LINGUISTICS

Introduction - Nature and scope of Linguistics

Definition

• Lingua (tongue) + istics

(knowledge/science)
• The scientific study of the structure
and development of human language
in general or of a particular language.
Nature of Linguistics
• Linguistics is the scientific study.
• Descriptive: Describes how people actually use language.
• Universal: Uncover both the universal aspects of human language
and the particularities of individual languages.
• Interdisciplinary Intersects with many other fields.
• Objective Analysis: Linguists strive for objectivity.
Scope of Linguistics
• Wide range of areas the subject covers.
• Linguistics includes all aspects of language — its sounds, structure,
meaning, usage, history, acquisition, and even computational
modeling.
Key areas in the scope of linguistics include:
• Theoretical Linguistics
• Studies the core systems of language: phonology, morphology, syntax,
semantics, and pragmatics.
• Focuses on the structure and rules that govern language.
• Descriptive Linguistics
• Describes how language is actually used by speakers, without judging "right"
or "wrong".
• Often involves documenting lesser-known or endangered languages.
• Historical (Diachronic) Linguistics
• Studies how languages change over time.
• Traces the evolution and relationships of languages (language families).
•Comparative Linguistics
•Compares different languages to find similarities and differences, often to
determine common ancestry.
•Applied Linguistics
•Uses linguistic knowledge to solve practical problems:
•Language teaching and learning
•Translation and interpretation
•Speech therapy
•Language planning and policy
•Sociolinguistics
•Examines the relationship between language and society.
•Studies dialects, code-switching, language and identity, etc.
• Psycholinguistics
• Explores how language is acquired, processed, and stored in the brain.
• Focuses on language development in children and cognitive aspects of language use.
• Computational Linguistics
• Uses algorithms and computer models to process natural language.
• Includes machine translation, speech recognition, and natural language
understanding (AI).
• Neurolinguistics
• Studies the neural mechanisms in the brain that control the comprehension,
production, and acquisition of language.
• Stylistics and Discourse Analysis
• Analyzes language in literary texts or real-life communication.
• Focuses on how meaning is shaped by context and style.
Types of Linguistics
Theoretical Linguistics Descriptive Linguistics Historical Linguistics Sociolinguistics
• Phonetics • Field Linguistics • Comparative • Dialectology
• Phonology • Typology Linguistics • Language Variation
• Syntax • Etymology and Change
• Morphology • Language Change • Language and
• Semantics Identity
• Pragmatics
Psycholinguistics Applied Linguistics Computational Anthropological
• Language • Language Education Linguistics Linguistics
Acquisition • Translation and • Natural Language • Ethnolinguistics
• Language Processing Interpretation Processing (NLP)
• Neurolinguistics • Corpus Linguistics
Historical Linguistics (Diachronic Linguistics)
Traces the developments of a language through time.
Diachronic (Gk) means through or across time.
E.g.: If we study the changes that appeared in English from
1700 to 1900, then it is a diachronic study.
Describe the history of speech communities
Study the history of words, i.e. etymology
explore the impact of cultural and social factors on language
evolution.
Descriptive Linguistics (Synchronic Linguistics)
Studies a language at one period of time.
Synchronic (Gk) means occurring or existing at the same time.
E.g. If we study the structure of English as it exists today and
describe it without reference to how it was used in the past, it is
synchronic study.
Phonetics
 Branch of linguistics which deals with the study of speech sounds,
with the production, transmission and reception of the sounds used
in human speech.
 Articulatory Phonetics – dealing with the production of speech
sounds
 Acoustic Phonetics – dealing with the transmission of speech sounds
 Auditory Phonetics – dealing with the reception of speech sounds
 AIR-STREAM MECHANISM
 Pulmonic egressive air-stream mechanism (lung air pushed out from
the lungs)
 Pulmonic = involving lung air
 Egressive =the air stream that is pushed out
Phonology
• The study of the organization and use of human speech sounds
in a language.
• The study of the sound system of a language. It examines how sounds
function within a particular language or languages and includes the
analysis of sound patterns and the rules that govern sound
combinations.
• For example, in English, the difference between the words "bat" and
"pat" is phonological, as it involves a difference in the initial
consonant sounds /b/ and /p/.
Morphology
• Morphology is the study of the structure and formation of words.
• It focuses on how morphemes, the smallest units of meaning,
combine to form words.
• For instance, the word "unhappiness" can be broken down into three
morphemes: "un-" (a prefix meaning "not"), "happy" (a root word),
