Abstract:

The assessment of grammar knowledge and skills among university students of Galician reveals that the speed and effectiveness of grammar learning are affected by certain issues in relation to the rules, concepts and terminology of Galician grammar. These problems are caused by confusion between traditional ideas of grammar and those taken from Structuralism and Formalism. Thus, terminology often varies when referring to word classes, syntactic functions, verb tenses and the segmentation of phonetic and syllabic units. Inconsistencies arise in relation to the conceptualisation of certain grammatical categories. Finally, the grammar standard is vague, abstract or silent on certain points, leaving language users to seek their own solutions in modern synchronic grammars or the Dictionary of the Royal Galician Academy (Dicionario da Real Academia Galega). This article uses a descriptive-explanatory approach to highlight the conceptual, terminological and normative inconsistencies in Galician grammar theory, with the aim of improving Galician language learning at university. The paper ends with a reflection on the quality of grammar teaching in universities.

Keywords:

Galician language, grammar, Linguistic competence, language rules, terminology.