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1. From the time that we began to talk we have been learning the use of language;
that is, we have been learning how to make others know what we want, what we think and how we feel, by speaking to them in words
which they will hear and understand. As we grew older we learned to express our thoughts and feelings by writing our words for others to see and read; and in this way, if we were all deaf and dumb, we should still be able to use our language. |
| 2. When spoken words were first committed to writing, the letters that people used in each word were meant to stand for the sounds that they made in speaking it. Still today each written word is meant to represent a spoken one, so that it is really the same language used in these two ways, and the words are the same. |
| 3. The Study of Language is the study of words and of the proper use of them in expressing what we have to say. |
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4. In our language, — English, spoken first only in England, but now used in many other parts of the world —
there are thousands and thousands of words, each with a different meaning.
It is by studying language that we become familiar with the pronunciation, the spelling, and the meaning of these words,
and that we acquire readiness in using them to express our thoughts and feelings. By this study, too, our aim should be to learn to choose (1) the most appropriate words, (2) the most appropriate forms of these words when written, (3) the most appropriate forms of these words when spoken, and (4) the most appropriate way to put them together with other words in a properly formed sentence. This skill will enable us to improve our habits of speech and writing so that they will be understood without betraying an ignorance of or carelessness about what is socially acceptable. |
| 5. The surest way to become skilful in the use of language is by constant practice in correct speaking and writing. We should read books that are written in the best English, and we should study and imitate the best writers and speakers in our choice of words and in our way of putting them together, so that we may use our language easily, as a good workman uses his tools, and so that we may be able to correct our own errors. |
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6. Besides doing all this, it will be good to understand a little more about words, and to learn some of the rules for using them.
For, although we do not think about rules when we are speaking, they will make it easier for us to study examples of good English, and to form correct habits ourselves.
It is pleasant, too, to feel that we know about our language, and that we can reason about our forms of expression. While studying language, then, we ought also to learn how some of our words have been made from others; how they are all divided into classes; how their forms are changed; and how they are put together in sentences. This includes what is called English grammar. |
| 7. Grammar shows how words are made, how their forms are changed, and how they are put together in sentences according to their kinds.3 |
| 7a. Orthography is that part of grammar that shows how words are spelled, and how they are to appear in documents and various kinds of literature. |
| 7b. Phonology is that part of grammar that shows how words are pronounced, and how they are to sound when connected in discourse of various kinds. |
| 7c. Morphology is that part of grammar that shows how words are composed of various meaningful pieces and what changes may occur in them in various spoken or written situations. |
| 7d. Syntax is that part of grammar that shows how words are put together in various patterns to express what we think or feel. |
| 7e. Semantics is that part of grammar that shows how words and their patterns express what we think or feel. |
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