and "-ness" (a suffix indicating a state or quality).
Syntax
• The study of sentence structure and the rules that govern the
arrangement of words and phrases to create meaningful sentences.
• It involves understanding how different words relate to each other
within a sentence.
• For example, in English, the standard word order for a simple
declarative sentence is Subject-Verb-Object, as in "The cat (Subject)
chased (Verb) the mouse (Object)."
Semantics
• Semantics is the study of meaning in language. It focuses on how
words, phrases, and sentences convey meaning.
• Involves understanding the meanings of individual words (lexical
semantics) as well as how word meanings combine in sentences
(compositional semantics).
• For example, the sentence "The cat sat on the mat" conveys a specific
meaning based on the meanings of the individual words and their
arrangement.
Pragmatics
• The study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning in
language.
• Looks beyond the literal meanings of words and sentences to
understand how meaning is shaped by factors like the speaker's
intent, the relationship between the speaker and listener, and the
situation in which the communication occurs.
• For instance, the phrase "Can you pass the salt?" is often interpreted
as a polite request rather than a literal question about ability.
Lexicography
• The art and science of dictionary-making.
• Involves the compilation, writing, and editing of dictionaries.
• Encompasses various tasks, including defining words, documenting
their meanings, and providing information about their usage,
pronunciation, and etymology.
Diachronic Approach
• Studies the historical development and evolution of a language over
time.
• It looks at how languages change — in terms of sounds, meanings,
grammar, and vocabulary — across centuries or generations.
• Example:
Tracing how the word "knight" in Old English (pronounced with the 'k'
and 'gh' sounds) evolved into its modern pronunciation.
• To understand language change, language relationships, and the
development of language families.
• Language is constantly changing, and studying this change helps us
understand its nature and origins.
Synchronic Approach
• Studies a language at a specific point in time, usually the present.
• It looks at how a language is structured and used at a particular
moment, without considering how it has changed over time.
• Example: Studying the grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary of
Modern English as it is spoken today.
• To understand how different parts of the language (sounds, words,
sentences) work together in a functioning system.
• Language is seen as a system of signs, where the relations between
elements (not their historical background) are most important.
Descriptive Approach
• To document and describe how language is used in real-world
contexts.
• It aims to capture language as it is naturally spoken or written,
without making judgments about correctness.
• Focus on usage patterns, variations, and changes over time.
• Reflects the actual practices of speakers and writers.
Prescriptive Approach
• To set standards for correct usage and promote a specific way of using
language. It aims to guide users towards a "correct" or "standard"
form of language.
• Focus on rules and norms for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
usage. It often reflects educational or institutional standards.
Language as a System of Signs
• Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913): Saussure is a pivotal figure in modern
semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation).
He introduced the concept of the linguistic sign as a combination of the
signifier (the form) and the signified (the concept). His work laid the
foundation for structuralism in linguistics. / Course de Linguistique
Generale (A Course in General Linguistics)
• Signs: In semiotics, a sign is the basic unit of meaning. It consists of two
parts:
Signifier: The form or physical representation of a sign (e.g., a word, sound,
or image). Eg: The sequence of letters "T-R-E-E" or the sound [triː].
Signified: The concept or meaning that the signifier represents (e.g., the
idea or object the word refers to). Eg: The concept of a tree as a plant with
a trunk and branches.
Langue
• Langue is the system of language.
• It’s like the rules and structure we all agree on when we speak a
language.
• It refers to the abstract, systematic set of rules and conventions that
govern a language.
• It includes grammar, vocabulary, sounds, and how they are organized
in our minds.
• It represents the shared knowledge of a language community. Langue
is the underlying structure of a language that exists in the minds of
speakers.
Parole
• It refers to the actual use of language by individuals in concrete
situations.
• It encompasses individual speech acts, specific utterances, and
variations in language use by speakers.
• Parole is the practical application of the rules of langue in real-world
communication.
• It’s how we speak or write in real life — with our own voice, choice of
words, tone, etc.
Analogy: Langue vs. Parole

