Linguistics

The study of written and spoken language, including PHONETICS (speech sounds), phonology (translation of sounds to written words) and SYNTAX (organization of words and sentences). The basic tool of linguistics is structural analysis, whereby each component of a word—that is, its root, prefix and suffix—is studied.
Branches of linguistics include historical/ comparative linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and applied linguistics. Historical/ comparative linguistics traces the origins of languages, their changes according to time and geography, and the historic relationships among languages, dialects and language groups. Psycholinguistics studies the influence of emotions and other psychological factors on language and the nature of language exposition. Applied linguistics involves practical applications of linguistic theory and method to translation, computer software, design of public documents, the law, language development, speech pathology, communication in different settings and teaching of languages and language skills, such as reading and writing. Because children have already developed their own linguistic patterns by the time they are six years old and ready for first grade, applied linguistics is especially important to elementary school teachers faced with bilingual students or children speaking any form of nonstandard English.