Linguistics. Linguistics is the scientific[1] study of language.[2] There are broadly three aspects to the study, which include language form, language meaning, and language in context.[3] The earliest known activities in the description of language have been attributed to Pāṇini around 500 BCE, with his analysis of Sanskrit in Ashtadhyayi.[4] The study of such cultural discourses and dialects is the domain of sociolinguistics, which looks at the relation between linguistic variation and social structures, as well as that of discourse analysis, which involves the structure of texts and conversations.[9] Research on language through historical and evolutionary linguistics focuses on how languages change, and the origin and growth of languages, particularly over an extended period of time.
During the 20th century, Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between the notions of langue and parole in his formulation of structural linguistics. Nomenclature[edit] Variation and Universality[edit] Lexicon[edit] Accent (linguistics) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Accent may refer to: Speech and language[edit] Music[edit] Art[edit] Computers[edit] Other[edit] Aeros Accent, a paragliderHyundai Accent, car produced by Hyundai Motor CompanyAccent Records, a record labelACCENT Speakers Bureau, a student-run organization at the University of FloridaBrand name for monosodium glutamate (MSG)Accentuation, an increase in intensity of a heart murmur See also[edit] English Dialects. Dialect. Lists Of Languages. Language. A mural in Teotihuacan, Mexico (c. 2nd century) depicting a person emitting a speech scroll from his mouth, symbolizing speech Language is the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, and a language is any specific example of such a system.
The scientific study of language is called linguistics. Languages evolve and diversify over time, and the history of their evolution can be reconstructed by comparing modern languages to determine which traits their ancestral languages must have had in order for the later developmental stages to occur. A group of languages that descend from a common ancestor is known as a language family. Definitions[edit] As an object of linguistic study, "language" has two primary meanings: an abstract concept, and a specific linguistic system, e.g. Mental faculty, organ or instinct[edit] Formal symbolic system[edit] Tool for communication[edit] The unique status of human language[edit] Origin[edit]