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Anonymous Posted 21 years ago
Linguistics Studies
Put down that pebble!
This short story reminds me of some of the NES grammar teachers I've had over the years:
A grammarian who was walking on a beach 200 years ago. As he was walking, he saw a pebble that interested him and so he picked it up. The tide came in and began moving the other pebbles to and fro and so the grammarian climbed upon a convenient rock to better examine his find. 200 years later (this is an immortal grammarian) he drops the pebble he has been nursing back onto the beach and continues on his way. All the pebbles except his have been worn away by the tides but, protected by the grammarian, one single pebble, once similar to all the others on the beach, is now clearly different.
:-)))
A grammarian who was walking on a beach 200 years ago. As he was walking, he saw a pebble that interested him and so he picked it up. The tide came in and began moving the other pebbles to and fro and so the grammarian climbed upon a convenient rock to better examine his find. 200 years later (this is an immortal grammarian) he drops the pebble he has been nursing back onto the beach and continues on his way. All the pebbles except his have been worn away by the tides but, protected by the grammarian, one single pebble, once similar to all the others on the beach, is now clearly different.
:-)))
Top answer
Neat story! I know a few 'grammarians' like that myself. The job of the grammarian is not to enforce the grammar of a language, but to describe the grammar.
- Neat story!
- I know a few 'grammarians' like that myself.
- The job of the grammarian is not to enforce the grammar of a language, but to describe the grammar.
- Should the grammar of a language change over time, the grammarian should be there to document the change, not to prevent it.
- C.
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20 Answers
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Neat story!
I know a few 'grammarians' like that myself.
The job of the grammarian is not to enforce the grammar of a language, but to describe the grammar. Should the grammar of a language change over time, the grammarian should be there to document the change, not to prevent it.
C.
I know a few 'grammarians' like that myself.
The job of the grammarian is not to enforce the grammar of a language, but to describe the grammar. Should the grammar of a language change over time, the grammarian should be there to document the change, not to prevent it.
C.
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Crux_onlineThe job of the grammarian is not to enforce the grammar of a language, but to describe the grammar. Should the grammar of a language change over time, the grammarian should be there to document the change, not to prevent it.
Suppose Grammarian A, in 2050, publishes a book in which he states that it is ungrammatical to begin a sent
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To what can my life on earth be likened?
To a British Bulldog,
drunkenly stumbling home through the snow.
Sometimes leaving a trace of vomit in his passage.
To a British Bulldog,
drunkenly stumbling home through the snow.
Sometimes leaving a trace of vomit in his passage.
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MrPedanticSuppose Grammarian A, in 2050, publishes a book in which he states that it is ungrammatical to begin a sentence with a pronoun. His arguments, for one reason and another, are strangely convincing. Sub-editors begin to correct the Fronted Pronoun.Grammarian A in my view would have overstepped his bounds egregiously.
MrPed
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Julielai???????,???????????????,???????
??, Julielai!
???????? ????????.
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