Ensinar x Não ensinar gramática: ainda cabe essa questão?

Abstract

In this article, the author revisits the history of grammar in the Greco-Roman tradition from its origins to its introduction in the study of modern languages. Particular attention is given to the historical change that affected the role of grammar in language education. In Rome, grammar had a living language as a reference and its teaching was subsidiary to the development of speaking and writing skills. In the Middle Ages, however, grammar had as a reference a dead language (classical Latin as artificially constructed by the scholars) and, as a consequence, it played a central role in language education. At the end, the author proposes a renovation in the teaching of grammar which should take the real standard language as a reference and subordinate grammatical issues to the development of speaking and writing skills. Key words: history of grammar, teaching of grammar, standard language.