FRANK R. PALMER AND GRAMMAR
In my time it was necessary to own a good set of reference books to aid our researches. Not so now when we only have to possess a good computer and internet connection. Today I was perusing one such book in my library; Frank R. Palmer ´s Grammar, 1978 edition, Pelican Books. Professor Palmer (1922-2019) lived to be 97 probably because of his life-long interest in language. I am in the habit of underlying or highlighting passages I find of interest, the quiddity of my reading. Let me share what I underlined years ago, please. --"Few areas of our experience are closer to us or more continuously with us than our language. We spend a large part of our waking life speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The central part of a language... is its grammar, and this should be of vital interest to any intelligent educated person." --"We have very little idea of the steps by which men came to speak and, indeed, no accurate assessment of the time at which speech began." -...
