What is Linguistics?
Linguistics is the study of the nature of language. Linguists study the languages of the world in order to answer questions like:
What are the building blocks of languages?
The building blocks of language include the sounds which combine to make words; then words which combine into phrases and sentences; and the sentences which combine into discourses. We also combine sentences in to larger units referred to as texts and discourses.
What are the rules and principles that govern the combination of the building blocks of language?
Different rules and principles govern the combination of the different building blocks of language, and different branches of linguistic research have developed different kinds of models to explain this. Linguists explore the basic principles that govern all languages as well as the way languages vary in how they build up words, phrases and sentences and the types of sound combinations that they allow.
How do languages change over time?
Languages are constantly changing. Languages change because of contact between speakers of different languages or varieties of the same language or because languages are put to new uses. The new media communication options, for example, have an impact on how we do traditional writing and face-to-face communication. Social barriers or their removal, different cultural, political or ideological backgrounds and social changes may also lead speakers to differentiate their language use to assert separate identities. Speakers are constantly moulding languages to their needs.
How is language acquired and how are languages learned?
Language is acquired by children in all societies and only humans can acquire language. Linguists explore the way in which children acquire their language(s) and the way that the interaction between the child and the environment lead to mastery of language in a short period of time.
What are language disabilities?
Although language can be acquired with ease it can also be impaired later in life. One of the most common causes of language impairment is stroke. Damage to those parts of the brain that deal with language can result in language impairment of different types and severity. This is known as Aphasia. Study of such damage to language can tell us a lot about the way the brain encodes and
processes language.
What determines how we use language?
We regularly adapt the way we use language depending on the setting and the type of interaction. We speak differently in formal and informal situations, we do not speak in the same way to our boss or teacher as we do to our friends. We adapt our way of speaking based on how we want to present ourselves to others.
For further information, please go to: (opens in a new window)http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/why-major-linguistics