What linguistics is not ?
Traditional grammar :is the theory that allowed to know the correct usage of language and it guides us to distinguish between correct and false rules of speech, it puts rules of the usage of language (it relate between words and their meanings).
The role of grammarians:
• The traditional grammarians taught people how they should speak.
• They put rules to the language for the correct usage.
The differences between traditional grammar and historical linguistics:
Traditional grammar:
o Selective: subjective, evaluates, criticized, selects, right from wrong.
o Priority to written language
o Based on classical languages such as standard and literary languages.
o Prescriptive: prescribes rules, telling people how they ought to speak and write.
o Nation of correctness.
Modern linguistics:
o Scientific: objective, empirical, systematic, explicit, descriptive, synchronic.
o Priority to spoken language.
o General (interested in all languages, all forms, and all aspects of the language).
o Describes language in its own terms non judgments.
o Nation op appropriateness.