Here are some key characteristics:
Focus on Latin:
* Latin grammar was seen as a model of linguistic perfection, and traditional English grammar borrowed many of its concepts and terminology from Latin. This included parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.), case (nominative, accusative, genitive, etc.), and tense (present, past, future, etc.).
* However, English is a very different language from Latin, and its grammar doesn't neatly fit into the Latin framework. This led to inconsistencies and artificial rules in traditional English grammar.
Emphasis on prescriptive rules:
* Traditional grammar aimed to prescribe how English *should* be spoken and written, rather than describing how it was actually used. This led to a focus on "correctness" and "incorrectness," with strict rules about things like pronoun case, verb conjugation, and the use of double negatives.
* These rules often lacked a strong basis in actual language use and could be quite arbitrary.
Limited understanding of language change:
* Traditional grammarians generally didn't consider how language changes over time. They saw the "correct" way to speak and write English as fixed and unchanging, even though language is constantly evolving.
Examples of Traditional Grammar Rules:
* "Never end a sentence with a preposition."
* "Never split an infinitive."
* "Use 'who' for people and 'which' for things."
* "You should not use double negatives."
The Decline of Traditional Grammar:
In the 20th century, linguists began to develop a more descriptive approach to grammar, focusing on how people actually use language. This "descriptive grammar" challenged the prescriptive rules of traditional grammar and led to a more nuanced understanding of English.
Importance of Traditional Grammar:
Despite its limitations, traditional grammar played a vital role in shaping our understanding of the English language. It provided a framework for analyzing language and helped to develop a common set of grammatical terms. However, it's important to note that many of its rules are now considered outdated and should be understood within the context of its historical development.
Modern Grammar:
Today, we have a much more sophisticated understanding of English grammar based on modern linguistic research. This includes:
* Descriptive Grammar: focuses on how language is actually used, rather than prescribing rules.
* Generative Grammar: attempts to explain how language works by proposing rules and structures that account for our ability to understand and produce an infinite number of sentences.
* Corpus Linguistics: uses large collections of written and spoken language to study language patterns and trends.
While traditional grammar still has some relevance in terms of understanding the history of English, modern approaches to grammar are far more accurate and useful for understanding how language actually works.