grammatiche

Grammatiche is the plural form of grammatica in Italian and, more broadly, refers to grammars—systematic descriptions of how a language is structured and used. A grammar typically encompasses rules and conventions for syntax, morphology, phonology, and sometimes semantics, as well as guidance on punctuation and word formation. Grammars can be prescriptive, dictating how language should be used, or descriptive, recording how language is actually used by speakers.

Grammars can take various forms. Reference grammars aim to provide comprehensive descriptions of a language, while descriptive grammars document linguistic patterns across dialects and registers. Learner grammars describe the intuitions of learners at different stages, and theoretical grammars explore underlying principles of language structure. In broader theory, grammars also include universal or formal accounts that seek to explain common features across languages.

Historically, grammars have played a central role in education and scholarship. Notable examples include Panini’s Sanskrit grammar, Priscian’s Latin grammar, and Antonio de Nebrija’s Gramática de la lengua castellana, among the earliest systematic grammars of a modern language. In modern linguistics, the term also covers formal grammars used in mathematics and computer science, such as regular grammars, context-free grammars, and context-sensitive grammars, which model the syntax of programming languages and other formal systems.

Applications of grammatiche span language teaching, lexicography, sociolinguistics, and computational linguistics, including natural language processing, parsing, and language documentation. They provide frameworks for describing, teaching, and processing human language in both practical and theoretical contexts.