Outline of linguistics

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The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to linguistics:

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist. Linguistics can be theoretical or applied.

Branches of linguistics

Subfields of linguistics

Subfields, by linguistic structures studied

Sub-fields of structure-focused linguistics include:

  • Phonetics – study of the physical properties of speech (or signed) production and perception
  • Phonology – study of sounds (or signs) as discrete, abstract elements in the speaker's mind that distinguish meaning
  • Morphology – study of internal structures of words and how they can be modified
  • Syntax – study of how words combine to form grammatical sentences
  • Semantics – study of the meaning of words (lexical semantics) and fixed word combinations (phraseology), and how these compose to form the meanings of sentences
  • Pragmatics – study of how utterances are used in communicative acts – and the role played by context and nonlinguistic knowledge in the transmission of meaning
  • Discourse analysis – analysis of language use in texts (spoken, written, or signed)
  • Linguistic typology – comparative study of the similarities and differences between language structures in the world's languages.

Subfields, by nonlinguistic factors studied

  • Applied linguistics – study of language-related issues applied in everyday life, notably language policies, planning, and education. (Constructed language fits under Applied linguistics.)
  • Biolinguistics – the study of the biological and evolutionary components of human language.
  • Clinical linguistics – application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology.
  • Computational linguistics – study of linguistic issues in a way that is 'computationally responsible', i.e., taking careful note of computational consideration of algorithmic specification and computational complexity, so that the linguistic theories devised can be shown to exhibit certain desirable computational properties implementations.
  • Developmental linguistics – study of the development of linguistic ability in individuals, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.
  • Historical linguistics – study of language change over time. Also called diachronic linguistics.
  • Language geography – study of the geographical distribution of languages and linguistic features.
  • Neurolinguistics – study of the structures in the human brain that underlie grammar and communication.
  • Psycholinguistics – study of the cognitive processes and representations underlying language use.
  • Sociolinguistics – study of variation in language and its relationship with social factors.
  • Stylistics – study of linguistic factors that place a discourse in context.

Other subfields of linguistics

Schools, movements, and approaches of linguistics

  • Semiotics – study of the relationship between signs and what they signify more broadly. From the perspective of semiotics, language can be seen as a sign or symbol, with the world as its representation.
  • Terminology – study of terms and their use.
  • Philosophy of language – takes a philosophical approach to language. Many formal semanticists are philosophers of language, differing from linguist semanticists only in their metaphysical assumptions (if at all).

History of linguistics

See also: History of linguistics

Timeline of discovery of basic linguistics concepts

When were the basic concepts first described and by whom?

Questions in linguistics

  1. What is language?
  2. How did it/does it evolve?
  3. How does language serve as a medium of communication?
  4. How does language serve as a medium of thinking?
  5. What is common to all languages?
  6. How do languages differ?

Basic concepts

What basic concepts / terms do I have to know to talk about linguistics?

Languages of the world

Languages by continent and country

Linguistics scholars

Main article: List of linguists

People who had a significant influence on the development of the field

Linguistics lists

The placement of linguistics within broader frameworks

See also: Outline of academic disciplines and Linguistics § Nomenclature

Linguistics can be described as an academic discipline and, at least in its theoretical subfields, as a field of science, being a widely recognized category of specialized expertise, embodying its own terminology, nomenclature, and scientific journals. Many linguists, such as David Crystal, conceptualize the field as being primarily scientific.

Linguistics is a multi-disciplinary field of research that combines tools from natural sciences, social sciences, formal sciences, and the humanities.

Historically, there has been some lack of consensus on the disciplinary classification of linguistics, particularly theoretical linguistics. Linguistic realists viewed linguistics as a formal science; linguistic nominalists (the American structuralists) viewed linguistics as an empirical or even physical science; linguistic conceptualists viewed linguistics as a branch of psychology and therefore a social science; others yet have argued for viewing linguistics as a mixed science.

Linguistics is heterogeneous in its methods of research, so that each area of theoretical linguistics may resemble methodologically either formal science or empirical science, to different degrees. For example, phonetics uses empirical approaches to study the physical acoustics of spoken language. On the other hand, semantically and grammatically, the usability of a formal or natural language is dependent on a formal and arbitrary axiomatization of rules or norms. Furthermore, as studied in pragmatics and semiotics, linguistic meaning is influenced by social context.

To enable communication by upholding a lexico-semantic norm, the speakers of a shared language need to agree on the meaning of a sequence of phonemes; for instance, "aunt" (/æ/, /n/, /t/) would be acknowledged to signify "parent's sister or parent's sister-in-law", instead of "drummer" or "guest". Likewise, grammatically, it may be necessary for the interlocutors to agree on the morphological and syntactic properties of the sequence; say, that the sequence (/æ/ , /n/, /t/) would be treated as a singular noun convertible morphologically to plurality by the addition of the suffix -s, or that as a noun it must not be modified syntactically by an adverb (for instance, "Let's call our immediately aunt" would thus be recognized as a grammatically incoherent structure, in a manner similar to a mathematically undefined expression).

See also

References

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