Linguistics is the name given to the discipline which studies human language.

Two questions
come immediately to mind: 1-what is human language? 1-what does its study involve?
0. Language and linguistics
0.1. Defining language
0.1.1. Language / A language
Language is defined as a finite system of elements and principles that make it possible for
speakers to construct sentences to do particular communicative jobs. Language is the
output of the human faculty, which we all have, for communicating via systems of
abstract signs (words and so on).
• Language : Uncountable. The ability to communicate using words.
• A language: Countable. A body of words, and a set of methods of combining them
(called a grammar) understood by a community and used as a form of communication.
0.1.2 Langue / parole
Langue consists of the structural relations that define a language, which includes grammar,
syntax and phonology. Parole, on the other hand, is the physical manifestation of signs.
0.1.3. Competence / performance
Competence describes the mental knowledge that a speaker or listener has of language.
Performance is the actual use of language in concrete situations. It is used to describe the
production, called parole as well as the comprehension of language.
0.1.4. Descriptive / prescriptive
A descriptive approach to language takes the view that language is a phenomenon that can
be studied scientifically. In other words the descriptive approach refers to the structure of a
language as it is actually used by speakers and writers.
A prescriptive approach to language takes the view that there is an idealized form of a
language to the use of which we all should aspire. It refers to the structure of a language as
certain people think it should be used.
0.1.5. Synchronic / Diachronic
Synchronic takes a language as a working system at a particular point in time without
concern for how it has developed to its present state.
Diachronic is equivalent to historical. The development and evolution of a language through
history. It is concerned with the evolution and change overtime of that which is studied
0.2. Linguistics
0.2.1. Definition
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 Linguistic is the word meaning ‘relating to language’ as well as the word meaning ‘relating
to linguistics’. Similarly, linguist is ambiguous. If you are asked by somebody who has never done
any linguistics, ‘what are you studying? And you tell them you are doing linguistics, one of the
common reactions you will meet is, ‘oh, how many languages do you speak, then?
There is a meaning of linguist which is ‘person who speaks several languages’ (for which
we might prefer the term polyglot) and another meaning of linguist ‘person who studies
linguistics’.
The field of linguistics is broad and diverse. A dictionary definition is something like ‘the
science of language’, but this requires a certain amount of explanation. What does science mean
in this context? So let’s try to explain what we mean by science. In a science like biology, the basis
of science is the observation of natural species, their classification, and an explanation of how they
function: how respiration works, how a muscle contracts, and so on.
So in linguistics, the science part is first a matter of observation of language phenomenon,
but then a classification of the elements of language and an understanding of how they combine
and how they work. Of course, classification means a certain amount of terminology. Linguists
need names for different classes of word, different kinds of consonant and different
relationships between words.
0.2.2. Branches of linguistics
Phonetics describes and classifies the sounds of English and other languages according to how they
are articulated, using appropriate phonetic terminology.
It describes the suprasegmental features of language (length, intonation, tone, stress), using
appropriate phonetic terminology.
Phonology describes the sound system (phonology) of English in terms of basic units (phonemes,
distinctive features) and rules.
- It analyzes sound patterns in English and other languages through solving problems based on data.
Morphology identifies the structure of words and the morphological processes that operate in word
formation, using the appropriate linguistic terminology.
It identifies different morphological types of language according to their word structure patterns.
It analyzes the structure of words in English and other languages through solving problems based on
data.

Syntax identifies the elements of sentence structure in English and other languages, using the
appropriate linguistic terminology.
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It analyzes English sentences in terms of their syntactic structure using tree diagrams, identifying
phrases and lexical categories.
Semantics explains how meaning is encoded in words and sentences. It deals with conceptual and
associative meaning.
Pragmatics explains the difference between sentences and utterances in context, and how context
affects meaning.
It identifies and illustrates with examples the rules that speakers follow in using language in
conversation, in drawing conclusions, and in doing things with languages: e.g. making requests,
giving orders, etc.