The focus here is both on the development of syntactic description and on changes in writing habits in 18th century Germany. The search for controversial strictures on correct syntactic use engages the study first of all in an analysis of the work of linguistic theoreticians of the period. Then these controversial aspects of word order and sentence complexity are discussed in terms of actual contemporary usage. Finally the study traces the reciprocal influences discernible between the grammatical and rhetorical requirements of the theoreticians and the way language was actually used, thus casting light on the influence of individual theoreticians on the development of the language.

Concern for the German language will always attract large audiences. Whoever claims that language is going to the dogs can be sure of the approbation of those who see themselves as linguistically superior. However, the status of grammatical rules is seldom questioned. It is in fact by no means clear what can be seen as correct German. How is a ~Germana (TM) to be understood? Who determines what should be regarded as correct? The 44th Annual Conference of the Institut fA1/4r Deutsche Sprache [German Language Research Institute] endeavoured to help clarify questions such as these, and took as its topic German grammar in the tension between rules, standards and language usage.