PSYCHOLINGUISTICS AND SOCIOLINGUISTICS

SEPARATE OR INTEGRATED?

JAN PRÜCHA

Once O. S. Axmanova denoted two groups of linguists: some inquire

into the 'anatomy of language' (i.e. its structure), others into the
'physiology of language' (i.e. its functioning). Traditionally, in linguistics
the prevalent interest is in the language anatomy, and the study of a
number of problems related to the functioning of language is considered
to be beyond the framework of pure linguistics. However, the functioning
of language äs a means of human communication is so relevant a phe-
nomenon that it cannot be simply ignored. Therefore the present time
has seen progress in several disciplines — to a considerable degree
independent of one another — studying various aspects of the functioning
of language in the life of human society. In the present paper the essential
connections between two such disciplines, psychoJinguistics and socio-
linguistics, will be analysed. It will be pointed out that the two disciplines
have many common aims and objects of investigation. Hitherto, their
developments have been separate and thus might be replaced by their
Integration into a coherent polydisciplinary science studying human
communication. Into this Integration another linguistic discipline,
neglected both in psycholinguistics and in sociolinguistics, can be
included — namely functional stylistics, for it can serve as~ their
theoretical link. Psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and functional
stylistics are concentrated on various aspects of the same problem that
can be expressed simply by the following question: What factors are
operating to cause the Speaker (the Speakers) to say just this? Today
it is quite apparent that an adequate answer to this question can ensue
only from the common effort of these disciplines.

1. SOME TENDENCIES
IN CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLINGUISTICS AND SOCIOLINGUISTICS

It is hard to decide whether äs late äs today psycholinguistics is only