Names for the discipline of linguistics
Before the twentieth century (the word is first attested 1716), the term "philology" was commonly used to refer to the science of language, which was then predominately historical in focus. Since Ferdinand de Saussure's insistence on the importance of synchronic analysis, however, this focus has shifted and the term "philology" is now generally used for the "study of a language's grammar, history and literary tradition", especially in the USA., where it was never as popular as elsewhere in the sense "science of language". The term "linguistics" dates from 1847, although "linguist" in the sense a student of language" dates from 1641. It is now the usual academic term in English for the scientific study of language
Fundamental concerns and divisions
Linguistics concerns itself with describing and explaining the nature of human language. Relevant to this are the questions of what is universal to language, how language can vary, and how human beings come to know languages. All humans (setting aside extremely pathological cases) achieve competence in whatever language is spoken (or signed, in the case of signed languages) around them when growing up, with apparently little need for explicit conscious instruction. While non-humans acquire their own communication systems, they do not acquire human language in this way (although many non-human animals can learn to respond to language, or can even be trained to use it to a degree). Therefore, linguists assume the ability to acquire and use language is an innate, biologically-based potential of modern human beings, similar to the ability to walk. There is no consensus, however, as to the extent of this innate potential, or its domain-specificity (the degree to which such innate abilities are specific to language), with some theorists claiming that there is a very large set of highly abstract and specific binary settings coded into the human brain, while others claim that the ability to learn language is a product of general human cognition. It is, however, generally agreed that there are no strong genetic differences underlying the differences between languages: an individual will acquire whatever language(s) they are exposed to as a child, regardless of parentage or ethnic origin.
Linguistic structures are pairings of meaning and form (which may consist of sound patterns, movements of the hand, written symbols, and so on); such pairings are known as Saussure a signs. Linguists may specialize in some sub-area of linguistic structure, which can be arranged in the following terms, from form to meaning:
Phonetics, the study of the physical properties of speech (or signed) production and perception
Phonology, the study of sounds (adjusted appropriately for signed languages) as discrete, abstract elements in the speaker's mind that distinguish meaning
Morphology, the study of internal structures of words and how they can be modified
Syntax, the study of how words combine to form grammatical sentences
Semantics, the study of the meaning of words (lexical semantics) and fixed word combinations (phraseology), and how these combine to form the meanings of sentences
Pragmatics, the study of how utterances are used (literally, figuratively, or otherwise) in communicative acts
Discourse analysis, the analysis of language use in texts (spoken, written, or signed)
Many linguists would agree that these divisions overlap considerably, and the independent significance of each of these areas is not universally acknowledged. Regardless of any particular linguist's position, each area has core concepts that foster significant scholarly inquiry and research.
Intersecting with these domains are fields arranged around the kind of external factors that are considered. For example
Linguistic typology, the study of the common properties of diverse unrelated languages, properties that may, given sufficient attestation, is assumed to be innate to human language capacity.
Stylistics, the study of linguistic factors that place a discourse in context.
Developmental linguistics, the study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.
Historical linguistics or Diachronic linguistics, the study of language change.
Language geography, the study of the spatial patterns of languages.
Evolutionary linguistics, the study of the origin and subsequent development of language.
Psycholinguistics, the study of the cognitive processes and representations underlying language use.
Sociolinguistics, the study of social patterns and norms of linguistic variability.
Clinical linguistics, the application of linguistic theory to the area of Speech-Language Pathology.
Neurolinguistics, the study of the brain networks that underlie grammar and communication.
Biolinguistics, the study of natural as well as human-taught communication systems in animals compared to human language.
Computational linguistics, the study of computational implementations of linguistic structures.
Applied linguistics, the study of language related issues applied in everyday life, notably language. Policies, planning, and education. Constructed language fits under applied linguistics.
