Whew. What a great discussion.

I have been thinking of the split betweeen traditional and linguistic
grammar more and more in terms of public versus private, and I would be
interested in others' opinions of this.

By Public grammar, I mean traditional prescriptive grammar as it generally
appears in the handbooks and as it is applied in the final editing phase of
writing.  I see it as "public" in the sense that it reflects the certain
conventions of literacy and the standard dialect that society recognizes.
It is a grammar whose reality lies in the perceptions of others.

Private grammar refers to the language ability that normal, native users
possess--the more linguistic view of grammar, whether structural or
functional.  It is private in the sense that we emphasize its innateness and
its relevance to the writer's personal command of language.  While all
language of course has both public and private aspects, an explicit
understanding of language is generally considered desirable so a person can
better understand his/her own writing and understand as well other texts,
and so its value and reality are oriented around the individual.  By
contrast, public (traditional, presciptive) grammar may be useful to an
individual, but it is so because of other people's perceptions of the
correctness, etc., of one's writing.

People who identify with the two types define "grammar" differently (as well
as what "ungrammatical" means), but for both groups the term is attractive
because it connotes a claim that one understands something basic and solid
about language. Similarly, the "rules" are different in the two, but
attractive because they offer a sense of order. (Public grammar's
prescriptive rules are societal conventions, but are no less strong for
that.)

From the point of view of private grammar, public grammar is superficial and
potentially discriminatory.  From the point of view of public grammar,
private grammar is a bit of a luxury, I think--complex, and not too relevant
to getting through the day without making mistakes on paper.

In the teaching of writing, public grammar comes into play in the final
editing/proofreading process, where the paper is made ready to go on to the
public stage.  Private grammar still seeks a place in the process, as we are
discussing: it fits in the composing or revising processes, but those
processes are already busy and difficult to teach.

Teachers deal with both public and private grammar.  Public grammar, by its
nature a reflection of social values, has its established place in
educational standards, where it waxes and wanes.  As for private grammar,
teachers want to help students write, and they are ready to apply private
grammar if they understand it, if it works, if there's time....

The terms "public" and "private" here overlap and aren't perfect fits.  But
they help me understand a little the enormous difficulty and division in the
field we are discussing.  In general, private interests and public interests
conflict with each other deeply and easily.  And America in particular has
its own very quirky expectations about individualism and the realm of the
private, versus conformity.  No wonder the grammar battle is tough.

End of lecture.  I couldn't make it shorter. Any comments?

Brock Haussamen
Raritan Valley Community College
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