Linguistics

Linguistics is usually defined as

“the scientific study of language”,
in the same way as scientists study
biology or chemistry.
There are 3 major characteristics of a scientific study:

1. Explicitness - being clear about the assumptions on which the

hypothesis is based.
• making the stages of the study clear
• defining terms clearly and consistently
2. Systematicness – topics must be fully covered
• commentary must be objective
• consistent use of terms
• strict testing of hypotheses and insights
3. Objectivity - implies open-mindedness in matters of analysis
• critical analysis when there is suspicion of the hypothesis
• avoiding one’s own preconceptions

A hypothesis is a very specific statement which states a relationship

that can be demonstrated, or shown to be false.
Linguists are interested in all languages of the world, and in all the
varieties that are found.

Different branches of linguistics attempt to answer different

questions about language, such as:

➢ How did language arise?

➢ How do children acquire language?
➢ Why and how does language change?
➢ Are all human languages related?
➢ How can we teach and learn languages that are not our mother
tongue?
➢ What are the components of language?

These questions are studied in the various branches of linguistics.

 Branches of Linguistics
• Phonetics deals with the production, description and
classification of speech sounds in all languages.
• Phonology deals with sound patterns in language. It
looks at sound and sound combinations in languages.
• Morphology The study of how words are structured and
how they are put together from smaller parts called
morphemes.
• Syntax The study of the structure of sentences and how
sentences are related to each other. It attempts to uncover
the principles and rules for constructing well formed
sentences of a particular language. The set of rules
constitutes the grammar of that language.
 Branches of Linguistics cont
• Semantics The study of meaning – how words or
sentences are related to the objects they refer to. Every
language is made up of form (the actual spelling or sound of a
word) and meaning. Forms without meaning are useless in
the language.
• Pragmatics To fully understand a sentence we must
understand the context in which it was uttered, not only its
semantic meaning. Aspects of context include such as time,
place, social relationships between speaker and listener etc.
• Anthropological Linguistics is the study of the
interrelationship between language and culture, particularly
in the context of non-Western cultures.
 Branches of Linguistics cont
• Applied Linguistics is the application of the methods and results of
linguistics to areas such as language teaching, language planning, translation,
advertising etc.

• Historical Linguistics is the study of how languages change through

time, and the relationship of languages to each other.

• Psycholinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and

the mind. It looks for answers to:
- how is language represented in the mind?
- what mental processes are involved in the production and
comprehension of speech?
- how does a person acquire language?

• Sociolinguistics the study of the interrelationship of language and social

structure, linguistic variation and attitudes towards language.
 Modes of Linguistic Communication
We have different ways of communicating – we can show our
feelings through dance, music, painting. But these types of
communication do not involve language.

In linguistic communication, language is the primary vehicle for

conveying meaning. There are three basic modes of linguistic
communication:
1. Oral Communication: relies on speech and hearing organs
2. Writing: a visual representation (includes Braille)
3. Signing: another visual representation
 1. Speaking
Communication involved in speech:
• Voice – with intonation, stress, loudness
• Gestures – facial and hand movements; body stance
Speech preceded writing by a very long time in human history.
Speech has many advantages:
❖ It interferes minimally with other life sustaining activities
❖ It can work as effectively in darkness as in light
❖ It leaves eyes and hands free for other activities
❖ The human voice is complex and capable of wide ranging
modulation (volume, stress, speed) and so is more versatile
than writing. “Isn’t that sad?” can express sarcasm, humour,
sympathy.
 2. Writing
The first writing was in the form of pictograms in which the same
pictures could represent stories told in different languages. This
made them independent of individual languages. Pictograms
are direct non-linguistic symbolisation.
Writing was invented about 5,000 years ago, when the
need to represent concepts such as hunger, pain and
danger was recognised.
Writing and speech are related in different ways to the world
they symbolise: speech is a direct representation of things
whereas writing is a secondary representation in the sense that
written symbols represent spoken words, and not the entities
themselves.
 3. Signing
Signing is the exclusive use of gestures to communicate
messages.
Two kinds of signing are possible:
❑ Spelling out words by drawing the shape of letters that are
used in writing to represent sounds. This method relies on
the existence of a spoken language as well as a written
representation of the spoken form.
❑ A system independent of the spoken word and which could be
used cross-linguitically provided users understand the code.
Here, gestures stand for particular words. It is unimportant that
these words may be different from language to language.
Signing is a secondary symbolic system like writing. Users must be in
full view of one another.