1887
Perspectives on Grammar Writing
  • ISSN 0378-4177
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9978

Abstract

A language is a living soul to a community, a source of dignity and prestige for all people. Once it dies, the whole community dies. A written grammar can support a community by encouraging the use of a community language. Sometimes, however, grammars are ways that outsiders "mine" a local community for the outsiders' benefit, leaving the community of speakers with nothing. This paper discusses the need for linguistic grammars from the perspective of the community in which the language is used. Arguments for including local concerns in grammar writing are presented. One approach to writing a grammar that will serve the needs of linguists and the community is partnership. University professors, field linguists, retired field workers and others can work with local linguists to write grammars that will truly meet the needs of all.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/sl.30.2.04kad
2006-01-01
2024-10-06
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/sl.30.2.04kad
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error