Linguistics
is a growing and interesting area of study, having a direct hearing on fields
as diverse as education, anthropology, sociology, language teaching, cognitive
psychology and philosophy. What is linguistics? Fundamentally, it is concerned
with the nature of language and communication. Linguistics is the scientific
study of language. By this we mean language in general, not a particular
language.
What is Linguistics:-
The
word ‘linguistics’ comes from the
Latin words, means “tongue” and “istics” means ‘knowledge’ or ‘science’. Thus the
science of language or a scientific study of language is the etymological
evolution of the word linguistics. So linguistic is a scientific study of human language in general.
It
is not the study of a particular language but of human language in general. It
studies the language as universal and recognizable part of human behavior. It
attempts to describe the analyse language. Its aim is to establish the place of
language in human behavior. It examines the way in which it fulfils human needs
and also its functions. In this way, it studies the origin, organization, nature and
development of language. It also formulates general rules related to
the language.
E.g.
it shows how French and Italian languages have developed under the influence of
language.
Definition of Linguistic
Linguistics is scientific in nature and it approaches
language scientifically. So Victoria and Fromkin rightly say:
“The
scientific study of human language is called linguistics”.
The scientific nature of language is asserted by Jean Aitchison:
“Linguistics
tries to answer two basic questions: What is language and How does it work.”
Language is also
linked to human mental processes. Thus, it cannot be treated always as
objective phenomena. We deal with language scientifically as S. Pit Corder
says:
“Linguistics is concerned with the nature of
human language”
As a science:-
Linguistic
is the science that describes and classifies languages. A linguists identifies
and described the units and patterns of the sound, system, words, morpheme
pareses, and sentence. He makes a scientific study of the structure of al
language and accurately. It studies the origin, organization, nature and
development of the language. It studies the human language descriptively,
historically, comparative and explicitly. The approaches of the linguistics is
scientific. In its operation and statement, it is guided by the following three
canons-principles of science namely 1 Exhaustiveness (complete) w. Consistency
3. Economy. Now let us see each of time in detail.
Exhaustiveness:
The adequate treatment of all the
relevant material is present in linguistics. It studies language form all
aspects. Linguistics treats all the relevant material adequately with care.
Consistency:
It
means the absence of contradiction between different parts of the total
statement and within the limits imposed by the two preceding principles. It avoids
contradiction and proceeds to may other new principles.
Economy:
It
means where other things being equally, a shorter statement or analysis employing
fewer terms is to be preferred to one that is longer or more involved.
Well-defined subject matter.
Linguistics
is a scientific study of language. Like all other sciences it has a
well-defined subject-matter. It has its own methods to observe, analyze and
record the development of language. It gives unprejudiced and objective details
of its growth. Its approach is scientific and methodical. Like any other
science, it is based on observation, hypothesis, testing, verification, and
prediction. Some of the methods of a linguist include simple listening,
phonetic transcription and the use of various instruments such as oscillograph,
soundspectrograph, kymographs, chronographs, monographs, laryngoscope,
endoscope, sonagraph, atuohphoscope, electric vocal tract. He also uses the
records an cassettes. He has is own laboratory.
Hypotheses
A
linguistic develops hypotheses makes
general statements and test them against the facts of language. He makes a
statement on the basis of his observation. First he observes and contrasts a language
with other language and comes to a generalization. At the end, he formulates a theory
as to how a language works. He also makes prediction on the basing of his observation.
He makes prediction about grammar and dictionary. Like a true scientist, he
makes discoveries refines, his methods of investigation and gives better
theories.
Characteristics of Linguistics:-
There are certain
characteristics of linguistics as a science. They are as follow.
Dynamic Like all other sciences, linguistics
too is not static. View point and theoretic models in the field change even in
fundamental way from time to time and different aspect come to receive primary
focuses at different time
Closeness with other sciences
Its
closeness with other natural and social sciences like mathematics, physics,
physiology, anthropology, sociology. This also shows its scientific nature. It
touches on physics through acoustic; on physiology through the structure of
human vocal organs and zoology through the comparative study the communicative
system of living begin. Thus Danish Linguist Louis Hjelmeslev has eloquently
expressed the unique central situation of linguistics. “Linguistic theory is led by
an inner necessity to recognize not merely the linguistic system, but also men
and human society behind language and all man’s sphere of knowledge through
language. At that point, linguistic theory has reached its prescribed goal.”
Technical and sophisticated:-
Consequently
linguistic is getting more and more technical and sophisticated everyday. It is
not a pure science, its position say, R. A. Hall is between the natural and
social science like that geology.
An Empirical sciences.
To
R.H. Robins linguistics is an empirical experimental science; within the
empirical sciences, it is one of the social science because its subject matter
is human and is very different form that of natural sciences.
Empirical science; subject
mater is observable with sense.
Social science; subject is
part of the behavior of mean and woman interaction with their fellow.
Conclusion:-
To
sum up linguistics is the scientific study of language. It may be systematic.
It is concerned with reportable fact, method and principles. It woks by means
of observation, hypothesis, experiment, tests and inference,. It makes
generalization and prediction. It formulates theories; its products are
descriptive, verbal or algebraic statements about language
No comments:
Post a Comment