LINGUISTICS

A Manuscript Presented to the Faculty of English,

FPT University, Hoa Lac, Hanoi Vietnam

Partial Course Requirement for the English Preparation Course TRS501

Nguyen Gia Dat
Le Phuong Linh
Fall 2022 _ Part 2, December 2022

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 BACKGROUND

Linguistics will be discussed in this manuscript in which we will delve into the
subject - linguistic education/studies, important subfields/arts of Linguistics
on the following aspects: definition, biography, and a few examples that help us
to visualize it easier.

The two presenters, Nguyen Gia, a first-year student majoring in Information

System, and Le Phuong Linh, currently studying Digital Marketing, also a
freshman too, collaborated to collect documents relevant to support the topic
and organize key points in favor. Resources are searched and referenced on
websites, scientific research pages, and various academic articles that will be
placed under the reference search section.

This manuscript is a partial requirement for the English Preparation Course –

TRS501 and will be presented to the Faculty of English – FPT University, Hoa
Lac, Hanoi Vietnam.

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Thanks to my partner who contributed ideas and accompanied in group work

and helped develop this study.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks and deep gratitude to our
friendly, enthusiastic, talented, and funny faculty, especially our direct
research advisor Mr. Cecilia Jr. Requentel Fedelino. He guided us to conduct
the research with all the knowledge, experience, dedication to the work,
openness, and enthusiasm of a lecturer. He guided us to present and carry out
our research in the most simple, clear and scientific way. We have learned
invaluable lessons from his sincerity, dedication, and responsibility to his
work. Working under his dedicated guidance has been a very valuable
experience for us. Once again, we would like to thank him for his enthusiastic
guidance throughout the course of this study.

Finally, we express our sincerest gratitude to all the people who have
supported us to complete the research work directly or indirectly.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................... 01

BACKGROUND ...................................................................................... 02

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................ 03

KEYWORDS AND IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES .................................. 05

LINGUISTIC EDUCATION/STUDIES ...................................................... 06

I - Definition ........................................................................... 06
II - Background ...................................................................... 06

SUBFIELDS/PARTS OF LINGUISTICS..................................................... 08

I - Phonetics ........................................................................... 09
II - Phonology ......................................................................... 11
III - Morphology ...................................................................... 12
IV - Syntax ............................................................................. 13
V - Semantics ......................................................................... 17
VI - Pragmatics ....................................................................... 19
VII - Historical linguistics ....................................................... 21
VIII - Sociolinguistics .............................................................. 22
IX - Computational linguistics ................................................ 23
X - Psycholinguistics .............................................................. 25

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 26

REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 27

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 KEYWORDS AND IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES

Phonetics - the study of how speech sounds are produced and perceived

Phonology - the study of sound patterns and changes

Morphology - the study of word structure

Syntax - the study of sentence structure

Semantics - the study of linguistic meaning

Pragmatics - the study of how language is used in context

Historical Linguistics - the study of language change

Sociolinguistics - the study of the relationship between language and society

Computational Linguistics - the study of how computers can process human

language

Psycholinguistics - the study of how humans acquire and use language

Connotative Semantic - When a word suggests a set of associations or is an

imaginative or emotional suggestion connected with the terms, readers can
relate to such associations. Simply, it represents figurative meaning. Usually,
poets use this type of meaning in their poetry.
Denotative Semantic - It suggests the words' literal, explicit, or dictionary
meanings, without using associated meanings. It also uses symbols in writing
that suggest expressions of writers, such as an exclamation mark, quotation
mark, apostrophe, colon, or quotation mark.

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 LINGUISTIC EDUCATION/STUDIES

