grammarOverview

grammarOverview is a concise, structured summary of a language's grammar designed as a practical reference for learners, teachers, and natural language processing systems. It outlines how words combine, how grammatical relationships are indicated, and how punctuation signals meaning. The aim is to provide a clear, neutral account of the rules and patterns that underpin language use.

Typically, a grammar overview covers core components such as syntax (sentence structure and word order), morphology (word formation and inflection), phonology (sound system) and orthography (spelling). It may include common constructions, tense and aspect, agreement, case, mood, voice, and relevant exceptions. Many overviews also provide usage notes, illustrative examples, and cross-linguistic comparisons for learners or developers.

Grammars can be prescriptive, describing how language should be used, or descriptive, recording actual usage. A grammar overview usually emphasizes the standard or teachable variety but can be adapted for dialects, sociolects, or specialized genres. It serves as a starting point for more detailed study or for building language technology resources.

In education and NLP, grammar overviews support parsing, grammar checking, language generation, and curriculum design. They help developers encode rules in computational grammars and assist learners by providing quick references and examples.