Generally, Linguistics refers to the study of human language that focuses on two general disciplines namely form or structure (grammar) and meaning or non-structure (semantics and pragmatics).
For the purpose of this course, grammatical rules will focus on generalizations about acceptable phrases and sentences and hypotheses about the process by which these phrases and sentences are generated and understood. Thus, learning grammar is not just following the rules, but rather, using the forms and rules for the precise meaning one wants to communicate.
Also, for the purpose of discussion we will define ‘discipline’ as a branch/s of knowledge or system of rules of conduct or method simply put.
Linguistics can also be defined as a scientific approach to the study of language that emanates, co-relates and works with other branches of sciences like psychology, speech-language biology, human anthropology, anatomy, pathology, informatics, computer science, philosophy, neuroscience, sociology, and acoustics.
Theorists see Linguistics in different approaches. Two general approaches can be defined as semiotics which focuses on signs and symbols while literary approach focus on artistic representation of the texts.
Fundamentally, Linguistics describes and explains the nature, origin, variation and acquisition of human language with consideration to the non-linguistic factors that affects it.
Sub-disciplines of structure-base studies are:
Phonetics, the study of the physical properties of speech (or signed) production and perception
Phonology, the study of sounds (or signs) as discrete, abstract elements in the speaker's mind that distinguish meaning
Morphology, the study of internal structures of words and how they can be modified
Syntax, the study of how words combine to form grammatical sentences
Semantics, the study of the meaning of words (lexical semantics) and fixed word combinations (phraseology), and how these combine to form the meanings of sentences
Pragmatics, the study of how utterances are used in communicative acts, and the role played by context and nonlinguistic knowledge in the transmission of meaning
Discourse analysis, the analysis of language use in texts (spoken, written, or signed)
Sub-disciplines of non-structure-base studies are:
Applied linguistics, the study of language-related issues applied in everyday life, notably language policies, planning, and education. (Constructed language fits under Applied linguistics.)
Biolinguistics, the study of natural as well as human-taught communication systems in animals, compared to human language.
Clinical linguistics, the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology.
Computational linguistics, the study of computational implementations of linguistic structures.
Developmental linguistics, the study of the development of linguistic ability in individuals, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.
Evolutionary linguistics, the study of the origin and subsequent development of language by the human species.
Historical linguistics or diachronic linguistics, the study of language change over time.
Language geography, the study of the geographical distribution of languages and linguistic features.
Linguistic typology, the study of the common properties of diverse unrelated languages, properties that may, given sufficient attestation, be assumed to be innate to human language capacity.
Neurolinguistics, the study of the structures in the human brain that underlie grammar and communication.
Psycholinguistics, the study of the cognitive processes and representations underlying language use.
Sociolinguistics, the study of variation in language and its relationship with social factors.
Stylistics, the study of linguistic factors that place a discourse in context.
sources:
Fromkin, Victoria; Bruce Hayes; Susan Curtiss, Anna Szabolcsi, Tim Stowell, Donca Steriade (2000). Linguistics: An Introduction to Linguistic Theory. Oxford: Blackwell
McMahon, A. M. S. (1994). Understanding Language Change. Cambridge University Press
"Linguist". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2000.
Center for Applied Linguistics
http://www.appliedlinguistics.org
Dela Cruz, Edna M.; Advanced Speech Communications
Rex Bookstore, Inc., 2010
International Conference on Language Education
http://www.pixel-online.org
