Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site psivax.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!sdcrdcf!psivax!friesen
From: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Grammatical Rules
Message-ID: <259@psivax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Jan-85 15:07:04 EST
Article-I.D.: psivax.259
Posted: Mon Jan 21 15:07:04 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Jan-85 08:24:25 EST
References: <34@gitpyr.UUCP> <328@scc.UUCP>
Reply-To: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley friesen)
Distribution: net
Organization: Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA
Lines: 43
Summary: 

In article <328@scc.UUCP> steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) writes:
>	Many "rules of grammar" exist for purely sociolingistic
>reasons.  Sociolinguistics is the study of language and society.
>Languages or dialects of languages gain status and become more
>widespread for political and other reasons.   Until the late
>part of the last century we had a basic misconception about the
>genetic relationships of languages.  The theory is that English
>was really a deviant decendent of Latin instead of a totally different
>branch on the same tree as Latin.   Because of the sacred writings
>in Latin, Latin was considered a "better" and more "pure" language.
>Thus, there are "rules of English grammar" that are "rule" simply
>because people believed that English "should be" more like the
>more holy pure language, Latin.  
>
>	An example of this is a "rule" of English that we 
>use the nominitive case for the object in:
>
>	It is I.
>	It is he.
>
>and not
>
>	It's me.
>	It's him.
>

	One of my favorite 'rules' of this sort is the one that
forbids sentences such as:
	When are you coming up?
because of a supposed "dangling preposition". From a
descriptive/historical perspective this is perfectly valid
English.  The final word is not even a preposition, it is an
adverbial particle, modifying the verb.  It is the English
equivalent of the German seperable prefix, and as in that
language it is perfectly normal to place it at the end.
Of course since Latin did not have such a construction,
and the words in question may also be used as prepositions,
the 'rule' was made outlawing them.
-- 

				Sarima (Stanley Friesen)

{trwrb|allegra|burdvax|cbosgd|hplabs|ihnp4|sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!psivax!friesen