Branches of Linguistics

Branches of Linguistics

The core of linguistic studies is the study of language structure at different levels . In the growth of modern linguistics as an autonomous field of knowledge, it has been necessary to emphasize this aspect of linguistics, since no other field of study describes language structure systematically and completely.

However, there are many areas of human activity and knowledge in which language plays a part and linguistics is useful in these areas. The study of language in relation to the many areas of knowledge where it is relevant, has led to the growth of many branches of linguistics. Thus the scope of linguistics has grown to include these branches. Linguistics can be classified into two major branches according to language scholars:

Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that is most concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge. The fields that are generally considered the core of theoretical linguistics are syntax, phonology, morphology, and semantics. 

Although phonetics often informs phonology, it is often excluded from the purview of theoretical linguistics, along with psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics. Theoretical linguistics also involves the search for an explanation of linguistic universals, that is, properties all languages have in common.

Applied Linguistics the study of language-related issues applied in everyday life, notably language policies, planning, and education. It is the application of linguistics theories to evaluate the language problems arisen from other professions like sociology, psychology, ethnology, geography, neurology, biology, and history etc. 

Various branches of linguistics have grown because language is intimately related both to the inner, world of man’s mind and to the outer world of society and social relationships. Each of these aspects has led to the study of psycho-linguistics and sociolinguistics respectively.

(a) Psycholinguistics

Since language is a mental phenomenon, it is mental processes which are articulated in language behaviour. Psycholinguistics studies these mental processes, processes of thought and concept formation and their articulation in language, which reveal a great deal about the structures of human psychology as well as of language. ‘Cognitive’ psychology is the area which explores how meanings are understood by the human brain, how syntax and memory are linked, how messages are ‘decoded’ and stored. 

Psycholinguistics also studies the influence of psychological factors such as intelligence, motivation, anxiety etc. on the kind of language that is understood and produced. For instance, in the case of errors made by a speaker, there may be psychological reasons which influence comprehension or production that are responsible for the occurrence of an error. Our perception of speech sounds or graphic symbols (in writing) is influenced by the state of our mind. One kind of mental disability, for example, results in the mistakes made by children in reading when they mistake one letter for another (Dyslexia). Psycholinguistics can offer some insights and corrective measures for this condition.

Psycholinguistics is concerned with the learning of language at various stages: the early acquisition of a first language by children and later stages in acquisition of first and other languages. 

Psycholinguists attempt to answer questions such as whether the human brain has an inborn language ability structured in such a way that certain grammatical and semantic patterns are embedded in it, which can explain how all human beings are capable of learning a language. This exploration may lead us to determining whether all the languages in the world have some ‘universal’ grammar that lies in the mind of every human being and is transformed in particular situations to produce different languages. Psycholinguistic studies in language acquisition are very useful in the area of language teaching because they help teachers to understand error production and individual differences among learners and thus devise appropriate syllabi and materials for them.

One specialized area within psycholinguistics is Neurolinguistics that studies the physiological basis of language and language disorders such as aphasia, loss of memory, etc.

Another relation of language with mind is that of logic. It was held by some ancient philosophers that the human mind is rational and capable of thinking logi¬cally and, therefore, language too is logically ordered and rational. Others held that, just as irrationality is present in the mind, irregularity or anomaly is present in human language. Since then there has been a debate about the nature of language and the relation between language and logic. One of the problems discussed by philosophers of language is whether language can be an adequate medium for philosophical inquiry. Since all our thoughts are known to us through language, we must examine the kind of language we use when we approach philosophical issues and analysis.

(b) Sociolinguistics

The branch of linguistics that deals with the exploration of the relation between language and society is known as sociolinguistics, and the sociology of language. Sociolinguistics is based on the fact that language is not a single homogeneous entity, but has different forms in different situations. The changes in language occur because of changes in social conditions, for example, social class, gender, regional and cultural groups. A particular social group may speak a different variety of a language from the rest of the community. This group becomes a speech community.

Variation in language may occur because the speakers belong to a different geographical region. Taking the example of English, we find that it is not a single language but exists in the form of several varieties. One kind of English is called R.P. (or Received Pronunciation). This kind of English is used in the south west of England and particularly associated with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the BBC. It is an educated and formal kind of English. But there are other varieties of English, such as the English that is spoken in the north of England, in Yorkshire and Lancashire; in Scotland(Scottish English); Wales (Welsh English), etc. A less educated variety of English is that spoken by working class people in London often called Cockney English. Then there are the varieties of English spoken by people of different countries around the world, e.g. American English, and Australian English.

Sociolinguistics is the study of language variation and change–how varieties of language are formed when the speakers belong to a geographical region, social class, social situation and occupation, etc. Varieties of a language that are formed in various geographical regions involve a change in the pronunciation as well as vocabulary. Such changes result in the formation of a distinctly different variety of the language or a dialect. Sometimes these changes may be present within the same geographical region due to the social differences between different economic sections, e.g. working class and aristocracy. These changes result in class-dialects.

