the end of the 13thcentury, perhaps as a result of new developments in mathe-
matics. Logic and grammar often were studied and taught together as language
scholars connected the two areas in an attempt to approach language with the
orderliness found in logic. For many years, Latin was viewed as the logically
normal form of speech, but the growing influence of mathematics led to more
formal logical structures that increasingly became the norm by which to mea-
sure language. Scholars began comparing the natural language of speech to the
artificial languages of math and logic and asserted that natural language should
conform accordingly. We see the outcome of this effort in the argument that
double negatives, such asI ain’t got no money,are incorrect because two nega-
tives make a positive, which is certainly true in math. These scholars (as well as
many of today’s teachers) failed to recognize that language and math operate
on different principles and that no one would ever understand a sentence likeI
ain’t go no moneyto mean that the speaker actuallyhasmoney.
The appeal of order may have been the result of fundamental changes in the way
Europeans viewed the world. Before 1250 AD, people viewed reality in qualitative
terms. For example, the cardinal directions were not viewed merely as points on a
map—they had a more profound signification. As Crosby (1997) noted:
South signified warmth and was associated with charity and the Passion
of Jesus. East, toward the location of the terrestrial paradise, Eden, was
especially potent, and that is why churches were oriented east-west with
the business end, the altar, at the east. World maps were drawn with east
at the top. “True north” was due east, a principle to which we pay respect
every time we “orient” ourselves. (p. 38)The shift to a quantitative world view may well have altered reactions to lan-
guage that deviated from both the literary norm and assumed connections be-
tween speech and logic. We know that during this same period scholars
produced a variety of general grammars that were different from their prede-
cessors in that they attempted to show how linguistic structure was based on
logical principles. What emerged was the view that people who spoke “incor-
rectly” were not only violating the rules of the grammar but also were beingil-
logical. In a world increasingly dominated by logic rather than faith, the label
of “illogical” was damning—and still is. Grammar study, therefore, was
believed to improve the quality of mind.
The Age of Enlightenment
Between the 13thand 17thcenturies, grammar instruction changed very little.
Schools remained extensions of the Church, and the focus was on training stu-
A SHORT HISTORY OF GRAMMAR 9