The related discipline of semiotics investigates the relationship between signs and what they signify. From the perspective of semiotics, language can be seen as a sign or symbol, with the world as its representation
Before the twentieth century (the word is first attested 1716), the term "philology" was commonly used to refer to the science of language, which was then predominately historical in focus. Since Ferdinand de Saussure's insistence on the importance of synchronic analysis, however, this focus has shifted and the term "philology" is now generally used for the "study of a language's grammar, history and literary tradition", especially in the USA., where it was never as popular as elsewhere in the sense "science of language". The term "linguistics" dates from 1847, although "linguist" in the sense a student of language" dates from 1641. It is now the usual academic term in English for the scientific study of language
Fundamental concerns and divisions
Linguistics concerns itself with describing and explaining the nature of human language. Relevant to this are the questions of what is universal to language, how language can vary, and how human beings come to know languages. All humans (setting aside extremely pathological cases) achieve competence in whatever language is spoken (or signed, in the case of signed languages) around them when growing up, with apparently little need for explicit conscious instruction. While non-humans acquire their own communication systems, they do not acquire human language in this way (although many non-human animals can learn to respond to language, or can even be trained to use it to a degree). Therefore, linguists assume the ability to acquire and use language is an innate, biologically-based potential of modern human beings, similar to the ability to walk. There is no consensus, however, as to the extent of this innate potential, or its domain-specificity (the degree to which such innate abilities are specific to language), with some theorists claiming that there is a very large set of highly abstract and specific binary settings coded into the human brain, while others claim that the ability to learn language is a product of general human cognition. It is, however, generally agreed that there are no strong genetic differences underlying the differences between languages: an individual will acquire whatever language(s) they are exposed to as a child, regardless of parentage or ethnic origin.
Linguistic structures are pairings of meaning and form (which may consist of sound patterns, movements of the hand, written symbols, and so on); such pairings are known as Saussure a signs. Linguists may specialize in some sub-area of linguistic structure, which can be arranged in the following terms, from form to meaning:
Phonetics, the study of the physical properties of speech (or signed) production and perception
Phonology, the study of sounds (adjusted appropriately for signed languages) as discrete, abstract elements in the speaker's mind that distinguish meaning
Morphology, the study of internal structures of words and how they can be modified
Syntax, the study of how words combine to form grammatical sentences
Semantics, the study of the meaning of words (lexical semantics) and fixed word combinations (phraseology), and how these combine to form the meanings of sentences
Pragmatics, the study of how utterances are used (literally, figuratively, or otherwise) in communicative acts
Discourse analysis, the analysis of language use in texts (spoken, written, or signed)
Many linguists would agree that these divisions overlap considerably, and the independent significance of each of these areas is not universally acknowledged. Regardless of any particular linguist's position, each area has core concepts that foster significant scholarly inquiry and research.
Intersecting with these domains are fields arranged around the kind of external factors that are considered. For example
Linguistic typology, the study of the common properties of diverse unrelated languages, properties that may, given sufficient attestation, is assumed to be innate to human language capacity.
Stylistics, the study of linguistic factors that place a discourse in context.
Developmental linguistics, the study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.
Historical linguistics or Diachronic linguistics, the study of language change.
Language geography, the study of the spatial patterns of languages.
Evolutionary linguistics, the study of the origin and subsequent development of language.
Psycholinguistics, the study of the cognitive processes and representations underlying language use.
Sociolinguistics, the study of social patterns and norms of linguistic variability.
Clinical linguistics, the application of linguistic theory to the area of Speech-Language Pathology.
Neurolinguistics, the study of the brain networks that underlie grammar and communication.
Biolinguistics, the study of natural as well as human-taught communication systems in animals compared to human language.
Computational linguistics, the study of computational implementations of linguistic structures.
Applied linguistics, the study of language related issues applied in everyday life, notably language. Policies, planning, and education. Constructed language fits under applied linguistics.
The related discipline of semiotics investigates the relationship between signs and what they signify. From the perspective of semiotics, language can be seen as a sign or symbol, with the world as its representation
