Page 19 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 2: Linguistics: Branches and Tools

Unit 2: Linguistics: Branches and Tools Notes

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
2.1 Branches of Linguistics
2.2 Linguistics and Related Fields of Study
2.3 Types of Linguistics
2.4 Descriptive, Historical and Comparative Linguistics
2.5 Summary
2.6 Key-Words
2.7 Review Questions
2.8 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this Unit students will be able to:
• Know Linguistics and its Other Branches.
• Discuss Types of Linguistics.

Introduction

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three
categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context. The
earliest known activities in descriptive linguistics have been attributed to Panini around 500 BC,
with his analysis of Sanskrit in Ashtadhyayi.
The first subfield of linguistics is the study of language structure, or grammar. This focuses on the
system of rules followed by the users of a language. It includes the study of morphology (the
formation and composition of words), syntax (the formation and composition of phrases and
sentences from these words), and phonology (sound systems). Phonetics is a related branch of
linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds and nonspeech sounds, and how
they are produced and perceived.
The study of language meaning is concerned with how languages employ logical structures and
real-world references to convey, process, and assign meaning, as well as to manage and resolve
ambiguity. This category includes the study of semantics (how meaning is inferred from words
and concepts) and pragmatics (how meaning is inferred from context).
Linguistics also looks at the broader context in which language is influenced by social, cultural,
historical and political factors. This includes the study of evolutionary linguistics, which investigates
into questions related to the origins and growth of languages; historical linguistics, which explores
language change; sociolinguistics, which looks at the relation between linguistic variation and
social structures; psycholinguistics, which explores the representation and function of language in
the mind; neurolinguistics, which looks at language processing in the brain; language acquisition,
on how children or adults acquire language; and discourse analysis, which involves the structure
of texts and conversations.
Although linguistics is the scientific study of language, a number of other intellectual disciplines
are relevant to language and intersect with it. Semiotics, for example, is the general study of signs
and symbols both within language and without. Literary theorists study the use of language in

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 13