Noam Chomsky won fame a half century ago with his theory that language follows a universal grammar. How we use language—how we put words into sequences—is as basic to humans as how we eat, socialize, or reproduce. Here are some of Chomsky’s basic observations about the elements of grammar:
All languages use vocabularies with many thousands of words.
All languages use subjects and predicates.
All languages use nouns and verbs.
All languages use sets of sounds—but each language uses just a small share of the total sounds that humans can hear.
All languages categorize distinctions in meaning in similar ways.
On top of those basic building blocks, the structure of language varies according to the needs and histories of communities. Early punctuation, like the comma, colon, and period, was originally indicated orally, with pauses and emphases, to indicate rhythm in speech. Later these tools were brought to the page and took the form that we know now. Necessity, then, was the mother of punctuation.
Like other activities, communications requires a common set of rules. Just as drivers need to follow the “rules of the road”—when to stop, change lanes, yield, turn, and so on—writers need rules to guide their own journeys. At the same time, they need some freedom to express themselves with clarity, energy, and creativity.