I – Definition

Linguistics is the systematic study of the structure and evolution of human

language, and it is applicable to every aspect of human endeavor.
Ngôn ngữ họ c là nghiên cứ u có hệ thố ng về cấ u trúc và sự tiến hóa củ a ngôn
ngữ loài ngườ i, và nó có thể áp dụ ng cho mọ i khía cạ nh củ a nỗ lự c củ a con
ngườ i.
The discipline of linguistics focuses on theories of language structure, variation
and use, the description and documentation of contemporary languages, and
the implications of theories of language for an understanding of the mind and
brain, human culture, social behavior, and language learning and teaching.
Bộ môn ngôn ngữ họ c tậ p trung vào các lý thuyết về cấ u trúc ngôn ngữ , biến
thể và cách sử dụ ng, mô tả và tài liệu về các ngôn ngữ đương đạ i, và ý nghĩa
củ a các lý thuyết ngôn ngữ đố i vớ i sự hiểu biết về tâm trí và não bộ , văn hóa
con ngườ i, hành vi xã hộ i, và việc họ c và dạ y ngôn ngữ .
Phonology and phonetics - the study of the sound systems of languages - deals
with the basic utterances in speech. It can be investigated by observing which
physical properties of the vocal tract (including the lips and tongue) are used to
form distinct linguistic sounds to convey information. Morphology and syntax
are concerned with the study of the internal structure of words and sentences.
Apart from the study of the sound systems of languages and word and
sentence structure, linguists seek to specify the meaning behind words and
combinations of words. This investigation is known as semantics. Semanticists
also compare the meanings of these combinations when they interact with
contextual information, a subfield known as pragmatics.

Linguists investigate how people acquire their knowledge about language, how
this knowledge interacts with other cognitive processes, how it varies across
speakers and geographic regions, and how to model this knowledge
computationally. They study how to represent the structure of the various
aspects of language (such as sounds or meaning), how to account for different
linguistic patterns theoretically, and how the different components of language
interact with each other. Các nhà ngôn ngữ họ c điều tra cách mọ i ngườ i thu
nhậ n kiến thứ c về ngôn ngữ , cách kiến thứ c này tương tác vớ i các quá trình

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nhậ n thứ c khác, cách kiến thứ c này khác nhau giữ a nhữ ng ngườ i nói và khu
vự c địa lý cũng như cách mô hình hóa kiến thứ c này bằ ng máy tính. Họ nghiên
cứ u cách thể hiện cấ u trúc củ a các khía cạ nh khác nhau củ a ngôn ngữ (chẳ ng
hạ n như âm thanh hoặ c ý nghĩa), cách giả i thích các mẫ u ngôn ngữ khác nhau
về mặ t lý thuyết và cách các thành phầ n khác nhau củ a ngôn ngữ tương tác vớ i
nhau. Many linguists collect empirical evidence to help them gain insight into a
specific language or languages in general. They may conduct research by
interacting with children and adults in schools, in the field, and in university
labs.

II – Background

Western modern historical linguistics dates from the late -18th century. It grew
out of the earlier discipline of philology, the study of ancient texts and
documents dating back to antiquity.
Ngôn ngữ họ c lịch sử hiện đạ i phương Tây xuấ t hiện từ cuố i thế kỷ 18. Nó phát
triển từ ngành triết họ c trướ c đó, nghiên cứ u về các văn bả n và tài liệu cổ xưa
có từ thờ i cổ đạ i.
At first, historical linguistics served as the cornerstone of comparative
linguistics, primarily as a tool for linguistic reconstruction. Scholars were
concerned chiefly with establishing language families and reconstructing
unrecorded proto languages, using the comparative method and internal
reconstruction. The focus was initially on the well-known Indo-European
languages, many of which had long written histories; scholars also studied the
Uralic languages, another Eurasian language-family for which less early
written material exists. Since then, there has been significant comparative
linguistic work expanding outside of European languages as well, such as on
the Austronesian languages and on various families of Native American
languages, among many others. Lúc đầ u, ngôn ngữ họ c lịch sử đóng vai trò là
nền tả ng củ a ngôn ngữ họ c so sánh, chủ yếu như mộ t công cụ để tái cấ u trúc
ngôn ngữ . Các họ c giả chủ yếu quan tâm đến việc thiết lậ p các họ ngôn ngữ và
tái cấ u trúc các ngôn ngữ nguyên thủ y không đượ c ghi chép, sử dụ ng phương
pháp so sánh và tái cấ u trúc bên trong. Ban đầ u, trọ ng tâm là các ngôn ngữ
Ấ n-Âu nổ i tiếng, nhiều ngôn ngữ trong số đó đã có lịch sử lâu đờ i; các họ c giả
cũng đã nghiên cứ u các ngôn ngữ Uralic, mộ t ngữ hệ Á-Âu khác mà ít tài liệu
viết sớ m hơn tồ n tạ i. Kể từ đó, đã có nhiều công trình ngôn ngữ họ c so sánh
quan trọ ng mở rộ ng ra bên ngoài các ngôn ngữ châu Âu, chẳ ng hạ n như các
ngôn ngữ Austronesian và các họ khác nhau củ a các ngôn ngữ ngườ i Mỹ bả n
địa, trong số nhiều ngôn ngữ khác. Comparative linguistics became only a part

