Resumo Do Livro Manual De Linguística: Conceitos De Gramática, Martelotta, Mário Eduardo, (P. 42-68). A gramática surgiu surgiu através do desejo desejo de se compreender compreender a natureza natureza e o funcionamento funcionamento das línguas línguas naturais e de como combinar unidades, tendo em vista as restrições de combinações existentes. É importante fazer uma distinção entre dois sentidos do termo “gramática”: o primeiro designa o funcionamento da própria língua, diz
respeito ao conjunto e a natureza dos elementos que compõe uma língua; o segundo sentido designa os estudos que buscam descrever a natureza desses elementos, ou seja, ele explica o funcionamento da língua. Dentro deste segundo sentido Martelotta apresenta por meio de alguns modelos teóricos, como são abordadas as questões acerca do funcionamento da língua ao longo da evolução dos estudos linguísticos. O primeiro modelo é o da Gramática Tradicional, que possui origem em uma tradição de estudos cuja base filosófica é a Grécia antiga. Dessa raiz manteve-se, entre outras coisas, a herança normativa de ditar padrões de uso da língua. Ela é utilizada como modelo teórico para a abordagem e o ensino da nossa língua nas escolas. O que melhor caracteriza essa tradição é a visão inaugurada por Aristóteles, de que existe uma forte relação entre a linguagem e a lógica. Para Aristóteles, a lógica seria o instrumento que precede o exercício do pensamento e da linguagem. Este capítulo também discorre sobre o modelo da Gramática Histórico-Comparativa que propõe comparar elementos gramaticais de línguas de origem comum a fim de detectar a estrutura da língua original da qual elas se desenvolveram, essa nova abordagem surgiu da constatação da grande semelhança do sânscrito com o latim. Ela se desenvolveu em função de fatores como: o surgimento do Romantismo na Alemanha, a descoberta do sânscrito e o surgimento das ideias de Darwin. Franz Bopp e Jacob Grimm também contribuíram com o lançamento das bases que nortearam a comparação sistemáticas das línguas. A Gramática Estrutural, Estrutural, desenvolvida desenvolvida a partir do século XX sob a influência influência de Ferdiand Ferdiand de Saussure, Saussure, é apresentada pelo autor como um modelo teórico que tende a descrever a estrutura gramatical das línguas, vendo-as como uma rede de relações de acordo com leis internas, ou seja, inerentes ao próprio sistema. O autor nos faz tentar para a distinção de langue e parole. Langue, segundo Saussure, constitui um fenômeno coletivo, sendo compartilhada e produzida socialmente. Isso nos leva ao conceito de parole, que se refere ao uso individual do sistema. Saussure propôs que seria impossível de analisar os elementos linguísticos isolados do sistema que eles compõem. Essa proposta constitui a base de toda a linguística estrutural. Podemos Podemos relacionar a concepção saussuriana de sistema a três aspectos importantes: a existência de um conjunto de elementos, o fato de que cada elemento só tem valor em relação a outros e a existência de um conjunto de regras que comanda a combinação dos elementos para formar unidades maiores. O quarto modelo descrito é a Gramática Gerativa, o qual assume que a natureza da linguagem é relacionada à estrutura biológica humana e, por isso, estuda a estrutura gramatical das línguas enquanto reflexo de um modelo formal de linguagem preexistente às línguas naturais. Os fenômenos linguísticos analisados analisados constituem o material no qual os argumentos são baseados. Desse modo, as línguas naturais, como o português, o japonês, o swahili e o carajá, por exemplo, embora sejam bastante diferentes em sua aparência apresentam muitas semelhanças em sua essência. Dois princípios básicos caracterizam caracterizam a concepção gerativa gerativa de gramática. O primeiro deles é o chamado princípio de
inatismo, segundo o qual existe uma estrutura inata, constituída de um conjunto de princípios gerais que impõe limites a variação entre as ínguas e que se manifestam como dados universais, ou seja, presentes em todas as línguas do mundo. Esse conjunto de princípios é chamado de gramática universal. Outro aspecto importante para a caracterização da gramática gerativa está na distinção, apresentada por Chomsky, entre competência e desempenho. O autor define “competência” como a capacidade e o “desempenho” como a utilização concreta
dessa capacidade. Por fim, Martelotta descreve um modelo teórico que analisa não somente a estrutura gramatical, como também a situação de comunicação inteira: a Gramática Cognitivo-funcional. Esse tipo de gramática designa um conjunto de propostas teórico-metodológicas que caracterizam algumas escolas de natureza relativamente distintas que apresentam alguns pontos emcomum: observam o uso da língua; observam não apenas o nível da frase, analisando,sobre tudo, o texto e o diálogo; têm uma visão da dinâmica das línguas e consideram que a linguagem reflete um conjunto complexo de atividades comunicativas. A gramática cognitivo-funcional alarga o escopo dos estudos linguísticos para além dos fenômenos estruturais e seu ponto de vista é distinto. EDITOR: Seidlhofer, Barbara TITLE: Controversies in Applied Linguistics This book collects together a range of articles that engage in lively debate over various issues connected with applied linguistics. In each the five sections, there is first an overview by the editor, Barbara Seidlhofer, to provide some background for the controversy that is dealt with in that section, then the full texts of the articles which contributed to the debate are reprinted from the journals they originally appeared in, and finally there are substantial suggestions for further reading for those who want to pursue the issue in more detail. The five controversies covered are: the status of English as a global language; the use of corpora in language teaching; the nature of critical discourse analysis; second language acquisition; and the scope and nature of applied linguistics itself. In a sense, most of these different strands touch on one central issue: the increasingly dominant role of English throughout the world, as an overriding concern is that the status of English brings with it a heavy dose of cultural imperialism. Some of the questions that arise as a result are: Is this imperialism exacerbated by the use of genuine corpus-based materials? What can language teachers do to teach English successfully without imposing a British or American ideology on the rest of the world? And do applied linguists have a duty always to address their subject within a social context and thereby promote a radical agenda that seeks to eliminate the evils of imperialism and racism, or can research on the subject be pursued independently from its social context? The first controversy, addressing the status of English in the world, starts with a debate between Randolph Quirk and Braj Kachru about whether there is a single English standard or we should tolerate and even promote multiple standards. It then progresses to two sub-strands connected with the perceived imperialism of English. In the first one, there is a spirited debate between Robert Phillipson and a group of international students who had negative reactions after reading his book on linguistic imperialism as part of their graduate seminar at Purdue
