How to use this book

A commonly held view of grammar is that it is a rather dull topic, something that must be mastered in order to understand better our first language or learn another language. One of the aims of this book is to put the case that grammar is a fascinating area of study and at the heart of our ability to communicate with one another. The ease with which most of us are able to exchange information, social pleasantries and get things done is a reflection of our ability to control grammatical choices in our dealings with people, whether face to face, in writing or on the telephone. The choices we make are influenced not only by the message we want to convey but also by factors such as who we are talking to, the purpose of the communication and the formality of the situation; that is, the context in which we are using the language.Most of us are aware that we use different words in different contexts, but are less sensitised to the differences in how we put the words together – how the grammar of speech and writing is affected by context and how grammar in turn shapes that context as an interaction continues.

Grammar and Context is a book designed to illustrate the relationships between grammatical choices and the contexts in which they are made. It is not a book that will teach you how to conduct a detailed grammatical analysis, but it will introduce the growing amount of research that is opening up new views on how grammar functions in communication. You will have the opportunity to read about, reflect on and explore grammar used in a wide range of contexts. So, for example, you will learn about grammar in electronic communication, in workplace and institutional settings, in language acquisition, in different social, cultural, gender and age groups, and also about differences between spoken and written grammar.

Our approach to studying the relationships between grammar and context will be particularly relevant for students of applied linguistics or English language at final year undergraduate or postgraduate level. Students of media or communications will also find much that is of interest. We assume some basic knowledge of grammatical concepts and terminology, but anything beyond this is explained and illustrated so that the material should be easily accessible to most readers. For additional support we have included a glossary of grammatical terms.While our focus is very much on the grammar of English, much of what is included in Grammar and Context will have more general relevance to other languages.

The book is divided into three sections.
A: Introduction consists of nine units dealing with the central concepts of grammar and context. It contains activities for you to carry out alone or with others if you are studying this book as part of a course.

B: Extension provides a number of extracts from articles and books relating to grammar and context which give you further insights into the concepts introduced in Section A. Each extract in B: Extension is preceded and followed by activities to focus your reading and then help you to evaluate critically what you have read and understand how it links to a wider discussion of grammar and context.

C: Exploration builds on the material you will already have found in the book. In this section you are encouraged to become active researchers of the language. Each unit provides structured opportunities for analysis of authentic data,with feedback, and then additional data is provided for further analysis by individuals or groups. Finally, suggestions are given for research projects including ways of finding and collecting suitable data. You will find more information about how each section is organised in the section introductions.

The organisation of this book means that you can concentrate on particular themes such as Grammar in conversation or Grammar and gender by reading the relevant units from B: Extension and C: Exploration consecutively. However,we recommend that you read the whole of A: Introduction before embarking on Sections B and C as it provides important foundation material. There is extensive cross-referencing throughout the book to help you to find your way around. At the end of the book there is a Further reading section relating to each unit.