What is LINGUISTIC STUDY

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It involves analysing the many different aspects that make
up human language by looking at its form, structure and context. Linguistics also looks at the interplay
between sound and meaning, and how language varies between people and situations.Oct 3, 2019

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It involves the analysis of language form, language
meaning, and language in context.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists (experts in linguistics) work on specific languages,
but their primary goal is to understand the nature of language in general by asking questions such as:
What distinguishes human language from other animal communication systems?

Linguistics definitions

The science of language, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics:
sometimes subdivided into descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical, and geographical
linguistics. ... The study of the English language is an example of linguistics.

OBJECTIVES OF LINGUISTICS:

1. Problem-solving skills: Find patterns in a set of data from familiar and unfamiliar languages; draw
generalizations from a set of data; make a hypothesis to explain a linguistic pattern and revise it in light
of further data. 2. Formalize linguistic facts into concise rules and diagrams.

*What is linguistics and why study it?

Have you ever wondered why we say "feet" rather than "foots"? Or what we do with our mouths to
make a b sound different from a p? Or why we rarely say what we actually mean? It's questions like
these that intrigue the linguist!

Many people think that a linguist is someone who speaks many languages and works as a language
teacher or as an interpreter at the United Nations. In fact, these people are more accurately called
"Polyglots". While many linguists are polyglots, the focus of linguistics is about the structure, use and
psychology of language in general.

Linguistics is concerned with the nature of language and communication. It deals both with the study of
particular languages, and the search for general properties common to all languages or large groups of
languages. It includes the following subareas :

phonetics (the study of the production, acoustics and hearing of speech sounds)phonology (the
patterning of sounds)morphology (the structure of words)syntax (the structure of sentences)semantics
(meaning)pragmatics (language in context)

It also includes explorations into the nature of language variation (i. e., dialects), language change over
time, how language is processed and stored in the brain, and how it is acquired by young children. All of
these topics are examined in the coursework offered by the University of Arizona's Department of
Linguistics.
Although linguistics is still largely unfamiliar to the educated public, it is a growing and exciting field,
with an increasingly important impact on other fields as diverse as psychology, philosophy, education,
language teaching, sociology, anthropology, computer science, and artificial intelligence.

A student with an interest in linguistics can choose among several different career paths. Some of these
are listed below. Note that different career paths will benefit from different course concentrations, so
it's a good idea to consult with the undergraduate advisor when choosing courses.

Careers with a B.A. in Linguistics only

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics and teach English in a foreign country. Many of our students pursue
teaching in countries such as Russia or Japan.

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics, coupled with excellent multilingual skills, and work as a translator. For
example, translators of American Sign Language are in demand in many places in the U.S.

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics, coupled with a concentration of courses in computer science, and obtain a
position in a company like Macintosh, IBM or Microsoft creating computers that can comprehend and
produce human languages. For example, many new search engines work on the basis of natural
languages. In recent years, the demand for people with such backgrounds has exploded, and linguists
are in high demand.

Careers with a B.A. in Linguistics Plus 2-3 Years of Additional Graduate Training

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics and go on for a Masters degree in education in order to teach English as a
second language in the U.S. or to teach a foreign language in an American school.

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics and go on for a graduate degree in another field. For example, many of our
graduates in recent years have gone on to law school. Linguistics teaches excellent analytic and writing
skills needed in fields like law and journalism.

Careers with a B.A. in Linguistics Plus 4-5 Years of Additional Graduate Training

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics and go on for a Ph.D. in Linguistics in order to teach at a college or university
or to work in language-related industry (e.g., editing, software development).

Receive a B.A. in Linguistics, coupled with courses in computer sciences, philosophy or psychology, and
go on for a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in order to teach at a college or university or to work in industry on
problems involving language and artificial intelligence

*Studying Linguistics

Studying linguisticsTo study linguistics is to gain a greater understanding of a fundamental part of what
it means to be human. Linguistics is a scientific field and an academic discipline that has both theoretical
and practical applications. Linguists study language structure at several theoretical levels that range in
size from tiny units of speech sounds to the context of an entire conversation. Students of linguistics
often begin with a basic understanding of each level of language, then specialize in one or more levels or
in a practical application of linguistics.
The smallest units of language are studied in the field of phonetics, which concerns itself with the
individual sounds produced while speaking. Phonology takes a look at those small units of sound
together in the context of whole utterances, and searches for patterns in sound across a language or a
whole group of languages.