Analogy Langue Parole

Game of Chess The rules of the game The moves made by each player

Music Musical notes and rules The song someone plays

Traffic Road rules and signals How a driver actually drives

Competence and Performance
• Noam Chomsky's Aspects of the Theory of Syntax in 1965
• Linguistic Competence: A speaker's tacit (unvoiced/unspoken) knowledge
of the structure of a language. The innate knowledge or ability a speaker has of
their language’s rules and structure. It represents the idealized capacity to
generate and understand sentences and to recognize grammatical relationships,
even those that are not part of actual speech.
• Linguistic performance: This refers to the actual use of language by
speakers in real situations. It includes the ways in which people produce
and comprehend language in practice, including mistakes, variations, and
imperfections.
Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic axes
• Two fundamental concepts in linguistics that help analyze the
structure and meaning of language.
• Syntagmatic refers to the relationship between words or elements
that occur together in a sequence or combination. It focuses on the
horizontal axis of language, examining how words or elements are
arranged to form meaningful units such as phrases, clauses, or
sentences.
• Example: “The cat sat on the mat.”→ The words are arranged in a
sequence, and their positions matter. These words have syntagmatic
relations because they are linked in actual speech.
• Paradigmatic refers to the relationship between words or elements
that can be substituted for each other in a given context.
• It focuses on the vertical axis of language, exploring the choices and
possibilities within a particular category.
• Example: In “The cat sat on the mat,”→ Instead of “cat”, you could
say: dog, child, bird, etc. These words form a paradigm — a set of
choices from which one is selected.
• Every item of language has a paradigmatic relationship with every
other item which can be substituted for it (such as cat with dog), and
a syntagmatic relationship with items which occur within the same
construction (for example, in The cat sat on the mat, cat with the and
sat on the mat).

