Definition

1. Noun:
   • The scientific study of language: "Linguistics" is the systematic, scientific analysis of language, including its structure (syntax, morphology, phonology), meaning (semantics), and use in society (sociolinguistics).
   • The humanistic study of language and literature: In a broader academic context, "linguistics" can also encompass the study of language within its cultural and literary frameworks.

Usage

• "Linguistics" is an uncountable noun (treated as singular). It refers to the academic discipline as a whole.
• It is used to describe the field of study, research, or theoretical framework related to language.

Examples

• As a field of study:
  • She majored in linguistics at university.
  • Linguistics helps us understand how languages change over time.
• Referring to specific analysis:
  • The linguistics of sign languages is a fascinating area of research.
  • His argument was based on the principles of modern linguistics.

Advanced Usage

• "Theoretical linguistics": The branch of linguistics concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge (grammar).
  • Her work in theoretical linguistics focuses on syntactic theory.
• "Applied linguistics": The interdisciplinary field concerned with practical applications of language studies, such as language teaching or translation.
  • Problems in second language acquisition are often addressed by applied linguistics.
• "Computational linguistics": The use of computer science to analyze and model language.
  • Computational linguistics is essential for developing natural language processing software.

Variants and Related Words

• Linguist (n): A practitioner or student of linguistics.
  • The linguist conducted fieldwork to document the endangered language.
• Linguistic (adj): Pertaining to language or linguistics.
  • She is interested in the linguistic diversity of the region.
• Metalinguistics (n): The study of the relations between language and other cultural behavior.
• Sociolinguistics (n): The study of language in relation to social factors.
• Psycholinguistics (n): The study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, and understand language.

Synonyms

• Language science: A synonym emphasizing the scientific aspect.
• Philology: An older term for the study of language in written historical sources; it often includes literary and historical analysis, overlapping with the humanistic sense of linguistics.

Related Phrases

• "Historical linguistics": The study of language change over time.
  • Historical linguistics traces the evolution of the Romance languages from Latin.
• "Descriptive linguistics": The objective analysis and description of how a language is actually spoken by a speech community.
  • Descriptive linguistics aims to document a language's grammar without prescribing rules.

Related Idioms

(Note: "Linguistics" as a technical term is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. However, phrases describe its sub-fields.) - "To split hairs": To make overly fine distinctions. (This is sometimes related to semantic analysis in linguistics). - Arguing about the precise definition is just splitting hairs.

Noun

1. the humanistic study of language and literature
2. the scientific study of language