Picking up on a point made by Paul, I want to ask the question, "What is the
domain of grammar? What does grammar encompass? What does it NOT encompass?
What aspects of grammar should/should not be incorporated into the language
arts curriculum?" (I am referring to only the grammar of English.)

If we talk about language sounds (phonetics) and how we use them
(phonology), are we talking about grammar? Do we need to concern ourselves
in the classroom with breaking language down into it's basic units of
meaning (morphology) to examine the construction of words? Are the rules for
forming phrases, clauses, and sentences (syntax) the Sovereign of Grammar
and how far do we take the teaching of these "rules"? Do we go beyond this
level? Do we consider larger units of language (discourse) and its aspects
of cohesion, coherence, clarity, information structuring? What about all of
the context that informs our understanding of language (pragmatics) -- is
that grammar? Do we even consider including stress, rhythm, and intonation
(prosody) even if they have a huge impact on meaning?

What supports the teaching of grammar? Is it valuable/worth while to look at
the history that informs/shapes the grammar (historical linguistics)? Is a
unit on animal communication worthwhile in order to emphasize what makes
human language/grammar so special? Where do we even start with all of the
social/cultural implications of grammar
(dialectology/sociolinguistics/anthropology/sociology)? Would we be doing a
major disservice by failing to team up with our neighboring science teachers
to discuss the cognitive/neural basis of grammar
(cognitive/neurolinguistics) -- what we know about grammar and the
brain/cognition is fascinating, but is it a part of grammar to English
teachers?

We must teach literature as well, but do we bring grammar along to analyze
these canonized writings? (stylistics/text analysis)

It's a big question, I know, and certainly one addressed before, but the
composition of this list has changed quite a bit, and I think that it is a
discussion worth revisiting for the benefit of all members. Of course,
reality precludes us from using an ideal definition of grammar in many
cases, but I'm more interested in what that ideal would look like to begin
with.

I know this also brings into question the relationship between the
English/Language Arts teacher and the linguist (or the role of those with a
foot in both camps), but I'd like to believe that we all agree by now that
no harm comes from a sharing, amicable relationship at a minimum.

I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks!

John

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