3 Levels and Scope of Linguistics

Dr. Neeru Tandon

 Learning outcome: Every natural language has several levels in its structure and to understand that language in its complete holistic form it becomes essential to understand the levels of linguistics. In this module we will discuss various levels and scope of Linguistics. It will certainly help in better understanding of language structure.

Introduction:

Linguistics does not highlight everyday knowledge or mastery of a specific language. It is a possibility that a linguist may know only one language, or he may know numerous languages, or may even deal with a language he does not know at all. His main aim is to study the ways in which language is systematized to realize human needs, as a system of communication.

A person who knows many languages is known as a polyglot, while a linguist is one,who studies general principles of language organization and language behaviour with reference to some concrete languages.

We can say that linguistics is learning about language rather than learning a language. This distinction is often explained as the difference between learning how a car works and learning how to drive a car. When we learn how to drive a car, we learn a set of habits and do some practice—this is similar to learning how to speak a language. When we learn how the car works, we open up its mechanism, study it and investigate the relationship of its parts to one another. This is similar to what we do in a scientific study of language, or linguistics: we investigate the mechanism of language, its parts and how all these parts fit together to perform particular functions, and why they are arranged or organized in a certain manner. Just as while driving a car, we are using its various components, while speaking a language we are using the sounds, words, etc. of that language; behind these uses is the mechanism, which enables us to do so. We study language because it is important for us to understand this mechanism.

Linguistics As A Science

Linguistics studies language as a phenomenon, which is both objective and flexible having a concrete shape and occurrence. The linguist is bound to study the components of language, e.g. noticing the manifestation of speech-sounds, or the way in which words commence or end. Language is objective because it is recognizable ad noticeable with the senses, i.e., it can be heard with the ear; the eyes can see it when the vocal organs are in movement etc.

But it cannot be denied that linguistics is also a social science because it studies language, in the form of social behaviour and affects during interaction between human beings in society. So it is not just to call it purely objective phenomena. There is one more aspect linked to it. It is part of the study of humanities as well as it deals with human language and human interaction. This includes the study of literature, and appreciation of the beauty and music of poetry. Moreover, since every branch of knowledge uses language, linguistics is central to all areas of knowledge. For linguistics, the conventional divisions of science, art and humanities are not appropriate. As Lyons puts it, ‘linguistics has natural links with a wide range of academic disciplines. To say that linguistics is a science is not to deny that, by virtue of its subject matter, it is closely related to such eminently human disciplines as philosophy and literary criticism.’

Levels of Linguistics

Phoneme is known as a single distinguishable sound that is the smallest indivisible unit. When single sounds or phonemes combine together to make larger units of sounds, this combination into a larger meaningful unit is called a morpheme. Further morphemes combine to practice larger units of words, and words combine to form a sizable unit or sentence and numerous sentences combine or interrelate to create a integrated piece of speech or writing, known as a text or discourse. At each stage (or level), there are certain rules that operate which authorize the manifestation and combination of smaller units. Thus, rule of phonology regulate the manifestation and combination of particular phoneme, rules of word-formation cover the behaviour of particular morphemes; rules of sentence-formation determine the combination and positioning of words in a sentence. Each level is a system in its own right. It is important to remember that, because of the presence of rules at each level, we can analyze each level independently of the other. This means that if we study one level, e.g. phonology or the sound-system, it is not inevitable to study another level, say that of sentence-formation.We can study phonology and syntax independently.

We can represent these levels in the following manner, with each level of analysis corresponding to each level of the structure of the language:

Phonology and Phonetics: Phonology studies the combination of sounds into organized units of speech, the formation of syllables and larger units. Phonetics studies language at the level of sounds. How sounds are uttered by the human speech mechanism and acknowledged by the acoustic mechanism, how sounds can be differentiated and characterized by the manner in which they are produced.