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of a more broadly conceived discipline of historical linguistics. For the Indo-
European languages, comparative study is now a highly specialized field.

Some scholars have undertaken studies attempting to establish super-families,

linking, for example, Indo-European, Uralic, and other families into Nostratic.
These attempts have not met with wide acceptance. The information necessary
to establish relatedness becomes less available as the time increases. The time-
depth of linguistic methods is limited due to chance word resemblances and
variations between language groups, but a limit of around 10,000 years is often
assumed. The dating of the various proto languages is also difficult; several
methods are available for dating, but only approximate results can be obtained.

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 SUBFIELDS/PARTS OF LINGUISTICS

Important subfields of linguistics include:

 Phonetics
 Phonology
 Morphology
 Syntax
 Semantics
 Pragmatics
 Historical Linguistics
 Sociolinguistics
 Computational Linguistics
 Psycholinguistics

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I - Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on the production and

classification of the world’s speech sounds. The production of speech looks at
the interaction of different vocal organs, for example the lips, tongue, and
teeth, to produce sounds. Ngữ âm họ c là mộ t nhánh củ a ngôn ngữ họ c tậ p
trung vào việc tạ o ra và phân loạ i âm thanh lờ i nói củ a thế giớ i. Việc tạ o ra lờ i
nói xem xét sự tương tác củ a các cơ quan phát âm khác nhau, chẳ ng hạ n như
môi, lưỡ i và răng, để tạ o ra âm thanh. By classification of speech, we focus on
the sorting of speech sounds into categories which can be seen in what is
called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA is a framework that
uses a single symbol to describe each distinct sound in the language and can
be found in dictionaries and in textbooks worldwide. For example, the noun
‘fish’ has four letters, but the IPA presents this as three sounds: f i ʃ, where ‘ʃ’
stands for the ‘sh’ sound. IPA là mộ t khuôn khổ sử dụ ng mộ t ký hiệu duy nhấ t
để mô tả từ ng âm riêng biệt trong ngôn ngữ và có thể tìm thấ y trong từ điển và
sách giáo khoa trên toàn thế giớ i. Ví dụ : danh từ 'fish' có bố n chữ cái, nhưng
IPA trình bày đây là ba âm: f i ʃ, trong đó 'ʃ' là viết tắ t củ a âm 'sh'.

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 The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

Phonetics as an interdisciplinary science has many applications. This includes

its use in forensic investigations when trying to work out whose voice is behind
a recording. Another use is its role in language teaching and learning, either
when learning a first language or when trying to learn a foreign language. This
section of the website will look at some of the branches of phonetics as well as
the transcription of speech and some history behind phonetics.

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II - Phonology

Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across

languages. Put more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical
organization of speech sounds in languages; how speech sounds are organized
in the mind and used to convey meaning. Âm vị họ c là nghiên cứ u về các mẫ u
âm thanh trong mộ t ngôn ngữ và giữ a các ngôn ngữ . Nói mộ t cách chính thứ c
hơn, âm vị họ c là nghiên cứ u về tổ chứ c phân loạ i củ a âm thanh lờ i nói trong
các ngôn ngữ ; cách âm thanh lờ i nói đượ c tổ chứ c trong tâm trí và đượ c sử
dụ ng để truyền đạ t ý nghĩa. In this section of the website, we will describe the
most common phonological processes and introduce the concepts of underlying
representations for sounds versus what is produced, the surface form.

Phonology can be related to many linguistic disciplines, including

psycholinguistics, cognitive science, sociolinguistics, and language acquisition.
Principles of phonology can also be applied to treatments of speech pathologies
and innovations in technology. In terms of speech recognition, systems can be
designed to translate spoken data into text. In this way, computers process the
language like our brains do. The same processes that occur in the mind of a
human when producing and receiving language occur in machines. One
example of machines decoding language is the popular intelligence system,
Siri.

