TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Andreea S. Calude: Does grammar matter?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

You're telling a friend an amazing story, and you just get to the best part when suddenly he interrupts, "The alien and I," not "Me and the alien." Most of us would probably be annoyed, but aside from the rude iiretpntorun, does your friend have a point? Was your sentence actually gamlatimarcly incorrect? And if he still understood it, why does it even maettr? From the point of view of linguistics, grammar is a set of patterns for how words are put together to form peashrs or clauses, whether spoken or in writing. Different languages have different patterns. In English, the subject normally comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object, while in Japanese and many other languages, the order is subject, ojbcet, verb. Some scholars have tried to itdenify patterns common to all languages, but apart from some bisac features, like having nouns or vrebs, few of these so-called linguistic universals have been found. And while any language needs cnsitnesot patterns to function, the study of these patterns opens up an ongoing debate between two positions known as prescriptivism and descriptivism. glsrsoy simplified, prescriptivists think a given language should follow consistent rules, while descriptivists see variation and adaptation as a natural and necessary part of language. For much of history, the vast majority of language was spoken. But as people became more interconnected and writing gained importance, wiettrn language was standardized to allow broader communication and ensure that people in different prats of a realm could understand each other. In many languages, this standard form came to be considered the only proper one, despite being dreievd from just one of many spoken varieties, usually that of the people in power. Language purists worked to establish and propagate this standard by dneltaiig a set of rules that rcetelfed the established grammar of their times. And rules for written grammar were apeipld to spoken language, as well. seceph prttenas that deviated from the written rules were considered corruptions, or signs of low social status, and many plopee who had grown up speaking in these ways were forced to adopt the standardized form. More recently, however, linguists have understood that speech is a separate phenomenon from writing with its own regularities and patterns. Most of us learn to speak at such an ealry age that we don't even remember it. We form our spoken roerertipe through unconscious habits, not memorized rules. And because speech also uses mood and intonation for meaning, its structure is often more flexible, adapting to the needs of speakers and listeners. This could mean avoiding clmpeox clauses that are hard to parse in real time, making changes to aiovd awkward pronounciation, or removing sduons to make speech faster. The litgsiunic approach that tries to understand and map such differences without dctantiig correct ones is known as dctiivespirsm. Rather than deciding how language should be used, it dieercbss how people actually use it, and tacrks the innovations they come up with in the process. But while the datbee between ptvierciiprssm and descriptivism continues, the two are not mutually exclusive. At its best, prescriptivism is useful for informing people about the most common established patterns at a given point in time. This is important, not only for formal contexts, but it also makes communication easier between non-native speakers from different backgrounds. Descriptivism, on the other hand, gives us insight into how our minds work and the instinctive ways in which we sutcurtre our view of the wrold. Ultimately, grammar is best thought of as a set of linguistic habits that are constantly being negotiated and reinvented by the entire group of language usres. Like language itself, it's a wonderful and complex fabric woven through the contributions of speakers and lrteniess, writers and readers, prescriptivists and descriptivists, from both near and far.

Open Cloze

You're telling a friend an amazing story, and you just get to the best part when suddenly he interrupts, "The alien and I," not "Me and the alien." Most of us would probably be annoyed, but aside from the rude ____________, does your friend have a point? Was your sentence actually _____________ incorrect? And if he still understood it, why does it even ______? From the point of view of linguistics, grammar is a set of patterns for how words are put together to form _______ or clauses, whether spoken or in writing. Different languages have different patterns. In English, the subject normally comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object, while in Japanese and many other languages, the order is subject, ______, verb. Some scholars have tried to ________ patterns common to all languages, but apart from some _____ features, like having nouns or _____, few of these so-called linguistic universals have been found. And while any language needs __________ patterns to function, the study of these patterns opens up an ongoing debate between two positions known as prescriptivism and descriptivism. _______ simplified, prescriptivists think a given language should follow consistent rules, while descriptivists see variation and adaptation as a natural and necessary part of language. For much of history, the vast majority of language was spoken. But as people became more interconnected and writing gained importance, _______ language was standardized to allow broader communication and ensure that people in different _____ of a realm could understand each other. In many languages, this standard form came to be considered the only proper one, despite being _______ from just one of many spoken varieties, usually that of the people in power. Language purists worked to establish and propagate this standard by _________ a set of rules that _________ the established grammar of their times. And rules for written grammar were _______ to spoken language, as well. ______ ________ that deviated from the written rules were considered corruptions, or signs of low social status, and many ______ who had grown up speaking in these ways were forced to adopt the standardized form. More recently, however, linguists have understood that speech is a separate phenomenon from writing with its own regularities and patterns. Most of us learn to speak at such an _____ age that we don't even remember it. We form our spoken __________ through unconscious habits, not memorized rules. And because speech also uses mood and intonation for meaning, its structure is often more flexible, adapting to the needs of speakers and listeners. This could mean avoiding _______ clauses that are hard to parse in real time, making changes to _____ awkward pronounciation, or removing ______ to make speech faster. The __________ approach that tries to understand and map such differences without _________ correct ones is known as _____________. Rather than deciding how language should be used, it _________ how people actually use it, and ______ the innovations they come up with in the process. But while the ______ between ______________ and descriptivism continues, the two are not mutually exclusive. At its best, prescriptivism is useful for informing people about the most common established patterns at a given point in time. This is important, not only for formal contexts, but it also makes communication easier between non-native speakers from different backgrounds. Descriptivism, on the other hand, gives us insight into how our minds work and the instinctive ways in which we _________ our view of the _____. Ultimately, grammar is best thought of as a set of linguistic habits that are constantly being negotiated and reinvented by the entire group of language _____. Like language itself, it's a wonderful and complex fabric woven through the contributions of speakers and _________, writers and readers, prescriptivists and descriptivists, from both near and far.