Morphology studies the patterns of creation of words by the combination of sounds into negligible distinctive units of meaning called morphemes. Words can be made up of single morphemes such as ‘cat’ or combinations of morphemes, e.g. ‘cats’ is made up of two morphemes: ‘cat’ + ‘s’. Morphology deals with the systems of combination of morphemes to form words, as suffixes or prefixes are attached to single morphemes to form words. It studies the changes that take place in the structure of words, e.g. the morpheme ‘gives’ changes to ‘gave’ and ‘given’––these changes signify a change in tense.

Syntax is the level at which we study how words combine to form phrases, phrases combine to form clauses and clauses join to make sentences. Syntax also tries to describe how these elements function in the sentence, i.e. what is their role in the sentence. For example, the word ‘boy’ is a noun. However, in each of the following sentences, it functions in different roles:

• The GIRL likes dolls
• The old man loved the GIRL.

In sentence (a), it functions as the subject of the sentence

In sentence (b), it functions as the object.

Semantics deals with the level of meaning in language. It attempts to analyse the structure of meaning in a language, e.g. how words similar or different are related; it attempts to show these inter-relationships through forming ‘categories’.

Pragmatics deals with the contextual aspects of meaning in particular situations. As distinct from the study of sentences, pragmatics considers utterances, i.e. those sentences that are actually uttered by speakers of a language.

Discourse is the study of chunks of language that are bigger than a single sentence. At this level, we analyze inter-sentential links that form a connected or cohesive text. Cohesion is the relation established in a sentence between it and the sentences preceding and following it, by the use of connectives such as ‘and’, ‘though’, ‘also’, ‘but’ etc. By studying the elements of cohesion we can understand how a piece of connected language can have greater meaning that is more than the sum of the individual sentences it contains.

Graphology: In addition to these levels of linguistic analysis, we also study Graphology that is the study of the writing system of a language and the conventions used in representing speech in writing, e.g. the formation of letters.

Lexicology studies the manner in which lexical items (words) are grouped together as in the compilation of dictionaries.

Scope of Linguistics

Linguists differ according to what they consider as included in the scope of linguistic studies. Some consider the proper area of linguistics to be confined to the levels of phonology, morphology and syntax. This can be called a Micro- linguistic perspective. However, some take a broader, or macro-linguistic view that includes the other levels of analysis mentioned above, as well as other aspects of language and its relationship with many areas of human activity.

The main concern of modern linguistics is to describe language, to study its nature and to establish a theory of language. In modern linguistics, the activity of describing the language system is the most important and so modern linguistics is generally known as descriptive. But linguistics has other concerns as well, which fall within its scope and these include historical and comparative study of language. Linguistics is the scientific study of languages and has a vast scope in understanding the development of humans in the domains of vocalization of communication, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology and other allied fields of study as subjects including the cognitive neural sciences. Micro linguistics includes phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics that we study under the levels of linguistics.

Macro linguistics includes sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Neurolinguistics, stylistics, discourse analysis, computational linguistics, cognitive linguistics and applied linguistics that we study under the head scope of linguistics. However, there are many areas of human activity and knowledge in which language plays a part and linguistics is useful in these areas. The study of language in relation to the many areas of knowledge where it is relevant, has led to the growth of many branches of linguistics. Thus the scope of linguistics has grown to include these branches.

Like other sciences, linguistics has a ‘pure’ or ‘theoretical’ aspect that is concerned with the building of theories about language and with description and analysis of particular levels of language such as phonology and syntax without regard to any particular applications that these may have. It also has an ‘applied’ aspect which is concerned with the application of that knowledge in areas such as the learning and teaching of languages, or correction and improvement of speech disorders, or in helping us to appreciate the use of language in literature. Thus, ‘applied linguistics’ covers many of the branches of linguistics that explore the practical application of the theories, concepts and analyses provided by linguists. All the applications are first and foremost based on a thorough description of languages. As Pit Corder writes: Whether it is speech therapy, psychiatry, literary criticism, translation,… what all these fields of application have in common is the necessity for descriptions of the various languages involved.

