In Grammar^x, Dialects^x

Anonymous wrote: As a part of human reflexion, he is prone to generate some rules (instead of acquiring the language like a child): what does a word starting with '水' on the left mean? Do we need 'er' here or there? He is already prescribing a set of rules. I eschew Chinese grammar, but as a...

Randy_Tam wrote:All this draws me to the conclusion that there is no other justifiable reason than social status and the extent to which a language is used to distinguish between a 'dialect' and a language. Cantonese and Mandarin share the same written language, so it's harder to see the two...

O... one more thing, as I said before, 'prescriptivism' is a useful way to begin studying a second language. But THIS IS VIRTUALLY UNNECESSARY in L1 acquisition. A child will formulate tacit rules himself. Frankly I am never taught something like 'Cantonese grammar' and I can at least communicate...

The distinction between a 'language' and a 'dialect' is never drawn clear, as it is, as you put it, an arbitrary assignment of jargons. Both a 'language' and a 'dialect' have some major common traits that distinguish them from other communication systems (ie. both are human - specific):...

Randy_Tam wrote:I am only taking Mandarin as a complusory second language credit course, my L1 being Cantonese Chinese, now considered a 'dialect' for no justifiable reasons, as there has never been a clear distinction drawn between a 'dialect' and a 'language': do the 2 not share the very...

Julielai wrote: Hi Randy, Prescriptive linguistics does serve a certain purpose. For one, rules are very helpful to beginning learners. Of course, no one can stem the tide of linguistic changes. Languages are made to adapt to changes in society itself, so these prescriptivists you mentioned...

O, I thought you were, as your quote is in Chinese. Yes, L(x) is a function indicating whether a language is 'native' or 'foreign' to a person. It is not restricted to Language Acquisition though, as it is widely used in such topics as Language Teaching (see for example, Eric Hawkin's...

I don't think it is even theoretically possible that people use a 'Standard English' to communicate, even in a linguistically homogeneous community. Given the assumption that 'L1 Speakers of English have an idealized set of linguistic expressions (that can be generated from the grammar...

Nona The Brit wrote:And teacher Brian...what do people in Scotland, Wales and Ireland speak? That is exactly the point I am making! By simply using the expression 'native speaker of English' the jod advert was not clear. One of my students had been speaking Chinese-English for many years....

I think there are a couple things that will tend to muddle any real discussion of the subject: 1. Mr P points out the tendentious leanings of the question. Is there a specific dialect or language that is not-quite-so-transparently being insinuated into the fabric of the question? Are we...