You're telling a friend an amazing story, and you just get to the best part when suddenly he interrupts, "The alien and I," not "Me and the alien."
你正給朋友講一個精彩的故事，剛講到最精彩的部分時他突然打斷了你說：應該是「外星人和我」 而不是「我和外星人」
Most of us would probably be annoyed, but aside from the rude interruption, does your friend have a point?
許多人都會對這種行為感到反感，但先拋開無禮的打斷不談，來想一下你朋友說的有道理嗎？
Was your sentence actually grammatically incorrect? And if he still understood it, why does it even matter?
你說的這句話從語法上講真的是錯的嗎？要是他依舊能理解你的意思，那麼這樣做又有什麼意義呢？
From the point of view of linguistics, grammar is a set of patterns for how words are put together to form phrases or clauses, whether spoken or in writing.
從語言學的角度來看，語法就是一系列規則，教你怎樣在口語和寫作中用單詞構成短語和句子。
Different languages have different patterns. In English, the subject normally comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object, while in Japanese and many other languages, the order is subject, object, verb.
不同的語言有著不同的規則，比如在英語中主語通常放在最前面，謂語動詞跟在主語後面，賓語則放在最後，而在日語和其他許多語言中順序卻變成了主語、賓語和謂語動詞。
Some scholars have tried to identify patterns common to all languages, but apart from some basic features, like having nouns or verbs, few of these so-called linguistic universals have been found.
一些學者嘗試找到適用於所有語言的規則，但是除了一些基本的屬性，比如所有語言都有名詞和動詞，所謂的語言上的共性幾乎是不存在的。
And while any language needs consistent patterns to function, the study of these patterns opens up an ongoing debate between two positions known as prescriptivism and descriptivism.
儘管所有語言都得按照一套固定的規則來，但有兩方觀點在這些規則的研究上始終爭論不休，即規定主義和描寫主義。
Grossly simplified, prescriptivists think a given language should follow consistent rules, while descriptivists see variation and adaptation as a natural and necessary part of language.
簡單來說規定主義認為一門既定的語言要遵循固定的規則，而描寫主義則認為變化和調整是語言正常且必要的一部分。
For much of history, the vast majority of language was spoken.
絕大多數語言在其大部分歷史時期中都是用於口頭的交流
But as people became more interconnected and writing gained importance, written language was standardized to allow broader communication and ensure that people in different parts of a realm could understand each other.
不過隨著人們相互之間聯繫的增多，書寫的地位開始提升，於是書面語開始規範化以適用於更為廣泛的交流，同時也確保了不同地方的人能夠理解這些語言所表達的意思。
In many languages, this standard form came to be considered the only proper one, despite being derived from just one of many spoken varieties, usually that of the people in power.
對於大多數語言而言，這一標準形式被認為是唯一合適的，但實際上它卻是從眾多不同的口語形式中脫穎而出，且通常情況下來自掌權的一方。
Language purists worked to establish and propagate this standard by detailing a set of rules that reflected the established grammar of their times.
通過將那個時代已有的一系列語法規則詳盡記錄下來，語言純粹主義者們開始建立並傳播這一標準。
And rules for written grammar were applied to spoken language, as well.
書面語言所涉及的語法同樣也適用於口語
Speech patterns that deviated from the written rules were considered corruptions, or signs of low social status, and many people who had grown up speaking in these ways were forced to adopt the standardized form.
而那些偏離了書面語語法的口語則被認為是錯誤的或者是社會地位低下的表現，於是許多從小就按照這一規則說話的人被迫開始接受標準的語法規則。
More recently, however, linguists have understood that speech is a separate phenomenon from writing with its own regularities and patterns.
直到最近語言學家才意識到口語和書面語完全是兩碼事，口語有它自己的規律性和模式。
Most of us learn to speak at such an early age that we don't even remember it.
在我們還不能記事的時候就開始學習說話了。
We form our spoken repertoire through unconscious habits, not memorized rules.
那個時候更多是通過下意識的行為來構建說話技能而不是記住那些規則。
And because speech also uses mood and intonation for meaning, its structure is often more flexible, adapting to the needs of speakers and listeners.
由於口語也會用到語氣和語調來傳達意思，所以它的結構更加地多樣化，甚至會根據說話者和聽者的需求進行調整。
This could mean avoiding complex clauses that are hard to parse in real time, making changes to avoid awkward pronounciation, or removing sounds to make speech faster.
這就意味著在說話時應該避免一些難以理解的複雜句子，做出適當調整避免一些尷尬的發音或是通過略讀讓語速加快。
The linguistic approach that tries to understand and map such differences without dictating correct ones is known as descriptivism.
嘗試去理解和比對語法上的這些差異，卻不定義對錯的語言學方法被稱為描寫主義。
Rather than deciding how language should be used, it describes how people actually use it, and tracks the innovations they come up with in the process.
相比於決定該如何使用語言，描寫主義更傾向於敘述人們實際上是怎樣使用語言的，並追溯在這一過程中出現的一些新方法。
But while the debate between prescriptivism and descriptivism continues, the two are not mutually exclusive.
儘管描寫主義和規定主義之間的爭論會一直持續下去，但它們二者之間並不是互相排斥的。
At its best, prescriptivism is useful for informing people about the most common established patterns at a given point in time.
規定主義可以在某個特定的時間點告訴人們最為通用的確定模式。
This is important, not only for formal contexts, but it also makes communication easier between non-native speakers from different backgrounds.
這一點不僅在正式場合很重要，也使得來自不同國家不同背景的非母語人士交流起來更加容易。
Descriptivism, on the other hand, gives us insight into how our minds work and the instinctive ways in which we structure our view of the world.
另一方面描寫主義會讓我們看到自己的想法如何運作以及如何本能地構建自己的世界觀。
Ultimately, grammar is best thought of as a set of linguistic habits that are constantly being negotiated and reinvented by the entire group of language users.
從根本上說，語法頂多被認為是一系列不斷被所有的語言使用者爭論和改造的語言習慣。
Like language itself, it's a wonderful and complex fabric woven through the contributions of speakers and listeners, writers and readers, prescriptivists and descriptivists, from both near and far.
而語言本身，就像一匹精美複雜的布，經由從古至今的說話者和聽眾，作者和讀者，規定主義者和描寫主義者們的共同努力編織而成。