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[[Image:Language.jpg|right|frame|<center>[http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521559676 Cambridge Ency. of Language]</center><center>by [[David Crystal]]</center>]]

[[Image:Language.jpg|right|frame|<center>[https://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521559676 Cambridge Ency. of Language]</center><center>by [[David Crystal]]</center>]]

'''Linguistics''' is the [[scientific method|scientific]] study of [[language]], encompassing a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure ([[grammar]]) and the study of [[meaning]] ([[semantics]]). Grammar encompasses [[morphology]] (the formation and composition of [[word]]s), [[syntax]] (the rules that determine how words combine into [[phrase]]s and [[sentences]]) and [[phonology]] (the study of sound systems and abstract sound units). [[Phonetics]] is a related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds ([[phone]]s), non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and [[speech perception|perceived]].   

'''Linguistics''' is the [[scientific method|scientific]] study of [[language]], encompassing a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure ([[grammar]]) and the study of [[meaning]] ([[semantics]]). Grammar encompasses [[morphology]] (the formation and composition of [[word]]s), [[syntax]] (the rules that determine how words combine into [[phrase]]s and [[sentences]]) and [[phonology]] (the study of sound systems and abstract sound units). [[Phonetics]] is a related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds ([[phone]]s), non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and [[speech perception|perceived]].   

Over the twentieth century, following the work of [http://www.chomsky.info Noam Chomsky ], linguistics came to be dominated by the [[Generative grammar|Generativist school]], which is chiefly concerned with explaining how human beings [[language acquisition|acquire language]] and the biological constraints on this acquisition. Generative theory is [[Language module|modularist]] in character. While this remains the dominant paradigm, Chomsky's writings have also gathered much criticism, and other linguistic theories have increasingly gained popularity; [[cognitive linguistics]] is a prominent example. There are many sub-fields in linguistics, which may or may not be dominated by a particular theoretical approach: [[evolutionary linguistics]] attempts to account for the origins of language; [[historical linguistics]] explores language change and [[sociolinguistics]] looks at the relation between linguistic variation and social structures.

Over the twentieth century, following the work of [https://www.chomsky.info Noam Chomsky ], linguistics came to be dominated by the [[Generative grammar|Generativist school]], which is chiefly concerned with explaining how human beings [[language acquisition|acquire language]] and the biological constraints on this acquisition. Generative theory is [[Language module|modularist]] in character. While this remains the dominant paradigm, Chomsky's writings have also gathered much criticism, and other linguistic theories have increasingly gained popularity; [[cognitive linguistics]] is a prominent example. There are many sub-fields in linguistics, which may or may not be dominated by a particular theoretical approach: [[evolutionary linguistics]] attempts to account for the origins of language; [[historical linguistics]] explores language change and [[sociolinguistics]] looks at the relation between linguistic variation and social structures.

A variety of [[intellect|intellectual]] disciplines are relevant to the study of language. Although certain linguists have downplayed the relevance of some other fields [http://www.chomsky.info/books/architecture01.htm Interview with Noam Chomsky], linguistics,  like other sciences is highly interdisciplinary and draws on work from such fields as [[psychology]], [[informatics]], [[computer science]], [[philosophy]], [[biology]], [[human anatomy]], [[neuroscience]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], and [[acoustics]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics]

A variety of [[intellect|intellectual]] disciplines are relevant to the study of language. Although certain linguists have downplayed the relevance of some other fields [https://www.chomsky.info/books/architecture01.htm Interview with Noam Chomsky], linguistics,  like other sciences is highly interdisciplinary and draws on work from such fields as [[psychology]], [[informatics]], [[computer science]], [[philosophy]], [[biology]], [[human anatomy]], [[neuroscience]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], and [[acoustics]]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: Linguistics]]

[[Category: Linguistics]]