In sociolinguistic studies, we consider the linguistic features of these dialects, e.g. syntax variations such as ‘I’ve gotten it’ or ‘I ain’t seen nothing’ and lexical variations such as ‘lift’ (British English) to ‘elevator’ (American English). The study of the demarcation of dialect boundaries across a region and of specific features of each dialect is called dialectology. One dialect may be demarcated from another by listing a bundle of features which occur in a particular region. The point at which a certain feature (of pronunciation or vocabulary) ceases to be prevalent and gives way to another feature is a dialect boundary or ‘isogloss’. Dialects may acquire some importance and prestige and evolve into distinct languages. This usually happens when they are codified, e.g. in written and literary forms, and their grammar and lexicon is standardized. Usually this happens when the dialect is given political and social importance. That is why it is said ‘A language is a dialect with an army, and navy’. Sociolinguists chart the evolution of such changes.

Variation in language may also be due to the specific area of human activity in which language is used. Again taking the example of English, this language is used in different fields—of law, religion, science, sports etc. In each of these areas there is a specific vocabulary and manner of use of English, which defines the legal language, the scientific language etc. This variety of language according to its use, is called register. Sociolinguists examine the particular characteristics of different registers, i.e. legal register, scientific register, etc., to see how these differ. This kind of study is useful because it enables us to understand how language-use is tied to a social context. The notion of register is important in showing that language use in communication is not arbitrary or uncontrolled, but is governed by rules of situational and contextual appropriateness.

The sociology of language includes the study of attitudes to language held by social groups, for instance, they may consider some languages or dialects as more (or less) important. It includes the planning of language education, e.g. which languages should he the medium of instruction, which language should be taught as second language; and language policy, i.e. which languages are legally and constitutionally recognised and what status they are given. The sociology of language is thus linked with other aspects of our social world, the political, economic, educational, etc.

(c) Anthropological Linguistics

The evolution of language in human society and its role in the formation of culture; is another aspect of language society and culture, this is studied in anthropological linguistics. The structure of language has a social and cultural basis in the same way as other customs, conventions and codes such as those related to dress, food, etc. Each culture organises its world its own way, giving names to objects, identifying areas of significance or value and suppressing other areas. Language becomes a way of embodying the world view and beliefs of a culture, and the things that culture holds sacred; for example, a culture in which family relationships occupy the most significant position will have many kinship terms in their language, with each relationship specified by a particular term. If you compare the kinship terms in English such as grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, etc. with kinship terms in Urdu, you will find that there are many more such terms in Urdu specifying particular relationships such as a paternal / maternal grand-father.

Similarly, terms specifying colours, emotions, natural phenomena, and so on are differently organised in every culture, and reveal a great deal about that culture. The study of these specific cultural elements is called the ethnography of a culture. A specific way of communication in a culture is thus studied as the ethnography of communication.

Anthropological studies have explored the relation between language and culture. Language is invented to communicate and express a culture. It also happens that this language then begins to determine the way we think and see the world. Since this language is the means by which we understand and think about the world, we cannot go beyond it and understand the world in any other way. This is the view expressed by the linguist Whorf whose hypothesis is that we dissect nature along the lines laid by our native language. There is still a debate about this, but it is true that to some extent we are hound to see the world according to the terms specified by our own language. These aspects of language and culture are still being discussed by anthropological linguists, philosophers of language and ethnographers.

(d) Literary Stylistics

The study of variation in language and the use of language in communication has also led to new ways of studying literary texts and the nature of literary communication. If you consider again the notion of register discussed above, you may realise that register is in fact a kind of language that is considered appropriate for a particular subject matter, e.g. the style of a religious sermon, the style of sports commentary. Similarly we may use this notion to describe the style of a literary work. That is, we may describe its features at the levels of phonology, syntax, lexis, etc. to distinguish it from other texts and to appreciate how it achieves some unique effects through the use of language. This kind of study is called literary stylistics.

Literary writers use the system of language in their own way, i.e. they create a style. This is done by deliberate choice (e.g. out of a whole range of words available, they choose one which would be particularly effective), sometimes by deviation from or violation of the rules of grammar (e.g. ‘he danced his did’ in Cummings’ poem). Poets and even prose writers may invert the normal order of items in a sentence (e.g. ‘Home is the sailor…’) or create a pattern by repetition of some items (e.g. the sound /f/ in ‘the furrow followed free’). By these and other devices, they are able to manipulate language so that it conveys some theme or meaning with great force and effectiveness.

In literary stylistics, we read the text closely with attention to the features of language used in it, identifying and listing the particular features under the heading of ‘lexis’, ‘grammar’, ‘phonology’ or ‘sound patterns’. When we have obtained a detailed account of all these features, we co-relate them or bring them together in an interpretation of the text. That is, we try to link ‘what is being said’ with ‘how it is being said,’ since it is through the latter that writers can fully express the many complex ideas and feelings that they want to convey. Stylistic analysis also helps in a better understanding of how metaphor, irony, paradox, ambiguity etc. operate in a literary text as these are all effects achieved through language and through the building up of a coherent linguistic structure. 

Atta Ur Rahman Jadoon

Posted in: Linguistics,Morphology,Semantic,Syntax