What Is Linguistics,this question is very important for every language teacher and newbie student of language. Linguistics is the science, as well as physics and chemistry is the science. It is the scientific study of language and very important subject for every language teacher. It can be used to compile a dictionary, and can be used to guide the textbooks. Many people think that Linguist is the person who just knows many languages.
But there are many definitions of linguistics which tell the true nature of this subject.
Linguistics is the science that takes language as an object of study
Linguistics is a generative because its primary purpose is to explain the nature of competence, and not the performance.
Linguistics is the science of grammar.”
It seeks to answer the following questions:
- What do we know when we know a language.
- How this knowledge is gained.
- How it is used.
- What is universal (in all languages of the world), how the individual languages differ, how and why they change, “die” or “born”.
- How are structured languages?
Does the language is unique to humans?
• How appeared the language?
• What is the nature of language?
• How are structured languages?
• How is it that the language transmits the direction between two individuals?
• How is that users perceive and produce speech and language.
Many People Don’t Know What Is Linguistics And Its Role In Language Learning
Linguistic analysis has resulted in the establishment of five distinct areas of study that have become traditional fields of linguistic analysis. The table below provides a brief definition of each of these sub disciplines).Traditional areas of linguistics, also called “internal” areas of linguistics:
Semantics: Study of language from the point of view of meaning.
Phonetics: Study of the substance of the speech units in human languages.
Phonology: Science that studies the speech sounds in terms of their function in the linguistic communication system.
Morphology: Study of the forms of words.
Syntax: Study of the rules governing the order of words and sentence construction, in a language.
It is also important to note that modern studies in linguistics reveal that there are many other field of linguistics for example language in its social context
Sociolinguistics: the study of the relationship between language and social phenomena.
Ethnic Linguistics:
The study of language as an expression of a culture (in relation to the situation of communication).
Dialectical:
Describing the different systems or dialects in which a language is diversifying into space and establish their limits.
Psycho-linguistics:
It is a scientific study of verbal behavior of learning language.
Lexicology:
Study about Science of meaning units (morphemes).It is often studied in relations with the society of which they are the expression. The application of lexicology is called lexicography which is the making of technical dictionaries.
Neurolinguistic:
Science that deals with the relationship between language disorders (aphasia) and functions of the brain structures they imply.
Discourse Analysis:
It is the part of the language that determines the language beyond the sentence. There are many approaches and method to determine the language in written text and sign language.Mehandi Designs Images
What you will study in Linguistics.
In the program you will read theories about language. You learn about the language’s role in society and culture. You will acknowledge language psychology and functions of brain that acquire language. You get tools to analyze both the spoken and written language. You also work with the way children and adults learn languages.
Linguistics is studied in the two sub-themes, general linguistics and phonetics general linguistics you will study the different processes that characterize the language, e g, the word structure, sentences, texts and speeches. It can be described and explained, how language is processed in the production and comprehension, how it changes, and how it is appropriate. Phonetics deals with issues related to the spoken language, eg how speech sounds are formed, what they consist of and how they are perceived.