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III - Morphology

In linguistics, morphology is the study of how words are put together. For
example, the word cats are put together from two parts: cat, which refers to a

particular type of furry four-legged animal (🐈), and -s, which indicates that

there’s more than one such animal (🐈 🐈‍ 🐈).

Trong ngôn ngữ họ c, hình thái họ c là nghiên cứ u về cách các từ đượ c ghép lạ i
vớ i nhau. Ví dụ : từ mèo đượ c ghép vớ i nhau từ hai phầ n: mèo, dùng để chỉ mộ t

loạ i độ ng vậ t bố n chân có lông cụ thể (🐈) và -s, chỉ ra rằ ng có nhiều hơn mộ t loài

độ ng vậ t như vậ y (🐈 🐈‍ 🐈) .

Most words in English have only one or two pieces in them, but some technical
words can have many more, like non-renewability, which has at least five
(non-, re-, new, -abil, and -ity). Hầ u hết các từ trong tiếng Anh chỉ có mộ t hoặ c
hai phầ n trong đó, nhưng mộ t số từ kỹ thuậ t có thể có nhiều phầ n hơn, chẳ ng
hạ n như không thể tái tạ o, có ít nhấ t năm (không, lạ i, mớ i, -abil và -ity). In
many languages, however, words are often made up of many parts, and a
single word can express a meaning that would require a whole sentence in
English.

For example, in the Harvaqtuurmiutut variety of Inuktitut, the word

iglujjualiulauqtuq has 5 pieces, and expresses a meaning that could be
translated by the full English sentence “They (sg) made a big house.” (iglu =
house, –jjua = big, –liu = make, –lauq = distant past, –tuq = declarative; this
example is from a 2010 paper by Compton and Pittman).

Not all combinations of pieces are possible, however. To go back to the simple
example of cat and -s, in English we can’t put those two pieces in the opposite
order and still get the same meeting—scat is a word in English, but it doesn’t
mean “more than one cat”, and it doesn’t have the pieces cat and -s in it,
instead it’s an entirely different word.
Tuy nhiên, không phả i tấ t cả các sự kết hợ p củ a các mả nh đều có thể. Quay trở
lạ i ví dụ đơn giả n về cat và -s, trong tiếng Anh chúng ta không thể đặ t hai mả nh
đó theo thứ tự ngượ c lạ i mà vẫ n gặ p nhau—scat là mộ t từ trong tiếng Anh,

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nhưng nó không có nghĩa là “hơn one cat”, và nó không có các mả nh cat và -s
trong đó, thay vào đó là mộ t từ hoàn toàn khác.
One of the things we know when we know a language is how to create new
words out of existing pieces, and how to understand new words that other
people use if the new words are made of pieces we’ve encountered before. We
also know what combinations of pieces are not possible. In this chapter we’ll
learn about the different ways that human languages can build words, as well
as about the structure that can be found inside words.

