6 fundamental aspects of LINGUISTICS: What do they study?

Introduction

Linguistics is the science that deals with the study of human language in all its manifestations and forms. This discipline focuses on the analysis and description of linguistic systems that we use to communicate, and is concerned with understanding how these systems work and how they relate to each other.

This science encompasses a wide variety of fields, ranging from phonetics and phonology, which study the sounds of language, to pragmatics, which deals with how language is used in specific situations and how it influences communication.

Fundamental aspects of linguistics

Below are six fundamental aspects of linguistics:

• Language structure: Linguistics deals with the study of language structure, i.e. how sounds, words, phrases, and sentences are organized to create meaning. Grammar, syntax, and morphology are some of the subfields of linguistics that focus on this area.
• Linguistic variation: Linguistics also deals with linguistic variation, i.e. how linguistic patterns vary in different geographic, social, and cultural contexts. Sociolinguistics and dialectology are subfields that focus on analyzing variation in language use.
• Language acquisition: Linguistics is also interested in language acquisition, i.e. how children learn their mother tongue and how adults learn a foreign language. Language acquisition is a subfield of linguistics that analyzes the cognitive and social processes involved in language learning and use.
• Language history and evolution: Linguistics also deals with the history and evolution of language, i.e. how language has changed over time and how languages are related to each other. Historical and comparative linguistics are subfields that focus on this topic.
• Psycholinguistics: Psycholinguistics is the subfield of linguistics that focuses on the cognitive processes involved in language production and comprehension. This area of linguistics deals with analyzing how the brain processes linguistic information and how it relates to other cognitive processes.
• Pragmatics: Pragmatics is the subfield of linguistics that deals with how language is used in specific situations and how it influences communication. This area of linguistics focuses on analyzing how context and communicative intentions influence the interpretation of language and how conversational rules are used to communicate effectively.

Syntax

One of the most important aspects of this science is the study of syntax, which refers to the grammatical structure of sentences and how words relate to each other to form complex meanings. Syntax is a fundamental part of the study of grammar, which deals with the rules and principles governing language use.

Syntax is a discipline that deals with the structure of sentences and phrases in a language, analyzing how words are organized to create meaning. This includes identifying parts of speech such as subjects and objects, classifying words according to their grammatical function, and analyzing the relationship between words and phrases in a sentence.

In syntax, we study how sentences are formed from smaller units such as morphemes and words, and how these units are combined to create more complex structures. Different forms of sentences, such as interrogative, negative, and imperative, are also analyzed, as well as how they vary depending on the context and communicative purpose.

Syntax is a fundamental part of the study of language, as it allows us to understand how sentences are constructed and how messages are conveyed in a language. In addition, syntactic analysis helps us understand the structure of human thought and how people process information.

In conclusion, we are dealing with a science that is dedicated to the study of human language in all its forms and manifestations. Syntax is a fundamental part of this discipline, as it allows us to understand how sentences are constructed and how messages are conveyed in a language. The study of syntax is essential for understanding the grammar of a language and for analyzing and comprehending the meaning of sentences and texts.

Suggested Bibliography

These are some sources where you can read more about this discipline in Spanish, with renowned linguists and their respective links:

1. Linguistics Society of America (LSA) – https://www.linguisticsociety.org/ The LSA is the largest professional organization in the field of linguistics in North America, providing resources for linguistics research, teaching, and scholarship. They offer publications, conferences, and other resources for those interested in linguistics.
2. MIT OpenCourseWare Linguistics – https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/linguistics-and-philosophy/ MIT’s OpenCourseWare program offers free online courses in a variety of subjects, including linguistics. Their linguistics courses cover topics such as syntax, phonology, and semantics.
3. Oxford Bibliographies – Linguistics – https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/obo/page/linguistics Oxford Bibliographies provides expert guidance on the best works available in linguistics. The linguistics section covers a wide range of topics, from applied linguistics to theoretical linguistics.
4. The Linguist List – https://linguistlist.org/ The Linguist List is a free resource for linguistics professionals and students. It provides job listings, conference announcements, and discussion forums on various topics in linguistics.
5. The Handbook of Linguistics – https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118786098 This handbook covers the major areas of linguistics, including phonetics, syntax, and semantics. It is a comprehensive guide to the field and is written by leading scholars in linguistics.
6. Language Log – https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/ Language Log is a blog that discusses language and linguistics in an accessible and engaging way. It covers a wide range of topics, from language acquisition to language change.
7. Journal of Linguistics – https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-linguistics The Journal of Linguistics is a leading academic journal in the field of linguistics, publishing articles on theoretical and empirical studies of language.