BRANCHES OF

LINGUISTICS
 Two Aspects
◦ Linguistics as a science, has two aspects:

1) Theoretical aspect : concerned with theories about language,

description and analysis of particular levels of language
(phonology, morphology, syntax etc)

2) Applied aspect : application of the knowledge of language in

areas such as teaching/learning, speech disorders and
rectification, use of language in literature
 Applied Linguistics

◦ Covers many branches of linguistics

◦ Explore the practical application of theories, concepts, analyses provided by

linguists

◦ All applications are based on a thorough description of languages

◦ Language related to the inner world of man’s mind and the outer world of social
relationships and behaviour
 Significant Branches

◦ Sociolinguistics
◦ Psycholinguistics
◦ Developmental Linguistics
◦ Neurolinguistics
◦ Anthropological Linguistics
 Sociolinguistics
◦ Deals with the exploration of the relation between language and society

◦ Also can be described as the sociology of language

◦ Based on the dictum that language is not a homogeneous entity

◦ It has different forms in different situations

◦ Studies changes in social conditions based on social class, gender, regional, cultural groups etc

◦ Analyses speech communities and their language samples

◦ Study of language variation and change

◦ Charts the evolution of such changes

◦ Studies dialects, registers etc

◦ Also studies the political, economic, religious, educational aspects of language

 Psycholinguistics
◦ Language being a mental phenomenon, mental processes are articulated in language
behaviour

◦ Studies mental processes, processes of thought, concept formation, their articulation in

language etc which reveal much about the structures of human psychology and of
language

◦ Cognitive psychology explores how meanings are understood by the human brain

◦ How syntax and memory are linked

◦ How messages are decoded and stored

◦ Studies the influence of psychological factors like intelligence, motivation, anxiety and
the like, on language
 Developmental Linguistics
◦ Study of how human beings acquire language from childhood onwards

◦ A sub-branch of psycholinguistics

◦ Concerned with the learning of language at various stages- early stage first language
acquisition and later stages of other language acquisition

◦ Studies possibilities of human brain’s innate language ability (Are patterns embedded in it?)

◦ Studies error production in language use

◦ Studies individual differences among users

 Neurolinguistics
◦ Deals with the connections between language and the brain

◦ A specialised area within psycholinguistics

◦ Studies the physiological basis of language

◦ Language disorders like aphasia, memory loss, etc

◦ Initiated by the French man Paul Broca and German man Wernicke in the 19 th century

◦ Identified the existence of different areas of the brain, each responsible for different
categories of language learning, perception and production of speech
 Anthropological Linguistics
◦ Studies the evolution of language in human society and its role in the formation of culture

◦ The structure of language has a social and cultural basis just like other customs,
conventions and codes

◦ Language is treated as a way of embodying the world view and beliefs of a culture and the
things sacred to that culture

◦ Explores the relation between language and culture

◦ Language communicates and expresses culture

◦ Studies the ethnography of communication

 Autonomy and Interdisciplinarity

◦ Linguistics is an autonomous field of study that explores aspects of

language, a self-enclosed, autonomous system

◦ Interdisciplinarity- Linked with various other disciplines like sociology,

psychology, neurology, anthropology, etc
Thank you