Editing Grammar (section)

{{Short description|Structural rules of a language}}
{{About||the rules of the English language|English grammar|other uses|Grammar (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=October 2017}}
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{{Linguistics|Grammar}}
In [[linguistics]], '''grammar''' is the set of rules for how a [[natural language]] is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or [[writer]]s. Grammar rules may concern the use of [[clause]]s, [[phrase]]s, and [[word]]s. The term may also refer to the study of such rules, a subject that includes [[phonology]], [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], and [[syntax]], together with [[phonetics]], [[semantics]], and [[pragmatics]]. There are, broadly speaking, two different ways to study grammar: [[traditional grammar]] and [[#Theoretical frameworks|theoretical grammar]].

Fluency in a particular [[language variety]] involves a speaker internalizing these rules, many or most of which are [[language acquisition|acquired]] by observing other speakers, as opposed to intentional study or [[language teaching|instruction]]. Much of this internalization occurs during early childhood; learning a language later in life usually involves more direct instruction.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=O'Grady |first1=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djhsAAAAIAAJ&q=Contemporary+Linguistics |title=Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction |last2=Dobrovolsky |first2=Michael |last3=Katamba |first3=Francis |publisher=Longman |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-582-24691-1 |location=Harlow, Essex |pages=4–7, 464–539}}</ref> The term ''grammar'' can also describe the linguistic behaviour of groups of speakers and writers rather than individuals. Differences in scale are important to this meaning: for example, [[English grammar]] could describe those rules followed by every one of the language's speakers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Janet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qjdqxecifHcC&q=Introduction+to+Sociolinguistics+Holmes |title=An Introduction to Sociolinguistics |publisher=Longman |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-582-32861-7 |edition=2nd |location=Harlow, Essex |pages=73–94}}</ref> At smaller scales, it may refer to rules shared by smaller groups of speakers.

A description, study, or analysis of such rules may also be known as a grammar, or as a [[grammar book]]. A [[reference work]] describing the grammar of a language is called a ''reference grammar'' or simply a ''grammar''. A fully revealed grammar, which describes the [[grammatical]] constructions of a particular speech type in great detail is called descriptive grammar. This kind of [[linguistic description]] contrasts with [[linguistic prescription]], a plan to marginalize some constructions while [[codification (linguistics)|codifying]] others, either absolutely or in the framework of a [[standard language]]. The word ''grammar'' often has divergent meanings when used in contexts outside linguistics. It may be used more broadly to include [[orthography|orthographic]] conventions of [[written language]], such as [[spelling]] and [[punctuation]], which are not typically considered part of grammar by linguists; that is, the [[convention (norm)|convention]]s used for writing a language. It may also be used more narrowly to refer to a set of [[linguistic prescription|prescriptive norms]] only, excluding the aspects of a language's grammar which do not [[variation (linguistics)|change]] or are clearly acceptable (or not) without the need for discussions.