Solution

complex
sounds
people
reflected
descriptivism
object
detailing
dictating
basic
derived
identify
speech
early
consistent
grossly
describes
written
verbs
tracks
users
world
linguistic
interruption
patterns
applied
repertoire
phrases
prescriptivism
avoid
grammatically
matter
debate
structure
listeners
parts

Original Text

You're telling a friend an amazing story, and you just get to the best part when suddenly he interrupts, "The alien and I," not "Me and the alien." Most of us would probably be annoyed, but aside from the rude interruption, does your friend have a point? Was your sentence actually grammatically incorrect? And if he still understood it, why does it even matter? From the point of view of linguistics, grammar is a set of patterns for how words are put together to form phrases or clauses, whether spoken or in writing. Different languages have different patterns. In English, the subject normally comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object, while in Japanese and many other languages, the order is subject, object, verb. Some scholars have tried to identify patterns common to all languages, but apart from some basic features, like having nouns or verbs, few of these so-called linguistic universals have been found. And while any language needs consistent patterns to function, the study of these patterns opens up an ongoing debate between two positions known as prescriptivism and descriptivism. Grossly simplified, prescriptivists think a given language should follow consistent rules, while descriptivists see variation and adaptation as a natural and necessary part of language. For much of history, the vast majority of language was spoken. But as people became more interconnected and writing gained importance, written language was standardized to allow broader communication and ensure that people in different parts of a realm could understand each other. In many languages, this standard form came to be considered the only proper one, despite being derived from just one of many spoken varieties, usually that of the people in power. Language purists worked to establish and propagate this standard by detailing a set of rules that reflected the established grammar of their times. And rules for written grammar were applied to spoken language, as well. Speech patterns that deviated from the written rules were considered corruptions, or signs of low social status, and many people who had grown up speaking in these ways were forced to adopt the standardized form. More recently, however, linguists have understood that speech is a separate phenomenon from writing with its own regularities and patterns. Most of us learn to speak at such an early age that we don't even remember it. We form our spoken repertoire through unconscious habits, not memorized rules. And because speech also uses mood and intonation for meaning, its structure is often more flexible, adapting to the needs of speakers and listeners. This could mean avoiding complex clauses that are hard to parse in real time, making changes to avoid awkward pronounciation, or removing sounds to make speech faster. The linguistic approach that tries to understand and map such differences without dictating correct ones is known as descriptivism. Rather than deciding how language should be used, it describes how people actually use it, and tracks the innovations they come up with in the process. But while the debate between prescriptivism and descriptivism continues, the two are not mutually exclusive. At its best, prescriptivism is useful for informing people about the most common established patterns at a given point in time. This is important, not only for formal contexts, but it also makes communication easier between non-native speakers from different backgrounds. Descriptivism, on the other hand, gives us insight into how our minds work and the instinctive ways in which we structure our view of the world. Ultimately, grammar is best thought of as a set of linguistic habits that are constantly being negotiated and reinvented by the entire group of language users. Like language itself, it's a wonderful and complex fabric woven through the contributions of speakers and listeners, writers and readers, prescriptivists and descriptivists, from both near and far.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

adaptation
adapting
adopt
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alien
amazing
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approach
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