Basic concepts and the world psycolinguistics among branches of linguistics

Everyone in the world uses "language" to communicate. Whatever people do, whether they are playing,
fighting, cooking, washing, etc. When they get together, they will talk. According to this tradition, we all
become 'human‘ because of language; because we all come to know at least one language (see Fromkin
et. al., 1990:3). Linguists have broad agreement on several important characteristic human language,
and the definition of language that many are associated with linguistics can be used to describe how
language itself is. Every human language is a complex of knowledge and abilities that allow language
speakers to communicate with each other, to express ideas, emotions, desires, and everything else that
needs to be expressed.

Linguistics is the study of this system of knowledge in all its aspects how is the knowledge system
structured, how is it obtained, how is it used in the production and understanding of messages, how
does it change over time? Therefore, linguists are concerned with a number of specific questions about
the nature of language. Linguistics is concerned with human language as a universal and recognizable
part of human behavior and of the human abilities. Raja T. Nasr (1984). Linguistics is competence as
being a persons potential to speak a language, and his or her linguistics performance as the realization
of that potential. Monica Crabtree & Joyce Powers (1994).

The Branches of linguistics1.

1. General linguistics generally describes the concepts and categories of a particular language or among
all languages. Descriptive linguistics describes or provides data to confirm or refute a certain generally
described theory of language.

2. Micro linguistics is a narrower sense. This concerns the internal view of language itself (the structure
of the language system) without being related to other sciences and without being related to how to
apply it in everyday life. Some areas of micro linguistics:

Phonetics - the study of speech sounds in their physical aspects

Phonology - the study of speech sounds in their cognitive aspects

Morphology - the study of the formation of words

Syntax - the study of sentence formation

Semantics - the study of meaning

Pragmatics - the study of language use

3. Macro linguistics is the broadest definition of language. This concerns an external view of language
itself in relation to other sciences and how to apply it in everyday life. Some areas of micro linguistics:

a. Stylistics, the study of linguistic factors that place a discourse in context.

b. Developmental linguistics, the study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual,
particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.

c. Historical linguistics or Diachronic linguistics, the study of language change.

d. Language geography, the study of the spatial patterns of languages.

e. Evolutionary linguistics, the study of the origin and subsequent development of language.

f. Psycholinguistics, the study of the cognitive processes and representations underlying language use.

g. Sociolinguistics, the study of social patterns and norms of linguistic variability.

h. Clinical linguistics, the application of linguistic theory to the area of Speech-Language Pathology.

i. Neurolinguistics, the study of the brain networks that underlie grammar and communication.

j. Biolinguistics, the study of natural as well as human-taught communication systems in animals

compared to human language.

H. Computational linguistics, the study of computational implementations of linguistic structures.

The main purpose of the study of Linguistics in an academic environment is the advancement of
knowledge. So, in this situation, I will just focus talk about "Psycholinguistics".

Psycholinguistics or language psychology is the study of the relationship between linguistic factors and
psychological aspects. It has to do with the mechanisms by which language is processed and
represented in the mind and brain; namely, the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable
humans to acquire, use, understand and produce language. Besides that, psycholinguistics deals with
the cognitive abilities and processes needed to produce grammatical constructs of language. It also has
to do with the perceptions of these constructs by the listeners. Psycholinguistics aims to advance our
understanding of the human brain.

Psycholinguistics involves:

1. language processing, reading, writing, speaking, listening and memory. For instance, how words on
paper are turned into meaning in the mind.

2. lexical storage and retrieval - the way words are stored in our minds and used. How can we group
words into objects like 'balls' and actions like 'kick' and 'love' and access them when needed.

3. language acquisition – how language is first learnt and used by children. For example, learning the
rules of grammar and how to communicate with other people.

4. special circumstances - how internal and external factors can influence language development, such
as twins and their use of 'twin languages', the effects of hearing and vision loss on mastery, and how
damage to the brain can affect certain aspects of language.
5. brain and language - an explanation of why humans have the capacity to use language, and the parts
of the brain related to various areas of language, also considering whether non-human animals have the
ability to use language or not.

6. second language acquisition and use – looking at bilingualism and how individuals can learn a second
language and are able to differentiate between them.

The common aim of psycholinguistics is “to find out about the structures and processes which underlie a
human’s ability to speak and understand language”