Grammar handbooks as "light reading"

[galaxyrocker]

Anyone have any success or recommendations for reading a grammar book in their target language when they have high comprehension and want to start preparing for more active use? With French so much grammar terminology is transparent for English speakers that in the original Assimil course from the 1940s just starts giving grammar notes in French later in the course. Not sure if this would work as well for all languages though, is it worth trying to get some extra extensive reading practice or is it just more practical to stick to L1 and make sure you understand 100% ?

While I've never read it just for "light reading", perhaps the most definitive Irish grammar is written in Irish. There is an English 'version' of it, but it's much shorter and doesn't cover nearly as much or as in depth. I make use of it, though not extensively. It's also nice that there's an 'Annotated Guide' to go with it elucidating on things and providing more examples (though the guide is written in English).

[彥::Charles]

I read grammar books as “light reading” too… in a slightly different way -- I read mine in Spanish (my target language). I’ve got this idea from a video by Benny Lewis and Tim Ferriss talking about “reverse learning” (see the link below. Approx. @32’25”).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNQl2TKyRYo

So I started reading a grammar book aimed for Spanish-speaking learners of English – “Conversando en inglés”.


Reading this grammar book in Spanish has been quite beneficial:

1. The writing itself isn’t complicated -- just like reading a graded reader. It helps my general reading comprehension.
2. I’m able to incorporate some examples (e.g. quiero que tu + verbo en subjuntivo) into my speaking.
3. I volunteer at a church-sponsored ESL school in my spare time helping Hispanic adults develop their English skills. Some of them only understand a little English. So, knowing a few grammatical terms in Spanish certainly helps me to explain materials much better

[tangleweeds]

It's a relief to hear I'm not the only one who reads grammar books for fun!!! I don't go from cover to cover, but I'll find something that intrigues or confuses me, and end up spending an hour or more happily browsing around ("Aha! So that's what's happening there! But what about this? ,,,"). Full disclosure: I studied computer science and linguistics, so the theory and mechanics of languages are familiar to me. I've been known to read computer language reference books for fun as well. I go through music theory and math phases too...

@galaxyrocker: which Irish grammar (and supplement) are you speaking of? Feel free to PM me if you don't feel the details would add to this thread.

[Iversen]

I have the Irish grammar by Nollaig Mac Congáll in two versions: Irish and Gaeilge. And it's a fine read indeed, except that a fair number of examples in the English version aren't translated. They ought to be in a book aimed at learners at many different stages.

But the book which galaxyrocker mentions is more likely to be the one by the 'Christian Brothers'.

Apart from that, I can recognize Speakeasy's experiences with traditional grammars versus those which frantically try to imitate mathematical treatises. I like to read the first kind for fun, but I like even more to make point-to-point comparisons between several grammars to get nearer the real behaviour of the language in question. And those grammars should be systematic and have lots of examples, but not necessarily long literary quotes.

[galaxyrocker]

Apart from the reading grammars in Irish that I discussed earlier, I do go through several English ones for fun from time to time. I don't sit down and read them cover to cover, but I'll browse them to see what's there. I actually do this more for languages I'm not learning, to just get a general overview of the language and see if it's something I'd like to learn. I once went through several chapters of Routledge's Essential Slovene because the dual interested me and I wanted to see how the used it (plus, I am interested in the language).

@galaxyrocker: which Irish grammar (and supplement) are you speaking of? Feel free to PM me if you don't feel the details would add to this thread.

Iversen was right. It was the Christian Brother's updated version, with the guide being: Pól Ó Murchú's A Grammar of Modern Irish

I have looked at Mac Congáll's Irish version, though I only possess the English one. It's great for a beginner, but I'm at a level where it isn't much help anymore.

[Serpent]

It's a relief to hear I'm not the only one who reads grammar books for fun!!!

i find it more fun when it's not a language i'm learning

[Expugnator]

I think what I do is neither 'light reading' nor studying. When I decide to include a grammar book in my schedule, I try to read one chapter a day or 10 pages - what comes first. I don't do the exercises by hand, I just check exercise and answer key at the computer screen. On the other hand, I do think I learn important stuff from just going through the grammar.

[arthaey]

I bought (but haven't had a chance to read yet) "La gramática descomplicada" by Álex Grijelmo. The first few pages were quite humorous, and the reviews agree that it's an entertaining grammar book. So I look forward to my own grammar "light reading".