Gramatyka

Gramatyka is the systematic study of the structure of a language, including the rules that govern sounds, word formation, and sentence construction. It is commonly divided into descriptive grammar, which records how a language is actually used, and prescriptive grammar, which prescribes rules for correctness. Grammatical description also covers writing conventions and punctuation, as well as the conventions for orthography.

The scope of grammar typically includes phonology or phonetics (sound systems), morphology (the structure of words and their inflection or formation), and syntax (the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences). Some frameworks also include semantics and pragmatics as part of a broader linguistic description, though these areas are often treated separately in linguistic theory. Grammatical analysis may address typological variation across languages, such as the presence or absence of cases, tense systems, or agreement patterns.

Historically, grammar has been central to language teaching and literacy. In many educational traditions, prescriptive grammars guided spelling, punctuation, and style, while contemporary linguistics emphasizes descriptive accounts based on corpus data and fieldwork. In applied contexts, grammar knowledge supports language teaching, lexicography, translation, and natural language processing, including grammar checking and automated parsing.

The term gramatyka is the Polish word for grammar and is used similarly in other languages to denote the rules and descriptions that govern language structure. Its study remains foundational to linguistics and to the practical encoding of language in software and education.