Morphology is the study of the internal structure of words, how stems come together with prefixes and
suffixes to make whole words. Syntax explores the structure of complete sentences exactly as people
really produce them, not how your seventh grade English teacher told you to produce them. Linguists
also seek to understand the meaning behind words and combinations of words in the field of semantics.
The meanings of these combinations when they interact with contextual information, and how they are
produced and perceived, are the focus of a subfield known as pragmatics.

These fields seek to advance a complete picture of how language works and how its many levels work
together. In doing so, linguists work to help us understand an indispensable part of human life. If you are
interested in more information about studying linguistics, please explore the links below:

"Why Major in Linguistics?" (PDF) - a pamphlet outlining the field, expected coursework, and potential
professional opportunities with a degree in linguistics.

Annual Report on the State of Linguistics in Higher Education - an annual reported commission by LSA
detailing information about trends in the field of linguistics.

Directory of Linguistics Departments and Programs - a collection of universities, colleges and other
institutions with notable linguistics programs, including those granting graduate degrees in linguistics.

"The Domain of Linguistics" - a series first published by the Linguistic Society of America in 1982. It was
written to explain the discipline to the general public, and was facilitated by a Challenge Grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities.

*Linguistics helps us understand our world

It captures unique conceptualizations of the world and has its own ways of constructing words, phrases
and sentences for communicating ideas. As we compare the words and structures of various languages,
we come to a greater understanding of the world we live in.

*Linguistics helps teachers convey the origins of words and languages, their historical applications, and
their modern day relevance. Combined, this approach to teaching language helps students gain a better,
more in-depth understanding of their assignments and work product expectations.
Communicative competence is a term in linguistics which refers to a language user's grammatical
knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and the like, as well as social knowledge about how and
when to use utterances appropriately.

In fact, it is one of the four components of communicative competence: linguistic, sociolinguistic,

discourse, and strategic competence.May 7, 2013

The term communicative competence refers to both the tacit knowledge of a language and the ability to
use it effectively. It's also called communication competence, and it's the key to social acceptance.

The concept of communicative competence (a term coined by linguist Dell Hymes in 1972) grew out of
resistance to the concept of linguistic competence introduced by Noam Chomsky. Most scholars now
consider linguistic competence to be a part of communicative competence.

Examples and Observations

"Why have so many scholars, from so many fields, studied communicative competence within so many
relational, institutional, and cultural contexts? Our hunch is that scholars, as well as the contemporary
Western societies in which most live and work, widely accept the following tacit beliefs: (a) within any
situation, not all things that can be said and done are equally competent; (b) success in personal and
professional relationships depends, in no small part, on communicative competence; and (c) most
people display incompetence in at least a few situations, and a smaller number are judged incompetent
across many situations."

(Wilson and Sabee)

"By far the most important development in TESOL has been the emphasis on a communicative approach
in language teaching (Coste, 1976; Roulet, 1972; Widdowson, 1978). The one thing that everyone is
certain about is the necessity to use language for communicative purposes in the classroom.
Consequently, the concern for teaching linguistic competence has widened to include communicative
competence, the socially appropriate use of language, and the methods reflect this shift from form to
function."

(Paulston)

Hymes on Competence

"We have then to account for the fact that a normal child acquires knowledge of sentences not only as
grammatical, but also as appropriate. He or she acquires competence as to when to speak, when not,
and as to what to talk about with whom, when, where, in what manner. In short, a child becomes able
to accomplish a repertoire of speech acts, to take part in speech events, and to evaluate their
accomplishment by others. This competence, moreover, is integral with attitudes, values, and
motivations concerning language, its features and uses, and integral with competence for, and attitudes
toward, the interrelation of language with the other code of communicative conduct."

(Hymes)

Canale and Swain's Model of Communicative Competence

In "Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing" (Applied
Linguistics, 1980), Michael Canale and Merrill Swain identified these four components of communicative
competence:

(i) Grammatical competence includes knowledge of phonology, orthography, vocabulary, word

formation and sentence formation.

(ii) Sociolinguistic competence includes knowledge of sociocultural rules of use. It is concerned with the
learners' ability to handle for example settings, topics and communicative functions in different
sociolinguistic contexts. In addition, it deals with the use of appropriate grammatical forms for different
communicative functions in different sociolinguistic contexts.

(iii) Discourse competence is related to the learners' mastery of understanding and producing texts in
the modes of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It deals with cohesion and coherence in different
types of texts.

