What is linguistics and what is its purpose?
Linguistics, is the study of a language. The term "linguistics" (lat.
lingua "tongue, language")
means the same thing.
The language
is at the heart of our intellectual life. It is both the basis and the practical
tool of our thinking, which makes it communicable. It is thus the spiritual
bond that binds us to other members of the social communities in which we live.
Communication, through the means of expression of language, is the basis and
prerequisite of all culture. The achievements of human civilization and
culture, from their beginnings to their highest achievements, are unthinkable
without the medium of language, which reflects and directs the development of
the human mind.
In
accordance with the central importance of language, linguistics also occupies a
central position in the scientific system. It has a link with all other
sciences.
For linguistics - mostly humanities, but also historical and social sciences and last but not least cultural studies - the following three problem areas are of interest:
- The relationship of the language to reality and the effects of this relationship
- The difference in language and (in the case of the same language) in ways of speaking
- The change of language in space, time and depending on external and internal factors
Language is
part of the innermost being of human beings and we often treat those who speak
a foreign language or use a different way of speaking with confusion. Another use of language is coupled with social value judgments, almost always
prejudices. This applies, for example, to the relationship between high-level
language and colloquial language and dialect, to the numerous jargons and
special languages and the "sociolects", the relationship between
formal vs. informal and much more. Prejudices and the associated linguistic
discrimination are based on ignorance and a lack of insight into the causes of
linguistic differences and the functions that different modes of expression can
take on. To have an enlightening effect here is one of the most important tasks
that linguistics has to fulfill for society.
Linguistics also refers to the science of (human) language; it deals with language as a means of communication and here is some of its fields :
Phonetics, the study of the sounds of speech:
Phonology, the study of the sound systems of speech:
Phonology
(also: phonemics) as part of phonetics is a sub-area of linguistics. it
examines systems of phonemes which is the smallest meaningful element of
languages. Phonology deals with the sounds in the system of any language, while
phonetics (“speech act phonetics”) deal with the detailed description of these
sounds (phones) independently of system considerations.
Morphology, the study of "word building”
Morphology
is the part of linguistics that studies the meaning and function of a language ,
The morphemes (unit of langue) are in different forms, allomorphs. Morphemes
are composed of phonemes and in comes from words. The Principles or
regularities of the internal structure of words also belong to the field of
morphology.
Semantics, the study of the sense and meaning of language
The
semantics is the branch of linguistics
(linguistics),it deals with meaning linguistic
signs. All expressions that have a phonetic sign count as linguistic signs or
associate written (or other) . All of these units meet the
requirements . , however, morphemes and words are the Main
subjects of linguistic semantics.
what is syntax in linguistics ?
Conclusion
Linguistics
focuses in the systematic structure of the languages in addition to the features
of it in general. It contains not only the study of the sound,
grammar and meaning, but also the history of the family of the language. Linguistics
has a near relation to the humanities, social sciences and the natural
sciences, linguistics complements a tremendous range of other fields such as
anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, biology, computer science.
See IPA chart Here
gt
g