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IV – Syntax

Not to be confused with syntax in programming, syntax in linguistics refers to

the arrangement of words and phrases. Syntax covers topics like word order
and grammar rules, such as subject-verb agreement or the correct placement
of direct and indirect objects.
Đừ ng nhầ m lẫ n vớ i cú pháp trong lậ p trình, cú pháp trong ngôn ngữ họ c đề cậ p
đến sự sắ p xếp củ a các từ và cụ m từ . Cú pháp bao gồ m các chủ đề như trậ t tự
từ và các quy tắ c ngữ pháp, chẳ ng hạ n như sự thố ng nhấ t giữ a chủ ngữ và độ ng
từ hoặ c vị trí chính xác củ a tân ngữ trự c tiếp và gián tiếp.
Syntax is essential to understanding constituency, the term for multiple words
acting as a single unit. In long and complex sentences, constituency is
necessary to determine the hierarchy within the sentence, particularly with
sentence diagramming.
Cú pháp là điều cầ n thiết để hiểu cấ u thành, thuậ t ngữ cho nhiều từ hoạ t độ ng
như mộ t đơn vị. Trong các câu dài và phứ c tạ p, yếu tố cấ u thành là cầ n thiết để
xác định thứ bậ c trong câu, đặ c biệt là vớ i sơ đồ câu.
Just how important is syntax in English? Changing the placement of a word
often changes the meaning of the sentence. Sometimes the change is minor,
useful for writers who like nuance and subtext, but sometimes the change is
more significant, giving the entire sentence a whole new interpretation.
Thay đổ i vị trí củ a mộ t từ thườ ng thay đổ i ý nghĩa củ a câu. Đôi khi sự thay đổ i
là nhỏ , hữ u ích cho nhữ ng ngườ i viết thích sắ c thái và ẩ n ý, nhưng đôi khi sự
thay đổ i lạ i quan trọ ng hơn, mang lạ i cho toàn bộ câu mộ t cách hiểu hoàn toàn
mớ i.
To see for yourself, look at the syntax examples below. Notice how moving the
word only changes the meaning of the entire sentence. Để tự mình xem, hãy
xem các ví dụ cú pháp bên dướ i. Lưu ý cách di chuyển từ chỉ thay đổ i ý nghĩa
củ a toàn bộ câu. Keep in mind that only can be an adjective or an adverb;
adjectives modify the nouns that come after them, and adverbs modify the
verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs that come after them.

Only Batman fights crime.

Meaning: Batman is the only person who fights crime. No one except Batman
fights crime, not even Superman.

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Batman only fights crime.
Meaning: Fighting crime is the only thing Batman does. He doesn’t work, he
doesn’t shower—fighting crime is all he does.

Batman fights only crime.

Meaning: Batman doesn’t fight anything except crime. He doesn’t fight Alfred or
Robin; he doesn’t fight the dry cleaner if they accidentally stain his shirt. Crime
is the only thing he fights.

7 syntactic patterns
1 Subject → verb
The dog barked.
This is the standard syntactic pattern, including the minimum requirements of
just a subject and verb. The subject always comes first.

2 Subject → verb → direct object

The dog carried the ball.
If the verb is transitive and uses a direct object, the direct object always goes
after the verb.

3 Subject → verb → subject complement

The dog is playful.
The subject complement comes after the verb. Subject complements always use
linking verbs, like be or seem.

4 Subject → verb → adverbial complement

The dog ate hungrily.
Like subject complements, adverbial complements come after the verb (if there
are no objects). Be careful, because single adverbs can sometimes come before
the verb; however, these are not complements. If you’re not sure whether an

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adverb is a complement or not, try removing it from the sentence to see if the
meaning changes. If you find that removing it does change the meaning, it’s an
adverbial complement.

5 Subject → verb → indirect object → direct object

The dog gave me the ball.
Some sentences have both a direct object and an indirect object. In this case,
the indirect object comes right after the verb, and the direct object comes after
the indirect object. Keep in mind that objects of prepositions do not follow this
pattern; for example, you can say, The dog gave the ball to me.

6 Subject → verb → direct object → object complement

The dog made the ball dirty.
Object complements come after the direct object, similar to other complements.

7 Subject → verb → direct object → adverbial complement

The dog perked its ears up.
When the sentence uses both a direct object and an adverbial complement, the
direct object comes first, followed by the adverbial complement. In this syntax
example, up is the adverbial complement because it describes how the dog
perked its ears.

4 sentence structures
1 Simple: Includes the minimum requirements for a sentence, with just a
single independent clause.
We go to the beach in summer.

2 Complex: An independent clause combined with one or more subordinate

clauses.
We go to the beach in summer when school is finished.

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3 Compound: Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or
a semicolon.
We go to the beach in summer, but my cat stays home.

4 Compound-complex: Two independent clauses combined with one or more

subordinate clauses.
We go to the beach in summer, but my cat stays home because he doesn’t own
a swimsuit.

