has never
done this. If there have been any standards,
it is because people recognized them.
This has meant a few things for speakers and
learners of English.
The Effects of a Popular Language
21
First, it meant that dialects and distinctive
pronunciations are OK. That does not mean
that certain snobby London English or
Northern United States speakers will not treat
other dialects with condescension. It does
mean that standard usage should effectively
communicate.
Second, it means that extreme Latinists in
English grammar can be taken with a grain of
salt. The standard is for effective
communication, not to impress others. In
America, for example, the standards used by
the New York Times, the University of
22
Chicago, Noah Webster's Dictionary of the
American Language and blue-backed speller,
Francis McGuffey's Eclectic Readers and
Strunk and White's Element's of Style have
probably had more effect than anything else.
Third, because there is no standard
vocabulary or "academy," English is
remarkably tolerant of accepting new words,
whether coined from existing words or roots
or taken from another language. This makes
English the richest language for words and
shades of meaning. It also makes the
language challenging for foreign learners.
23
English speakers tend to point out spelling
difficulties, but those are a small minority of
words in the language. What is really trickier
is just the large vocabulary with many shades
of meaning such a vocabulary brings.
Anyway, where did the rules come from? It
came from common usage. In the long run,
they have been a boon. They have helped
printers sell more wares. They have helped
businesses do business more precisely. They
have helped everyone communicate more
clearly.
24
The Future of English and other
Widespread Langauges
Certainly, things change. Vocabulary
changes. Even some grammar changes. Time
Magazine predicted that the word whom will
be gone by the end of the 21st century just
as thee and thou had disappeared (except
among Quakers) by the end of the 18th
century.
What else will change English? It will be very
difficult to change much except vocabulary.
25
Prior to the printing press, dialects ruled all
languages. In the last century with
phonograph recordings, broadcast media,
faster transportation, and what followed, even
pronunciation has become more standard.
Many dialects have disappeared.
Geographical distances and divisions used to
account for most language changes, and the
relatively rapid changes of languages. We can
speak of Latin in the year AD 500, but by AD
1000 at the latest, Latin no longer existed. It
had become French, Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, Romanian, and so on.
26
Between 1500 and 2000 English has changed
little. The printing press brought
standardization. The growth in transportation
and communication technology, especially
since the early 1800's, has increased
uniformity.
As a result, English and other widely spoken
languages have become more easily
understood by all who speak them, and the
rules make it easier for others to learn the
languages. The "rules" of English should
27
continue to be recognized as more of the
world does business in the language.
28
History of Grammar Notes
6/4/2010 12:43:00 AM
How Did We Get English Grammar Rules?
1. Why was grammar developed in European
nations?
2. What was the language of the Western
Church, international politics and most
existing European literature after the fall of
Rome?
1
3. What is the etymology of the word
‘grammar’?
4. How was Latin useful?
5. What are vernacular languages?
2
6. What happed to language when the French
speaking Normans conquered England in
1066?
7. Why was there a standardization of English
in the Late Middle Ages?
8. What major development changed
language in the 1500’s?
3
9. What was the first book printed by William
Caxton?
10. What was happening to language by the
1700’s?
11. Who compiled the first English dictionary?
4
12. Which language has an “official elite
sanction”?
13. What are the three effects of a popular
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Journal Entry 1
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What is the most valuable object you possess? Valuable does not just mean
worth the most money?
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ENGLISH 8- GRAMMAR
http://english8.wiki.lovett.org/
6/4/2010 12:43:00 AM
Grammar is the logic of speech,
even as logic is the grammar of reason.

~Richard C. Trench
gram·mar (noun)
1. rules for language
the system of rules by which words
are formed and put together to make
sentences
1
6/4/2010 12:43:00 AM
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