Linguistic Perspectives on English Grammar | Martin J. Endley

The proposed book is best described as a linguistically oriented textbook taking the grammar of English as itssubject matter. It is directed to professional teachers of English (ESL and EFL) and their students, as well asthose currently training to become teachers of English. The book is also likely to be of interest to interpreters, translators and other English language professionals. It will explore selected aspects and problem areas ofEnglish from a broadly "functional" linguistic perspective. My experience as a teacher and teacher trainer hasshown me that this perspective has the potential to inspire teachers and students with a genuine enthusiasmfor the grammatical features of English and that it often enables them to "make sense" of the grammar in away that all too often other approaches fail to do. An important focus of the book is on understanding grammar as a series of conventionalized patterns ratherthan a set of rules (which is how grammar has traditionally been presented). Moreover, unlike many othergrammar books, this book emphasizes how the grammatical constructions under consideration are employedin various types of communicative situation, attention being given to the importance of discourse context in interpreting the target forms. In line withcontemporary linguists generally, the approach adopted is descriptive rather than prescriptive. While the main focus is on English, I offer occasionalcomments on how the issue under discussion is expressed in languages other than English. Apart from the inherent interest which I hope suchcomparisons may have for the reader, I take the view that these can be helpful in casting further light on the grammar of English.