Evaluation of Analyzing English Grammar Manual - Book Report/Review Example

 Abstract Analyzing English Grammar is different from traditional grammar books as it challenges its readers to think critically, to analyse language, and evaluate the rules of language. The review considers the book as one that draws on prescriptive, descriptive, structural and transformational grammar to present an advanced and intense analysis of English grammar. The book is designed to assist students to improve their focal knowledge of English grammar at the same time evaluate its rules and make choices in terms of usage. The book is well-organized that each succeeding chapter builds on the previous chapter. The book does not restrict its analyses to only the prototypical cases but also makes students aware of the problematic nature of hazy or contradictory cases in language usage. The book is complex and demands serious study. It can be handy as a reference book with its summary and rules tables, but if used for intense study, it will prove to be an effective text book. Book Review Analyzing English Grammar published by Longman has been authored by a team of three, who are professors of Linguistics. The book presents comprehensive study of English grammar using detailed linguistic analysis of the language and goes beyond discussions of articles, parts of speech and verbs. The book is organised into twelve chapters and an appendix. Each chapter is further divided into sub-sections that are clearly sign-posted under sub-headings and listed in the Table of Contents. All chapters except the first two follow a consistent structure. They open with a chapter preview and a list of chapter goals and end with a brief summary, review exercises, list of key terms and end notes with cross references. Each chapter presents definitions, explanations, detailed analyses, examples and critical thinking exercises. Unlike popular grammar books, the first two chapters provide background information about prescriptive, descriptive and pedagogic grammar, discuss notions of ‘correctness’, and explain the differences between standard and non-standard English. There is an elaborate description of African-American vernacular too. The appendix on American English Sounds complements the discussion in Chapter Two. The book opens its analysis of language with a study of morphology and the fundamental units of meaning in English language. The book goes on to present the next higher unit in language: words. The book presents in-depth analysis of parts of speech, but does that under two distinct groups: form-class and structure-class words. The book further divides the latter into modifying and connecting words and discusses them in detail. The three chapters provide comprehensive analysis of the grammatical relationships within a sentence in terms of meaning and structure using diagrams. The second half of the book builds on the grammatical structures introduced in the first part. There are separate chapters for phrases, sentence types and clauses. The chapter on sentence types presents extensive analysis of predicate, main verb and complements. There is an exclusive chapter on sentence transformations in which the book describes the relationship between basic sentence structures and other variants in terms of form, function and meaning. Chapters ten and eleven explore finite verb clauses and explain clauses in simple, compound, and complex sentences and go on to elaborate on the functional aspect of verb clauses. The last chapter is dedicated to non-finite verb phrases such as infinitive, participle and gerund phrases. The first impression of the book is that the text book follows a logical order in organising its content. Each chapter builds on the previous one as the book advances from fundamental units to more composite units in language analysis. The natural continuity in topics is one of the strengths of this book. The goals listed in the beginning of each chapter prove very useful in easy navigation as they provide an overview of all key points covered in the chapter. The need for a comprehensive index would have been felt had it not been for the lists of chapter goals and key terms in each chapter. Each chapter includes several tables that help identify key concepts and ideas. These are named as ‘summary’ and ‘rules of thumb’ tables, which are concise and come handy for quick reference. The appendix on pronunciation but not on punctuation or spelling appears to be a little out of place, but given the nature of the book and its intense linguistic analysis, the appendix fits in. The significant positive features of this book are not limited to summary tables or to its logical organisation, but also include its detailed explanation of concepts and terms using extensive examples and illustrations. The book uses sentence diagramming, tree diagrams and IC (Immediate Constituent) analysis as aids in in-depth language analysis, which prove highly effective in revealing advanced and complex language structures, and the grammatical relationships within a sentence. The book shows distinction between confusing pairs of concepts or structures with the help of comprehensive sets of examples. Such in-depth investigation makes this book an advanced study in English grammar. Usage and review exercises at the end of each chapter provide extensive practice with each concept. Analyzing English Language is not a traditional grammar book as it not only presents analyses of prototypical cases but also peripheral cases and those that cannot be easily generalised to encourage critical thinking about the stylistic and functional variants across standard and non-standard varieties of English. Moreover, the entire book keeps form, function and meaning together in its discussion of all concepts. In so doing, the book presents language in its entirety and not as isolated parts. Also, in its introductory chapters on regional and social varieties of English language, the book takes a unique approach to grammar teaching. Such an approach adds to the methodical linguistic analysis in the rest of the book to demonstrate how meaning and form change with social and regional contexts. The analysis goes beyond cursory rules of grammar to demonstrate how to analyse language and to evaluate grammar rules. Therefore, the book can be described as more pedagogical than prescriptive. At the same time, the book is so dense in content and analysis that it could be considered as too complex for those who want to improve their grammar on their own. The book is great for those preparing to become teachers of English language and it can be of significant help in classroom discussions on the fine and intricate aspects of language. There are no weaknesses or limitations per se, but the intensive analysis of language might make the content too challenging for independent study and there is no answer key. Analysing English Grammar is for intense study and is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about language analysis and become specialized in English grammar. It is a perfect book for students of linguistics, teacher educators, student teachers and teachers of English as a second language as this book is a great resource to be exploited with its detailed analysis of concepts, syntax and usage as well as its pedagogical tools such as illustrations, tables and critical thinking exercises. The unique linguistic approach to English grammar, the clarity of concepts, and the depth of analysis make this book a useful addition to library. However, this book is not for anyone looking for an introductory book to English grammar or for those looking for a quick reference guide. It is more than a reference book and is a useful tool and a great resource for current and prospective teachers. References Klammer, T. P., Schulz, M. R., & Volpe, A. D. (2012). Analyzing English Grammar (7th ed.). [Place of Publication]: Pearson, Longman. Read More