syntagmatic
The cat sat on the mat.
paradigmatic His dog slept under that table.
Our parrot perched in its cage
Language Varieties
• Language varies widely across different contexts, social groups, and
regions.
• These variations are known as "varieties of language," and they can
be classified based on several factors, including geography, social
factors, context, and function.
Dialects
• Dialect - The variety of language used by a particular group of
individuals.
• Regional Dialect – The dialect spoken in a particular geographical
area. (Yorkshire, Kentish, Derby, etc.); National varieties – American
English, Canadian English, Australian English, etc.
• Social Dialects/Sociolects – Dialects based on social stratifications
such as education, occupation and socio-economic status of the
speakers. Two types:
(1) Class Dialects – Dialects based on the social class to which the
speakers belong. (upper class dialect & low class dialect – Cockney
dialect – Pygmalion)
(2) Caste Dialects – Dialects based on castes as in the Indian social
context (Namboodiri dialect, Brahmin dialect)
• Dialectology – the study of dialects.
• Isoglosses – Dialectal distinctions can be marked on a map by drawing
lines to demarcate areas using different linguistic items. Such lines
dividing geographical areas on the basis of distinct linguistic features
in use are called isoglosses.
• Idiolect (ido=individual; lect=variety of language) – the entire speech
habits of an individual. A collection of similar idiolects make up a
dialect and a collection of similar dialects make up a language.
Mutual Intelligibility
• This is often accepted as a distinguishing mark.
• The dialects of a language are mutually intelligible to their speakers.
• When dialects become mutually unintelligible we can no more call
them dialects of the same language.
Standard dialect
• Misconception: the dialects of a language are often considered as not quite
respectable and the ‘standard’ variety looked upon as ‘correct’.
• All dialects are equally efficient for communicative purposes of their
speakers.
• However, quite often one of the dialects acquires greater prestige than the
others in course of time, for various non-linguistic reasons (political; socio-
economic) - Becomes a status symbol.
• Often the social prestige of the speakers or of the region is transferred to
the dialect.
• Such a dialect is referred to as the standard dialect which soon becomes
the standard language. (eg: the evolution of Standard English)
Standard English
• The dialect of the South East of England, especially of the educated
speakers of the London region that thus acquired prestige, and in
time lost some of the local characteristics of London speech.
• Reasons:
(1) due to political and commercial importance of the regions
(2) the court and the two universities, Oxford and Cambridge, were
situated there.
(3) the prestigious British public school also taught this variety.
(4) It became widely known through its use by the B.B.C. too.
• Soon it became the symbol of social status, the language of the
educated, a prestige dialect emulated by speakers of other dialects.
Received Pronunciation (RP)
• It was the pronunciation of the South-East of England which attained social
status. This accent is referred to as Received Pronunciation (RP).
• It is accepted by many as the standard pronunciation of English.
• The use of this socially accepted standard accent for the B.B.C. broadcasts
made it synonymous with ‘B.B.C. English’
• RP is described by phoneticians as the pronunciation of British English.
• It is taught to foreign learners of English
• The pronunciation represented in the English Pronouncing Dictionary of
Daniel Jones is also RP.
• A standard dialect is in no way linguistically superior to the other dialects.
2. Registers
• A register is a variety of language used in a particular social setting. It
refers to the way language is adjusted depending on factors such as
the context, audience, topic, and formality level.
• You probably behave very differently chatting with a friend than you
would at a formal dinner party or during a job interview. These
variations in formality, also called stylistic variation, are known as
registers in linguistics.
• They are determined by such factors as social occasion, context,
purpose, and audience. Registers are marked by a variety of
specialized vocabulary and turns of phrases, colloquialisms, the use of
jargon, and a difference in intonation and pace.
3. Jargon
• Jargon or technical language is the specialized terminology that
is used by a particular profession, group, or industry.
• It consists of terms, phrases, or expressions that are understood by
members of that specific group but may be confusing or meaningless
to those outside of it.
• The first known use of the word in English is found within The
Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and
1400. Chaucer related "jargon" to the vocalizations of birds.
(Latin word gaggire, meaning "to chatter")
Examples for Jargons
• Legal jargon: "habeas corpus," "amicus curiae," "Plaintiff," "tort,"
"subpoena," "jurisprudence."
• Medical jargon: "Hypertension" (high blood pressure), "BP" (blood
pressure), "stat" (immediately).
• Tech Jargon: "Algorithm," "bug," "server-side," "UI/UX" (User
Interface/User Experience).
• Business Jargon: "Leverage," "scalable," "paradigm shift," "touch
base.“
• Financial Jargon: "Bear Market,“ "Bull Market"
4. Pidgin
• A pidgin is a simplified form of language that develops as a means of
communication between speakers of different native languages who need
to interact, often for trade, work, or other practical purposes.
• Pidgins typically emerge in situations where people with no common
language come into contact and need to communicate, but they do not
have time or opportunity to learn each other’s languages fully.
• Butler English (or Bearer English) Developed during the British Raj as a
form of English used by Indian domestic workers (often called "bearers" or
"butlers") who served British households.
"Master no at home" (meaning "The master is not at home") or "You doing
what?" (meaning "What are you doing?").
• Bamboo English: Developed during and after World War II as a means
of communication between Japanese people and American military
personnel stationed in Japan.
"No speaku Japanese" (meaning "I don't speak Japanese").
• Tenglish (Tamil Pidgin English): "You coming tomorrow?“
• Bazaar Malay: (Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia and
Singapore.)
• Chinese Pidgin English: Developed during the 17th to 19th centuries
as a means of communication between English-speaking traders and
Chinese merchants. It borrowed elements from both English and
Cantonese.
"No can do" (meaning "It cannot be done")
5. Creole
• A creole is a stable, fully developed natural language that arises from
the mixing of different languages.
• Unlike a pidgin, which is a simplified language with no native
speakers, a creole is a fully developed language with native speakers,
and it can be passed down from one generation to the next.
• Eg: Haitian Creole, Jamaican Patois, Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea),
Gullah
Phonatory System
Larynx (Adam’s Apple)
Vocal Cords (Vocal Folds)
Glottis
I. Voiceless Sounds / Breathed Sounds
II. Voiced Sound
Articulatory System
Pharynx (located behind the nasal cavities and mouth, extending to
the larynx)
Oral Cavity (Mouth)
Nasal Cavity
Roof of the Mouth
1. Teeth Ridge
2. Hard Palate
3. Soft Palate
Tongue (Tip; Blade; Front; Back)
Lips
Organs of Speech