Grammar and dictionary

When we come to consider the best way in which to arrange linguistic facts, we are at once confronted with the very important division between grammar and dictionary /lexicology/. Grammar deals with the general facts of language, and lexicology with special facts. That “cat” denotes that particular animal is a special fact which concerns that word alone, but the formation of the plural by adding the sound -s is a general fact because it concerns a great many other words as well: rats, hats, works, books, caps, chiefs, etc.

It might be objected that if this be the proper distinction between grammar and dictionary, the formation of the plural oxen, from -ox should form no part of English grammar and should be mentioned dictionaries only. This is partly true as shown by the fact that all dictionaries mention such irregularities under the word concerned, while they do not trouble to indicate the plural of such words as cat and the other just mentioned. Similarly with irregular and regular verbs. Yet such irregularities should not be excluded from the grammar of a language, as they are necessary to indicate the limit within the “general facts” or rules hold good: if we did not mention oxen, a student might think that oxes was the real plural of ox. Grammar and dictionary thus in some respects overlap and deal the same facts.

We see now that the usual enumeration in grammars of numerals is really out of place there, but that, on the other hand, such facts as the formation of ordinals by means of the ending -th and of 20, 30 etc., by means of -ty unquestionable belong to the province of grammar.

With regards to prepositions, it is quite right that dictionaries should account for the various uses of at, for, in etc., just as they deal fully with the various meaning of the verb put and set. But on the other hand prepositions find their proper place in grammars in so far as there are “general facts” to be mentioned in connection with them. I shall mention a few: while prepositions may sometimes govern dependent interrogatory clauses /”they disagree as to how he works”, “that depends on what answer she will give”/ they cannot generally govern a clause introduced by that as they can in Danish; the chief exception is in that /“they differ in that he is generous and she is miserly”/. Therefore sure is treated in two ways in Goldsmith’s “Are you sure of all this, are you sure that nothing ill has be fallen my boy? ” Other general facts concern the combination of two prepositions as in “from behind the bush” /note that “to behind” is impossible/, the relations between preposition and adverb /as in “climb up a tree”, “he is in”, compared to “in his study”, “he steps in” compared to “he steps into his study”. Grammar also has to deal with general facts concerning the ways in which prepositions express “rest at a place” and “movement to or from a place”, as also the relation between the local and temporal signification of the same preposition; even more strictly within the province of grammar are those uses of some prepositions in which they lose their local or temporal signification and descend into the category of empty or colourless /”pale”/ words or auxiliaries; this is the case with “of” in “the father of the boy”/cf. the genitive case in “the boy’s father”/ “all of them” “the City of London”, “that scoundrel of a servant” etc., and similarly with “to” before an infinitive and when it is what many grammars term a dative equivalent “I gave a shilling to the boy”, “I gave the boy a shilling”. But in some cases it may remain doubtful and to some extent arbitrary what to include in the grammar and what to reserve for exclusive treatment in the dictionary.

Questions:

1. What does grammar deal with?

2. What problems does dictionary treat?

3. What do all dictionaries mention?

4. Why shouldn’t irregularities be excluded from the grammar of a language?

5. Do grammar and dictionary deal with different facts?

6. What does O. Jespersen think of prepositions?

7. Do numerals only belong to the province of dictionary?

8. Do prepositions only belong to the province of grammar?

9. Does it remain doubtful what to include in the grammar and what to reserve for exclusive treatment in the dictionary?