(iv) Strategic competence refers to compensatory strategies in case of grammatical or sociolinguistic or

discourse difficulties, such as the use of reference sources, grammatical and lexical paraphrase, requests
for repetition, clarification, slower speech, or problems in addressing strangers when unsure of their
social status or in finding the right cohesion devices. It is also concerned with such performance factors
as coping with the nuisance of background noise or using gap fillers.

(Peterwagner)

*A central concept of the communicative approach to language teaching is communicative competence:

the learner's ability to understand and use language appropriately to communicate in authentic (rather
than simulated) social and school environments.

Communicative competence is important in higher education because language functions to enable

students to acquire knowledge and skills in the various disciplines; and to develop individuals into
intellectual, social, and civic beings to the benefit of the society.

Communicative competence is a term in linguistics which refers to a language user's grammatical

knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and the like, as well as social knowledge about how and
when to use utterances appropriately. ... The approach pioneered by Hymes is now known as the
ethnography of communication

Examples:

grammatical (ability to create grammatically correct utterances), sociolinguistic (ability to produce

sociolinguistically appropriate utterances), discourse (ability to produce coherent and cohesive
utterances), and. strategic (ability to solve communication problems as they arise).

*Instructor: Ralica Rangelova

Rali has taught Public Speaking to college students and English as a Second Language; She has a master's
degree in communication.
Cite this lesson

This lesson defines communicative competence and the four competence areas that construct the
model: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic. The lesson also touches on the communicative
approach often used to teach foreign languages.

Communicative Competence

The communicative competence model is used to teach and learn foreign languages and is the result of
multiple linguists efforts. The development of the communicative competence model started with
Chomsky in the 1960s when he used grammatical competence as a theoretic ground for teaching,
learning, and testing languages. Shortly after, Hymes expanded his concepts of performance and
competence by adding that communicative competence should include the ability to use grammatical
structures in different situations to convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings. Many
other linguists afterward put efforts to further develop the concept of communicative competence.
Some of the most distinguished contributors to the development of the model include Widdowson,
Canale and Swain, Savignon, and Bachman and Palmer.

The communicative competence model we know and use today represents the ability to use language
correctly to communicate appropriately and effectively in a variety of social situations. Currently, the
communicative competence model is constructed of four competence areas: linguistic, sociolinguistic,
discourse, and strategic. Two of them focus on the functional aspect of communication, and the other
two reflect the use of the linguistic system.

Linguistic and Sociolinguistic

The linguistic competence deals with grammar. It includes vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and
pronunciation. Students have to know rules that govern sentence structure, word formation, tenses,
sound interactions, word and phrase meanings, and collocations. In other words, syntax, morphology,
semantics, phonology, and phonetics are all subjects of interest to the linguistic competence area.
Students have to be moving towards mastery of each one of them to construct grammatically correct
sentences.

The sociolinguistic competence is concerned with culture and social rules that govern appropriate
language use. For instance, this includes knowing in what setting do we need to be more formal, how we
express politeness, how we address people correctly, how we treat certain topics, any taboos, and what
terms are politically correct. Addressing such area tells us how to use language and how to respond in a
conversation appropriately rather than just grammatically correct. Mastering this competence reveals a
more advanced level of language fluency.

Discourse and Strategic

The discourse competence is our knowledge of what patterns of organization and cohesive devices we
can use to connect sentences. We organize words, phrases, and sentences and produce and
comprehend conversations, articles, messages, and literature. We can speak, write, read, and listen to
information of various types.
We know how to build sentences, how to use them, and how to connect them in a communication
setting. Strategic competence suggests that we can also overcome language gaps and modify messages
with regard to audience and purpose; it shows we are fluent and effective. We know how to repair and
sustain communication in case of communication breakdowns and how to keep the communication
channel open. We can paraphrase, use gestures, or explain unfamiliar words; we can ask for
clarification, repetition, and slower speech.

*The five main components of language are phonemes, morphemes, lexemes, syntax, and context.
Along with grammar, semantics, and pragmatics, these components work together to create meaningful
communication among individuals.

*5 components:

inguists have identified five basic components (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and
pragmatics) found across languages.

IMPLICATIONS:

TO LEARNING:

A central concept of the communicative approach to language teaching is communicative competence:

the learner's ability to understand and use language appropriately to communicate in authentic (rather
than simulated) social and school environments. ...

ommunication competence is needed in order to understand communication ethics, to develop cultural

awareness, to use computer-mediated communication, and to think critically. Competence involves
knowledge, motivation, and skills.