General Linguistics and the Linguistics of Particular Languages

The linguistic study of particular languages must be based on general considerations. Descriptive grammars must incorporate the main results of theoretical linguistics. The more a descriptive grammar reflects the advances in theoretical work, the more up to date & valuable it is. This article critically examines some contemporary grammars of English, German, & French from this viewpoint. From among the grammars considered, R. Quirk et al's A Grammar of Contemporary English (1972), P. Eisenberg's Grundriss der deutschen Grammatik ([Fundamentals of German Grammar] 1994), & P. le Goffic's Grammaire de la language francaise ([Grammar of French] 1991) fare best. 13 References. Adapted from the source document