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V - Semantics

Definition of Semantics
Semantics is one of the important branches of linguistics and deals with the
interpretation and meaning of words, sentence structure, and symbols. It deals
with the reading comprehension of the readers, in how they understand others
and their interpretations. In addition, semantics constructs a relation between
adjoining words and clarifies the sense of a sentence, whether the meanings of
words are literal or figurative.
Ngữ nghĩa họ c là mộ t trong nhữ ng nhánh quan trọ ng củ a ngôn ngữ họ c và liên
quan đến việc giả i thích và ý nghĩa củ a từ , cấ u trúc câu và ký hiệu. Nó liên
quan đến khả năng đọ c hiểu củ a độ c giả , trong cách họ hiểu ngườ i khác và
cách diễn giả i củ a họ . Ngoài ra, ngữ nghĩa xây dự ng mố i quan hệ giữ a các từ
liền kề và làm rõ nghĩa củ a câu, cho dù nghĩa củ a các từ là nghĩa đen hay
nghĩa bóng.
There are two types of Semantics:
Connotative Semantic
Denotative Semantic

Example: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)

Juliet:
“O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet,
So, Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d …”
The above-mentioned quote is, in fact, conveying figurative meaning. However,
its surrounding text clarifies the meaning. Juliet is using metaphoric language,
arguing with Romeo that his family name is not important to her, because she
only wants Romeo.

Example: Hamlet (By William Shakespeare)

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In the famous soliloquy of Prince Hamlet, “To be or not to be,” William
Shakespeare has used a word that we use quite differently these days. Hamlet
says:
“When we have shuffled off this mortal coil …”
Here, “mortal coil” carries a connotative meaning that suggests life, as Hamlet
compares death to sleep. However, we are using coils in different connection
today, which means a series of spirals tightly joined together.

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VI - Pragmatics

A Definition of Pragmatics
The study of the practical aspects of human action and thought.
The study of the use of linguistic signs, words, and sentences, in actual
situations.

Pragmatics outlines the study of meaning in the interactional context

It looks beyond the literal meaning of an utterance and considers how meaning
is constructed as well as focusing on implied meanings. It considers language
as an instrument of interaction, what people mean when they use language
and how we communicate and understand each other.

Jenny Thomas says that pragmatics considers:

The negotiation of meaning between speaker and listener.
The context of the utterance.
The meaning potential of an utterance.

What would happen to language if Pragmatics did not exist?

Pragmatics acts as the basis for all language interactions and contact. It is a
key feature to the understanding of language and the responses that follow
this. Therefore, without the function of Pragmatics, there would be very little
understanding of intention and meaning.
We would like to demonstrate this by showing you how life would be WITHOUT
Pragmatics:
‘Can you pass the salt?’
Literal Meaning: Are you physically able to do this task?
Literal Response: ‘Yes’
(Pragmatic Meaning: Will you pass me the salt?
Pragmatic Response: pass the salt to the speaker.)

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‘What time do you call this?’
Literal Meaning: What time is it?
Literal Response: A time (e.g., ‘twenty to one.’)
(Pragmatic Meaning: a different question entirely, e.g. Why are you so late?
Pragmatic Response: Explain the reason for being so late.)

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VII - Historical linguistics

The study of linguistic change is called historical and comparative linguistics.

Linguists identify regular sound correspondences using the comparative
method among the cognates (words that developed from the same ancestral
language) of related languages. They can restructure an earlier protolanguage,
and this allows linguists to determine the history of a language family.
Nghiên cứ u về sự thay đổ i ngôn ngữ đượ c gọ i là ngôn ngữ họ c lịch sử và so
sánh. Các nhà ngôn ngữ họ c xác định sự tương ứ ng âm thanh thông thườ ng
bằ ng cách sử dụ ng phương pháp so sánh giữ a các từ cùng nguồ n gố c (từ phát
triển từ cùng mộ t ngôn ngữ tổ tiên) củ a các ngôn ngữ liên quan. Họ có thể tái
cấ u trúc mộ t ngôn ngữ nguyên mẫ u sớ m hơn và điều này cho phép các nhà
ngôn ngữ họ c xác định lịch sử củ a mộ t họ ngôn ngữ .
Languages that evolve from a common source are genetically related. These
languages were once dialects of the same language. Earlier forms of Germanic
languages, such as German, English, and Swedish were dialects of Proto-
Germanic, while earlier forms of Romance languages, such as Spanish, French,
and Italian were dialects of Latin. Furthermore, earlier forms of Proto-Germanic
and Latin were once dialects of Indo-European.

