Branches in the study of language

Presented by: Omar Rabea

a) School vs. Branch

b) Basic branches of internal and external linguistics
Linguistics according ro David Crystal
Linguistics is the science of language. It is the subject whose practitioners devote their
energy to understanding why human language is the way it is. They study the history,
acquisition, structure, and use of as many languages as possible.

Professor David Crystal

The core levels of linguistics
Before we start examining the main branches of lingiuistics, we have to review
rapidely the core leveles of linguistics. Let’s consider linguistics as a tree, it has a
core, which the branches that we will discuss in the comming slides sprout from.
These levels are:

1. Phonetics: the science of speech sounds, especially of their production,

transmission and reception.
2. Phonology: the study of the sound system of languages.
3. Grammar: a systematic account of rules governing a language, including
semantics, syntax, morphology and often pragmatics.

(David Crystal)
1.1 Branches
The main branches of Linguistics are:
sociolinguistics — the study of language and society.
stylistics — the study of language and literature.
psycholinguistics — the study of language and mind.
computational linguistics — the simulation of
language by the use of computers.
comparative linguistics — the study of different
languages and their respective linguistic systems.
historical linguistics — the study of language change
over time.
applied linguistics — the study of language teaching.
(You will sometimes find that stylistics and
comparative linguistics are treated as sub-branches
of applied linguistics.) (Geoffery Finch)
1.2 Schools
1. Generative grammar or Generativism: the work of Noam Chomsky became the basis for the
generativism approach to linguistics. It was originally a way to explain how humans acquire
language in the first place, but soon it came to be used to explain the different phenomena
that occur in all natural languages. The generative theory of language suggests that, in its
most basic form, language is made up of certain rules that apply to all humans and all
languages. This led to the theory of “universal grammar”, that all humans are capable of
learning grammar. (Sarah-Claire Jordan)

2. Functionalism: This school of thought focuses on how language is actually used in everyday
life. Those who abide by functionalism look at language as just another tool for humans to
use, and thus tend to focus on the function language and its different parts have in our lives.
The theories of functionalism focus on phonological, semantic, syntactic, as well as the
pragmatic functions of language. (Sarah-Claire Jordan)
1.2 Schools; continued
3. Structuralism: Based on the work of Ferdinand de Saussure of Switzerland,
structuralism is an approach to linguistics that focuses on the idea that languages are
fixed systems made up of many different units that connect with each other. This school
of thought marked a shift from historical linguistic analysis to non-historical analysis.
(Sarah-Claire Jordan)

4. Cognitivism: cognitivism says that language emerges from human cognitive

processes. It challenges “universal grammar” by suggesting that grammar is not
something that all humans can inherently understand, but rather it is learned by using
language. (Sarah-Claire Jordan)
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857- 1913) Avram Noam Chomsky ( 1928-
2.1 Basic branches of internal linguitics

As we have disscused before, there are core leveles and branches in linguistics. The internal
linguistic branches, which they are also known as ‘Theoretical Linguistics’ are coonsisted of the
same core levels that we have tackled in the previous slides. These are:

Phonetics – how humans produce and perceive acoustic or visual signals.

Phonology – how acoustic signals are organised in spoken languages or dialects.

Morphology – how words are formed.

Syntax – how sentences are formed.

Semantics – what linguistic expressions or signals mean.

Pragmatics – how meaning depends on context.

(Paco Terros)
2.2 Basic branches of external linguitics

The external linguistic branches, which they are also known as ‘Aplied Linguistics’ are consisted of the same
branches that we have tackled in the previous slides. These are:

Sociolinguistics – the study of the relationship between language and society.

Applied Linguistics – the study of identifying and applying solutions to language-related life problems.

Computational Linguistics – the study of understanding written and spoken language from a computational
perspective.

Psycholinguistics – the study of mental aspects of language and speech.

Stylistics – the study and interpretation of language in regard to their tonal style.

Historical Linguistics – the study of the history of linguistics and how languages change and how they are related
to each other.

Comparative Linguistics – the study of historical relationships between two or more languages and determining
similarities they may possess. (Paco Terros)
References
Alpha Omega Translations. (2015). The Four Main Linguistic Schools of Thought -
Professional Translation. [online] Available at:
https://alphaomegatranslations.com/translation-tools/the-four-main-linguistic-
schools-of-thought/.

Crystal, D. (2010). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. Cambridge,

U.K. ; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Finch, G. (2000). Linguistics: The Main Branches. In: Linguistic Terms and Concepts.
Palgrave Study Guides. Palgrave, London.‌‌

Torres, P. (2021). The Branches of Linguistics. [online] Alethes.net. Available at:

https://alethes.net/blog/linguistics/what-are-the-main-branches-of-linguistics/.