0:00:06.648,0:00:09.226
You're telling a friend an amazing story,

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and you just get to the best part[br]when suddenly he interrupts,

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"The alien and I," not "Me and the alien."

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Most of us would probably be annoyed,

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but aside from the rude interruption,

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does your friend have a point?

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Was your sentence actually [br]grammatically incorrect?

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And if he still understood it,[br]why does it even matter?

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From the point of view of linguistics,

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grammar is a set of patterns [br]for how words are put together

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to form phrases or clauses,

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whether spoken or in writing.

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Different languages [br]have different patterns.

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In English, the subject [br]normally comes first,

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followed by the verb,

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and then the object,

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while in Japanese [br]and many other languages,

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the order is subject, object, verb.

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Some scholars have tried to identify[br]patterns common to all languages,

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but apart from some basic features,

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like having nouns or verbs,

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few of these so-called [br]linguistic universals have been found.

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And while any language needs consistent[br]patterns to function,

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the study of these patterns opens up[br]an ongoing debate between two positions

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known as prescriptivism[br]and descriptivism.

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Grossly simplified,

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prescriptivists think a given language [br]should follow consistent rules,

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while descriptivists see variation[br]and adaptation as a natural

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and necessary part of language.

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For much of history, the vast majority[br]of language was spoken.

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But as people became more interconnected[br]and writing gained importance,

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written language was standardized[br]to allow broader communication

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and ensure that people in different parts[br]of a realm could understand each other.

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In many languages, this standard form[br]came to be considered the only proper one,

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despite being derived from just one[br]of many spoken varieties,

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usually that of the people in power.

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Language purists worked to establish[br]and propagate this standard

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by detailing a set of rules that reflected[br]the established grammar of their times.

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And rules for written grammar were applied[br]to spoken language, as well.

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Speech patterns that deviated from the[br]written rules were considered corruptions,

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or signs of low social status,

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and many people who had grown up[br]speaking in these ways

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were forced to adopt [br]the standardized form.

0:02:30.570,0:02:31.886
More recently, however,

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linguists have understood that speech[br]is a separate phenomenon from writing

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with its own regularities and patterns.

0:02:38.287,0:02:42.891
Most of us learn to speak at such an early[br]age that we don't even remember it.

0:02:42.891,0:02:46.468
We form our spoken repertoire through[br]unconscious habits,

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not memorized rules.

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And because speech also uses mood[br]and intonation for meaning,

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its structure is often more flexible,

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adapting to the needs of speakers[br]and listeners.

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This could mean avoiding complex clauses[br]that are hard to parse in real time,

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making changes to avoid awkward[br]pronounciation,

0:03:06.037,0:03:09.388
or removing sounds to make speech faster.

0:03:09.388,0:03:13.571
The linguistic approach that tries[br]to understand and map such differences

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without dictating correct ones[br]is known as descriptivism.

0:03:17.945,0:03:20.301
Rather than deciding how language[br]should be used,

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it describes how people actually use it,

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and tracks the innovations [br]they come up with in the process.

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But while the debate between

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prescriptivism [br]and descriptivism continues,

0:03:31.175,0:03:33.598
the two are not mutually exclusive.

0:03:33.598,0:03:37.072
At its best, prescriptivism is useful[br]for informing people

0:03:37.072,0:03:41.675
about the most common established[br]patterns at a given point in time.

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This is important, [br]not only for formal contexts,

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but it also makes communication easier[br]between non-native speakers

0:03:48.432,0:03:50.620
from different backgrounds.

0:03:50.620,0:03:52.194
Descriptivism, on the other hand,

0:03:52.194,0:03:54.447
gives us insight into how our minds work

0:03:54.447,0:03:58.855
and the instinctive ways in which we [br]structure our view of the world.

0:03:58.855,0:04:03.461
Ultimately, grammar is best thought of[br]as a set of linguistic habits

0:04:03.461,0:04:06.751
that are constantly being negotiated[br]and reinvented

0:04:06.751,0:04:09.966
by the entire group of language users.

0:04:09.966,0:04:11.352
Like language itself,

0:04:11.352,0:04:13.217
it's a wonderful and complex fabric

0:04:13.217,0:04:17.080
woven through the contributions[br]of speakers and listeners,

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writers and readers,

0:04:18.565,0:04:20.781
prescriptivists and descriptivists,

0:04:20.781,0:04:22.663
from both near and far.