[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.65,0:00:09.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're telling a friend an amazing story,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.23,0:00:13.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you just get to the best part\Nwhen suddenly he interrupts,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.64,0:00:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The alien and I," not "Me and the alien."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.82,0:00:19.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of us would probably be annoyed,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.81,0:00:21.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but aside from the rude interruption,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.91,0:00:23.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does your friend have a point?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.71,0:00:26.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Was your sentence actually \Ngrammatically incorrect?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.84,0:00:30.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if he still understood it,\Nwhy does it even matter?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.87,0:00:32.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From the point of view of linguistics,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.72,0:00:36.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grammar is a set of patterns \Nfor how words are put together
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.55,0:00:39.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to form phrases or clauses,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.10,0:00:41.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether spoken or in writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.90,0:00:44.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Different languages \Nhave different patterns.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.09,0:00:47.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In English, the subject \Nnormally comes first,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.43,0:00:48.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,followed by the verb,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.69,0:00:50.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then the object,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.01,0:00:52.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while in Japanese \Nand many other languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.55,0:00:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the order is subject, object, verb.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.90,0:01:00.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some scholars have tried to identify\Npatterns common to all languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.15,0:01:02.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but apart from some basic features,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.50,0:01:04.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like having nouns or verbs,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.59,0:01:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,few of these so-called \Nlinguistic universals have been found.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.94,0:01:12.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And while any language needs consistent\Npatterns to function,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.03,0:01:17.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the study of these patterns opens up\Nan ongoing debate between two positions
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.31,0:01:20.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,known as prescriptivism\Nand descriptivism.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.91,0:01:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Grossly simplified,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.20,0:01:26.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prescriptivists think a given language \Nshould follow consistent rules,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.06,0:01:30.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while descriptivists see variation\Nand adaptation as a natural
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.69,0:01:33.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and necessary part of language.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.88,0:01:38.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For much of history, the vast majority\Nof language was spoken.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.32,0:01:42.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as people became more interconnected\Nand writing gained importance,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.29,0:01:46.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written language was standardized\Nto allow broader communication
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.34,0:01:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ensure that people in different parts\Nof a realm could understand each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.08,0:01:56.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In many languages, this standard form\Ncame to be considered the only proper one,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.74,0:02:00.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite being derived from just one\Nof many spoken varieties,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.66,0:02:03.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,usually that of the people in power.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.08,0:02:07.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Language purists worked to establish\Nand propagate this standard
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.43,0:02:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by detailing a set of rules that reflected\Nthe established grammar of their times.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.02,0:02:17.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And rules for written grammar were applied\Nto spoken language, as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.24,0:02:21.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Speech patterns that deviated from the\Nwritten rules were considered corruptions,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.68,0:02:24.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or signs of low social status,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.09,0:02:26.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and many people who had grown up\Nspeaking in these ways
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.68,0:02:30.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were forced to adopt \Nthe standardized form.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.57,0:02:31.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More recently, however,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.89,0:02:36.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,linguists have understood that speech\Nis a separate phenomenon from writing
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.14,0:02:38.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with its own regularities and patterns.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.29,0:02:42.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of us learn to speak at such an early\Nage that we don't even remember it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.89,0:02:46.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We form our spoken repertoire through\Nunconscious habits,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.47,0:02:48.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not memorized rules.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.83,0:02:52.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because speech also uses mood\Nand intonation for meaning,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.62,0:02:54.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its structure is often more flexible,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.78,0:02:58.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,adapting to the needs of speakers\Nand listeners.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.73,0:03:03.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This could mean avoiding complex clauses\Nthat are hard to parse in real time,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.24,0:03:06.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making changes to avoid awkward\Npronounciation,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.04,0:03:09.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or removing sounds to make speech faster.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.39,0:03:13.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The linguistic approach that tries\Nto understand and map such differences
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.57,0:03:17.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without dictating correct ones\Nis known as descriptivism.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.94,0:03:20.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rather than deciding how language\Nshould be used,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.30,0:03:23.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it describes how people actually use it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.13,0:03:27.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and tracks the innovations \Nthey come up with in the process.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.26,0:03:28.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But while the debate between
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.88,0:03:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prescriptivism \Nand descriptivism continues,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.18,0:03:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the two are not mutually exclusive.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.60,0:03:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At its best, prescriptivism is useful\Nfor informing people
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.07,0:03:41.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the most common established\Npatterns at a given point in time.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.68,0:03:44.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is important, \Nnot only for formal contexts,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.47,0:03:48.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it also makes communication easier\Nbetween non-native speakers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.43,0:03:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from different backgrounds.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.62,0:03:52.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Descriptivism, on the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.19,0:03:54.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gives us insight into how our minds work
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.45,0:03:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the instinctive ways in which we \Nstructure our view of the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.86,0:04:03.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ultimately, grammar is best thought of\Nas a set of linguistic habits
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.46,0:04:06.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are constantly being negotiated\Nand reinvented
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.75,0:04:09.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the entire group of language users.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.97,0:04:11.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like language itself,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.35,0:04:13.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a wonderful and complex fabric
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.22,0:04:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,woven through the contributions\Nof speakers and listeners,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.08,0:04:18.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,writers and readers,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.56,0:04:20.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prescriptivists and descriptivists,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.78,0:04:22.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from both near and far.