Linguistics & its Branches

include the things we might do with language. Besides, the different interpretations that we might associate with an utterance (something that is said).

• Functional aspects

• Structural aspects

can be summarized as the formal patterns that can be observed in a language.

• Functional aspects

• Structural aspects

Formal patterns of english language:

• Parts of speech

•  Inflection

• Agreement patterns

• Word order 

• Prosodic signals

is the study of the physical aspects of speech sounds, i.e. the physical creation of phonemes and longer stretches of speech.

• Phonetics

• Phonology

• Syntax

• Morphology

is the study of the sound system that is used in a language. Specifically it is the study of phonemes, the basic sound structure of a language, the features that are associated with distinct sounds in a language, and how these features interact with each other when they are found in different environments.

• Phonetics

• Phonology

• Syntax

• Morphology

focuses on the form of language, its abstract rules and patterns. This is the branch of language study that involves rules of grammar and issues such as the order in which words appear in sentences.

• Syntax

• Morphology

• Semantics

• Phonology

focuses on morphemes, the basic unit of meaning within a language. This branch of linguistics deals with how sounds combine to form meaningful words and/or change the meaning of words.

• Morphology

• Semantics

• Syntax

• Phonology

is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. In semantic analysis, we always try to focus on what the words normally mean rather than on what one person might want them to mean in a particular situation.

• Semantics

• Morphology

• Pragmatics

• Phonetics

is about the things that we can do with language in particular contexts. This branch of linguistics deals with how signs affect human behavior and with the social rules, often informal, that govern how language is used. There is a difference between what might be said (strictly), and what is implied.

• Pragmatics

• Semantics

• Morphology

• Syntax

is concerned with the origins and development of language, and the different historical relationships between various languages. Historical linguists investigate the changes in a language that have taken place over many hundreds of years.

• Historical linguistics

• Sociolinguistics

• Psycholinguistics

• Neurolinguistics