Revised as of
7 Mar 2023
Theoretical linguistics is a fascinating study in how we communicate with each other, expressing ideas, hypotheses, emotions, desires, and more, including what is generally common amongst large groups of languages. It can also be divided into written language and oral (spoken) language.
Partially subjective and primarily mechanical, theoretical linguistics studies how any language works, but this post introduces you to those categories in theoretical and primarily explores the English language. More in-depth details will be in future posts.
Theoretical Linguistics
Theoretical linguistics is the study of the parts of the language system. This includes the primary categories of morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, and syntax, which is covered in this post.
Delving into other posts on the primary theoretical categories:
Other Posts on Theoretical Linguistics
Other posts on the primary theoretical categories can be explored:
- Generative – the theory that human language speakers have an idea of what the rules are and are able to learn in a short time with little effort
- Phonetics – the study of the physical production, acoustics, and hearing of speech sounds
- Phonology – the abstract study of the sound systems of languages in their cognitive aspects
- Pragmatics – the study of how language is used (in context)
- Semantics – the study of words and meanings
- Syntax – the study of how words and phrases make sentences
Linguistics is . . .
. . . the systematic study of the nature, structure, and variation of language (of which grammar is a part), which describes how people use language. For the writer, how words are used (or spelled!) determines a character’s social and educational level and the time period for the story.
As I discover more examples, also-known-ases, and additions, I’ll update this post. If you have a suggestion, I would appreciate you contacting me. If you found this post on “Intro to Theoretical Linguistics” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Theoretical | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Part of Speech: Linguistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
POST CONTENTS |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Morphology | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Definition: The study of the formation of words, which breaks down into morphemes and allomorphs.
You may want to read up on morphemes and allormorphs in the post “Morpheme & Allomorph“. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Morpheme | Definition: The smallest possible unit of a word that is still understood as a whole word. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Return to top or post contents |
||||||||||||||||||||
There are three basic types:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Partial List of Morphemes | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Allomorph | Definition: A variant form of a morpheme that can refer to affixes (prefixes and suffixes), word endings, or adjacent word choices, and can change the sound of the word although the changes do not change the meaning of the word, including creating a plural, tenses, choice of article, and more. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Return to top or post contents |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Phonetics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Definition: Divides a continuous stream of speech, i.e., sentences into words and words into sounds, into distinct parts and recognize the parts in other words. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The study of:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Acoustic Phonetics | Definition: Focuses on the physical properties of the sounds of language and analyzes sound wave signals that occur within speech through varying frequencies (Hz), intensities (dB), and durations (t) by looking at a waveform. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Auditory Phonetics | Definition: Focuses on how listeners perceive and respond to the sounds of language.
It is segmental and prosodic. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Articulatory Phonetics | Definition: Focuses on how the vocal tract produces the sounds of language: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of Articulation | Rule: Consonants are sounds produced with some restriction or closure in the vocal tract and are classified based in part on where in the vocal tract the airflow is being restricted. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Manner of Articulation | Definition: The configuration and interaction of the articulators (speech organs such as the tongue, lips, and palate) when making a speech sound. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Voicing | Definition: The vibration of the vocal cords.
This separates into voiced and voiceless/unvoiced. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Phonology | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Definition: General analytical tools, not language-specific ones, that are the abstract study of how the function, behavior, and organization of how speech sounds are organized in the mind and used to convey meaning, the rules for their combination, and how they encode meaning.
Areas of phonology include: |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Phonological Alternation | Definition: How sounds replace one another in different forms of the same morpheme (allomorphs), as well as, for example, syllable structure, stress, feature geometry, and intonation. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Phonotactic | Definition: How sounds are strung together and why. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Phonotactic Constraint | Definition: The rules and restrictions concerning the types of sounds, i.e., how many consonants can be combined, that are allowed to occur next to each other or in particular positions in the word. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Prosody | Definition: An umbrella term covering elements of speech that are not vowels or consonants, but the properties of syllables and larger units of speech including stress, rhythm, phrasing, and intonation. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Acoustic Measure | Definition: The physical properties of the sound wave that may be measured objectively using a variety of variables. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Auditory Measure | Definition: The subjective impressions produced in the mind of the listener. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pragmatics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Definition: The study of how language users comprehend the context of words by interpreting the meaning based on the manner, place, time, etc., of an utterance, including:
Pragmatic competence is the ability to understand another speaker’s intended meaning. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Semantics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Definition: The study of meanings. There are several kinds of semantics:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Syntax | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Definition: How words and phrases are arranged in “proper” word order or to create well-formed sentences.
Grammar is the set of rules defining how to put together a phrase, clause, or sentence. As language evolves or is pertinent to individual groups, a different syntax may be employed: a social class, profession, age group, or ethnic group; teenagers’ slang with its more fluid word order and grammar; and, the technical vocabulary and manner of speaking by professionals, etc. |
||||||||||||||||||||
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Grammar Explanations by exploring its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Theoretical Linguistics
Nordquist, Richard. “Definition and Examples of Phonotactics in Phonology.” ThoughtCo. 12 Feb 2020. Web. 22 Jan 2021. <https://www.thoughtco.com/phonotactics-phonology-term-4071087>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Contrasting Purely Linguistic with Purely Biological and Analogous Processes in Linguistics and Biology by Johann-Mattis List, Jananan Sylvestre Pathmanathan, Philippe Lopez, and Eric Bapteste under the CC BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
