Senses of “Grammar” in the Eighteenth-Century English Tradition

Abstract

The term grammar is elastic and flexible, a result of changing conventions in the grammatical tradition since the time of Greek philosophers and of the variety of senses that the term can convey. This paper will explore two sources of evidence that serve to shed light on the understanding of grammar in the eighteenth century, namely the divisions into primary constituents (orthography, orthoëpy, etymology, syntax and prosody) and the subsidiary content that accompanies the main parts of grammar (e.g. punctuation, lists of irregular verbs, figurative syntax). It will be shown that there is a great deal of uniformity and consistency in the enumeration of the primary parts of grammar, but also a rich variety of patterns and a richer overall variety in secondary material. Building on Ian Michael's work on the English grammatical tradition, and using data from the Eighteenth-Century English Grammars database, this study will contribute to recent work in linguistic grammaticology by providing insights into what eighteenth-century writers considered essential for a good knowledge of grammar, at a time when proper and correct knowledge of English was a key instrument for social advancement, and a time when the growing literacy and readership revolutionised the print culture.