Linguistic changes like sound shift are found in the history of all languages, as
evidenced by the regular sound correspondences that exist between different
stages of the same language, different dialects, and different languages. Words,
morphemes, and phonemes may be altered, added, or lost. The meaning of
words may broaden, narrow or shift. New words may be introduced into a
language by borrowing, or by coinage, blends, and acronyms. The lexicon may
also shrink as older words become obsolete.

Change comes about because of the restructuring of grammar by children

learning the language. Grammars seem to become simple and regular, but
these simplifications may be compensated for by more complexities. Sound
changes can occur because of assimilation, a process of ease of articulation.
Some grammatical changes are analogic changes, generalizations that lead to
more regularity, such as sweeped instead of swept.
Sự thay đổ i xả y ra do sự tái cấ u trúc ngữ pháp khi trẻ họ c ngôn ngữ . Ngữ pháp
dườ ng như trở nên đơn giả n và thông thườ ng, nhưng nhữ ng đơn giả n hóa này
có thể đượ c bù đắ p bằ ng nhữ ng phứ c tạ p hơn. Nhữ ng thay đổ i về âm thanh có

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thể xả y ra do sự đồ ng hóa, mộ t quá trình dễ dàng phát âm. Mộ t số thay đổ i ngữ
pháp là nhữ ng thay đổ i tương tự , khái quát hóa dẫ n đến sự đều đặ n hơn, chẳ ng
hạ n như quét thay vì quét.

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VIII - Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is a branch of study in the broader field of linguistics that is

concerned with how language functions in society. Sociolinguists study how
social factors impact people's language use and how language use impacts and
is determined by people's positions in society. This sociolinguistics definition
may seem to cover a lot of bases, but all these elements are closely associated
with one another and are essential to the work of sociolinguists. Ngôn ngữ họ c
xã hộ i là mộ t nhánh nghiên cứ u trong lĩnh vự c ngôn ngữ họ c rộ ng lớ n hơn liên
quan đến cách thứ c hoạ t độ ng củ a ngôn ngữ trong xã hộ i. Các nhà xã hộ i họ c
nghiên cứ u cách các yếu tố xã hộ i tác độ ng đến việc sử dụ ng ngôn ngữ củ a mọ i
ngườ i và cách sử dụ ng ngôn ngữ tác độ ng và đượ c xác định bở i vị trí củ a mọ i
ngườ i trong xã hộ i. Định nghĩa ngôn ngữ họ c xã hộ i này dườ ng như bao gồ m rấ t
nhiều cơ sở , nhưng tấ t cả nhữ ng yếu tố này đều có liên quan chặ t chẽ vớ i nhau
và rấ t cầ n thiết cho công việc củ a các nhà ngôn ngữ họ c xã hộ i. William Labov,
an American linguistic researcher, is often credited with the creation of the
field of sociolinguistics as it is known today. He emphasized the idea that
variation is central to language, and he also pioneered quantitative methods of
analysis in the field.

Sociolinguistics can be applied to virtually any area of daily life because

language is so central to human social experience. Sociolinguistic examples
that linguists might study could include:

 Large-scale national studies of linguistic variation across a country

 Small-scale local studies of linguistic variation in a state or city
 Studies of language variation on a particular axis, like gender or social
class
 Studies of language variation among groups, like immigrants or second
language speakers

Language variations are the key to sociolinguistic study, and every society will
have different kinds of variations. The primary thesis of sociolinguistics is that
each individual's use of language is impacted by, and also impacts, every
aspect of their social place in society.

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IX - Computational linguistics

Computational linguistics (CL) is the application of computer science to the

analysis and comprehension of written and spoken language. As an
interdisciplinary field, CL combines linguistics with computer science and
artificial intelligence (AI) and is concerned with understanding language from a
computational perspective. Ngôn ngữ họ c tính toán (CL) là ứ ng dụ ng củ a khoa
họ c máy tính để phân tích và hiểu ngôn ngữ viết và nói. Là mộ t lĩnh vự c liên
ngành, CL kết hợ p ngôn ngữ họ c vớ i khoa họ c máy tính và trí tuệ nhân tạ o (AI)
và quan tâm đến việc hiểu ngôn ngữ từ góc độ máy tính. Computers that are
linguistically competent help facilitate human interaction with machines and
software.