University. And finally there is a heated exchange when Phillipson berates David Crystal for evading his duty to give greater consideration to the social and political consequences of the worldwide spread of English in his book on English as a global language. The second controversy discusses the use of corpus-based materials in language teaching. Ronald Carter advocates focusing on genuine data, arguing that it is condescending to suggest that foreign learners cannot handle such materials, and furthermore that avoidance of real language data condemns learners to achieving only a mediocre level of proficiency, forever preventing them from gaining access to the inner circle of native speakers. But others, including Luke Prodromou and Guy Cook, stress that real, corpus-based materials with all their pauses, mis-starts, and overlapping speech, are not always the most appropriate materials for teaching, and furthermore that corpus data are generally completely embedded in the cultural context they occurred in, so if we really want to promote English as a world language divorced from its historical ties with Britain and America, we should be adopting locally appropriate materials in each part of the world. The third controversy considers the nature of discourse analysis, with Henry Widdowson suggesting that the subject is inevitably so tightly linked with a political standpoint and so committed to changing the world that it is difficult to maintain any of the objectivity that is essential for an academic discipline. But Henry Fairclough defends the field, emphasising that commitment to a social or political standpoint can often enhance the value of the insights into the biases that exist in texts. In the fourth controversy, Alan Firth and Johannes Wagner argue that too much of the focus of research into second language acquisition has been based in psycholinguistics, investigating the cognitive development of the individual, and too little has taken a holistic, sociological perspective, considering the environment for learning. Furthermore, they contend that too much research has used experimental settings, to the detriment of naturalistic investigations, and that too little consideration has been given to studying strategies which achieve successful communication that sometimes proceeds quite adequately even when it contains what some people might regard as 'errors'. In response, a number of scholars, including Michael Long and Nanda Poulisse, argue that research methods with controlled variables are essential for rigorous research that produces replicable results, and furthermore that many of the interactions investigated in experimental settings can be generalised to real-life encounters. Finally, the f ifth controversy considers the nature of applied linguistics itself, a field that sometimes seems exceptionally broad and rather amorphous. Should it represent a meeting place for scholars from all disciplines concerned with practical aspects of a language? Or should it have its own specialist research agenda? Ben Rampton argues for the interdisciplinary approach, that applied linguistics should be "socially constituted" and thus belong to all the different fields that have an interest in language, while Henry Widdowson argues that this approach would merely generate chaotic confusion, a free-for-all cacophony of unfocused ideas, and instead he insists that in order to achieve academic rigour, applied linguistics must have its own dedicated theoretical methodology, and furthermore it must abide by the guidance of authoritative experts. CRITICAL EVALUATION This book provides an extraordinarily well-crafted resource for students and scholars who want convenient access to key materials that have contributed to some of the important debates in applied linguistics over the past fifteen years. The structure of the book, with its collation of the full texts of the articles preceded in each
section by a carefully written introduction that provides a helpful context for the controversy and then followed by extensive suggestions for further reading, will certainly prove exceptionally valuable to many, many readers. Of course, there is quite a range in the style of the articles. Some of them, particularly involving Phillipson's contributions regarding linguistic imperialism, get quite antagonistic, so that occasionally more heat than light is generated, while at the opposite extreme some of the other debates, such as that between Carter and Cook on the use of corpora in language teaching, maintain a rather more measured tone, with the participants taking great pains to show respect to each other and stress that there is much that they agree about. While many readers will remain sceptical about Carter's assertion that learners of English "are generally fascinated by the culturally-embedded use of language of native speakers" (p. 97) (do other people really care very much about how the English order their fish and chips?), it is heartening to note that some of the clearest insights from the topics covered in this book emerge from the discussion on the use of corpora, which confirms that it is not necessary to engage in rather unpleasant personal attacks for valuable progress to be achieved in a debate. No doubt Phillipson would argue that the dominant threat of linguistic imperialism is such a vital issue in the world today that adopting a measured, respectful approach is not appropriate and that it is only by aggressively attacking those who are perceived to be defending this hegemony of English that one can hope to achieve anything in the struggle against the new imperialism. I remain unconvinced. Inevitably, the clarity of the articles also varies quite considerably. Rampton presents his arguments in what is undoubtedly an erudite and highly sophisticated style, but there is much in his contributions that even Widdowson admits he cannot understand. However, the message of most of the materials does emerge clearly, in general providing us with exceptionally valuable insights into some of the important issues that have concerned the field of applied linguistics in recent years. My one rather minor criticism of this book is that the date of publication of each article is not shown with the text itself but only at the front of the volume, which is a pity as this information is really quite important in evaluating the role of each contribution. But this is rather a minor gripe and it does not seriously detract from the excellence of this fine book.
