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The ONE grammar in any language | ||
Tags: Grammar books | Grammar | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Paco Senior Member Hong Kong Joined 4066 days ago 145 posts - 251 votes  Speaks: Cantonese* | Message 1 of 19 01 April 2014 at 12:38am | IP Logged | |||||
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What is the one standard reference grammar in any language?
What in any language is the one grammar which can be seen as a touchstone of proficiency? By reference grammar, I refer to the books which you are not supposed to read from cover to cover, but consult, with specific questions in mind; and when you do have questions, most probably they are your last hopes. For instance, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language should be the standard reference for English, so is Le Bon Usage for French. By "touchstone", I refer to books which can be seen as the last books before a learner graduates from the obligatory, scientific studies of a language. They can be references which you read through, or of a pedagogical nature which you work with. (I am aware that some do not think grammar studies is essential when learning languages, and a few succeeds without it, so this question addresses specifically those who would make sure they have a good grasp of the grammar before claiming high proficiency.) I would like to hear from you! Edited by Paco on 01 April 2014 at 12:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5109 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 2 of 19 01 April 2014 at 1:28am | IP Logged | |||||
IMHO, knowing all the rules in a grammar book doesn't guarantee proficiency.
I prefer Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, which was recommended to me by several EFL teachers. I also enjoyed reading Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6386 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 3 of 19 01 April 2014 at 10:00am | IP Logged | |||||
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It doesn't guarantee proficiency, but some have grammar requirements for proficiency, especially in the formal language education system. (Most of the time it's not necessary to to be able to explain the rules/know the *declarative* ones.)
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| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6371 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 4 of 19 01 April 2014 at 12:55pm | IP Logged | |||||
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For Cantonese, it's pretty easy: Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar by Stephen Matthews and Virginia Yip is, as far as I know, the only grammar of Cantonese, so I guess it's the one.
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| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 6945 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 5 of 19 01 April 2014 at 3:13pm | IP Logged | |||||
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For Finnish it seems to be Iso suomen kielioppi although any edition of Fred Karlsson's Finnish: An Essential Grammar is more than sufficient for most people.
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| yuhakko Tetraglot Senior Member FranceRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4421 days ago 414 posts - 582 votes Speaks: French*, EnglishB2, EnglishC2, Spanish, Japanese Studies: Korean, Norwegian, Mandarin | Message 6 of 19 01 April 2014 at 4:17pm | IP Logged | |||||
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For Japanese : A Dictionary of Basic （Intermediate and Advanced) Japanese Grammar from
the Japan Times. Go through the 3 books and you'll be sure to know everything related to Jap grammar.. if you're still alive. For Korean: The Korean Grammar in Use series （Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)： Not sure if there's nothing better, but that's what I'd recommend. Precise, Varied, Colorful, Audio.. Incredible ressource For Mandarin: Don't really know, but maybe "Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar, A practical Guide"? By Claudia Ross & Jing-Heng Sheng Ma. It's pretty full although rather dry. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Paco Senior Member Hong Kong Joined 4066 days ago 145 posts - 251 votes Speaks: Cantonese* | Message 7 of 19 01 April 2014 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thank you for the critical comments. I apologise for not stating clearly my view of
grammar. I agree that knowledge of grammar does not guarantee proficiency, sometimes fluent speakers even have minimal knowledge of it. But I would like to know, for people who agree a good grasp of grammar knowledge through specific grammar studies is a preferable, if not essential, component of the learning process, which grammars fit the bill. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| dmaddock1 Senior Member United States Joined 5222 days ago 174 posts - 426 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Esperanto, Latin, Ancient Greek | Message 8 of 19 01 April 2014 at 7:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
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For Latin and Ancient Greek, the reference grammars I've seen cited the most are:
Latin A Latin Grammar, Bennett New Latin Grammar, Allen & Greenough Greek Greek Grammar, Goodwin Greek Grammar, Smyth All are public domain and available as PDFs at Textkit. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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