Computational linguistics is used in tools like instant machine translation,

speech recognition systems, text-to-speech synthesizers, interactive voice
response systems, search engines, text editors and language instruction
materials.

Typically, computational linguists are employed in universities, governmental

research labs or large enterprises. In the private sector, vertical companies
typically employ computational linguists to authenticate the accurate
translation of technical manuals. Tech software companies, such as Microsoft,
typically hire computational linguists to work on natural language processing
(NLP), helping programmers to create voice user interfaces that enable humans
to communicate with computing devices as if they were another person.

A computational linguist is required to have expertise in machine learning

(ML), deep learning, AI, cognitive computing, and neuroscience. Individuals
pursing a job as a linguist generally need a master's or doctoral degree in a
computer science-related field or a bachelor's degree with work experience
developing natural language software.

The term computational linguistics is also very closely linked to NLP, and these
two terms are often used interchangeably.

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 Computational linguistics can be used for many different basic applications.

Goals of computational linguistics

 Create grammatical and semantic frameworks for characterizing

languages.
 Translate text from one language to another.
 Retrieve text that relates to a specific topic.
 Analyze text or spoken language for context, sentiment, or other affective
qualities.
 Answer questions, including those that require inference and descriptive
or discursive answers.
 Summarize text.
 Build dialogue agents capable of completing complex tasks such as
making a purchase, planning a trip, or scheduling maintenance.
 Create chatbots capable of passing the Turing Test.

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X - Psycholinguistics

Psycholinguistics or ‘the psychology of language’ encompasses so many

different aspects of language, from language acquisition to syntax and
semantics, phonology, and morphology. With current and future technological
advances and with the collaboration of other disciplines, psycholinguistics
aims to advance our understanding of the human brain.
Tâm lý họ c ngôn ngữ hay 'tâm lý họ c ngôn ngữ ' bao gồ m rấ t nhiều khía cạ nh
khác nhau củ a ngôn ngữ , từ việc tiếp thu ngôn ngữ đến cú pháp và ngữ nghĩa,
âm vị họ c và hình thái họ c. Vớ i nhữ ng tiến bộ công nghệ hiện tạ i và tương lai và
vớ i sự hợ p tác củ a các ngành khác, ngôn ngữ họ c tâm lý nhằ m mụ c đích nâng
cao hiểu biết củ a chúng ta về bộ não con ngườ i.
Psycholinguistics involves:
Language processing – reading, writing, speaking, listening and memory. For
instance, how words on paper are turned into meaning in the mind.
Lexical storage and retrieval – the way words are stored in our minds and used.
How we are able to map words onto objects such as ‘ball’ and actions such as
‘kick’ and ‘love’ and access these when needed.
Language acquisition – how language is first learnt and used by children. For
example, learning the rules of grammar and how to communicate with other
people.
Special circumstances – how internal and external factors can impact language
development, such as twins and their use of ‘twin language’, the influence of
hearing and vision impairments on acquisition, and how damage to the brain
can affect certain aspects of language.
The brain and language – evolutionary explanations of why humans have the
capacity to use language, and the parts of the brain concerned with different
areas of language, also considering whether non-human animals have the
ability to use language too.
Second language acquisition and use – looking at bilingualism and how
individuals can learn a second language and are able to differentiate between
them.

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 CONCLUSION

Linguistics plays a major role in the evolution and understanding of different

traditions and cultures around the world. Without the knowledge of languages,
perhaps a man would be nothing but a mere caveman until now.

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 REFERENCES

1 - What is Linguistics?
https://linguistics.ucdavis.edu/
2 - Historical linguistics
https://en.wikipedia.org/
3 - What is Linguistics?
https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/
4 - Phonetics
https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/
5 - Phonology
https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/
6 - Morphology
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/
7 - What Is Syntax? Learn the Meaning and Rules, with Examples
https://www.grammarly.com/
8 - Semantics
https://literarydevices.net/
9 - What is pragmatics?
https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/
10 - Historical linguistics
https://ielanguages.com/
11 - Sociolinguistics and Speech Variation
https://study.com/
12 - Computational linguistics (CL)
https://www.techtarget.com/
13 - Psycholinguistics
https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/

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