Psycholinguistics

Psycholinguistics studies these mental processes, processes of thought and concept formation and their articulation in language, which reveal a great deal about the structures of human psychology as well as of language. ‘Psycholinguistics also studies the influence of psychological factors such as intelligence, motivation, anxiety etc. on the kind of language that is understood and produced. Our perception of speech sounds or graphic symbols (in writing) is influenced by the state of our mind. One kind of mental disability, for example, results in the mistakes made by children in reading when they mistake one letter for another (Dyslexia). Psycholinguistics can offer some insights and corrective measures for this condition.

Psycholinguistics is concerned with the learning of language at various stages: the early acquisition of a first language by children and later stages in acquisition of first and other languages. Psycholinguists attempt to answer questions such as whether the human brain has an inborn language ability structured in such a way that certain grammatical and semantic patterns are embedded in it, which can explain how all human beings are capable of learning a language.

Neurolinguistics: One specialized area within psycholinguistics is Neurolinguistics that studies the physiological basis of language and language disorders such as aphasia, loss of memory, etc. Neurolinguistics studies the relation of language and communication to different aspects of brain function, i.e. it tries to explore how the brain understands and produces language and communication.

Sociolinguistics

The branch of linguistics that deals with the exploration of the relation between language and society is known as sociolinguistics, and the sociology of language. Sociolinguistics is based on the fact that language is not a single homogeneous entity, but has different forms in different situations. The changes in language occur because of changes in social conditions, for example, social class, gender, regional and cultural groups. A particular social group may speak a different variety of a language from the rest of the community.

Variation in language may occur because the speakers belong to a different geographical region. Taking the example of English, we find that it is not a single language but exists in the form of several varieties. One kind of English is called R.P. (or Received Pronunciation). This kind of English is used in the south west of England and particularly associated with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the BBC. It is an educated and formal kind of English. But there are other varieties of English, such as the English that is spoken in the north of England. A less educated variety of English is that spoken by working class people in London often called Cockney English.

Varieties of a language that are formed in various geographical regions involve a change in the pronunciation as well as vocabulary. Such changes result in the formation of a distinctly different variety of the language or a dialect. Sometimes these changes may be present within the same geographical region due to the social differences between different economic sections, e.g. working class and aristocracy. These changes result in class-dialects.

 Anthropological Linguistics

The evolution of language in human society and its role in the formation of culture; is another aspect of language society and culture, this is studied in anthropological linguistics. Anthropological studies have explored the relation between language and culture. Language is invented to communicate and express a culture. It also happens that this language then begins to determine the way we think and see the world. Since this language is the means by which we understand and think about the world, we cannot go beyond it and understand the world in any other way. This is the view expressed by the linguist Whorf whose hypothesis is that we dissect nature along the lines laid by our native language. There is still a debate about this, but it is true that to some extent we are bound to see the world according to the terms specified by our own language.

Literary Stylistics

We may use this notion to describe the style of a literary work. That is, we may describe its features at the levels of phonology, syntax, lexis, etc. to distinguish it from other texts and to appreciate how it achieves some unique effects through the use of language. This kind of study is called literary stylistics.

In literary stylistics, we read the text closely with attention to the features of language used in it, identifying and listing the particular features under the heading of ‘lexis’, ‘grammar’, ‘phonology’ or ‘sound patterns’. We try to link ‘what is being said’ with ‘how it is being said,’ since it is through the latter that writers can fully express the many complex ideas and feelings that they want to convey. Stylistic analysis also helps in a better understanding of how metaphor, irony, paradox, ambiguity etc. operate in a literary text, as these are all effects achieved through language and through the building up of a coherent linguistic structure.

Discourse Analysis

The study of naturally occurring connected sentences, spoken or written, is one of the most promising and rapidly developing areas of modern linguistics. Now, linguists are much more concerned with the way language is ‘used’ than what its components are. The first linguist to refer to discourse analysis was Zellig Harris. In 1952, he investigated the connectedness of sentences, naming his study ‘discourse analysis.’ Harris claimed explicitly that discourse is the next level in a hierarchy of morphemes, clauses and sentences. He viewed discourse analysis procedurally as a formal methodology, derived from structural methods of linguistic analysis.

Computational Linguistics: Computational linguistics is the scientific and engineering discipline concerned with understanding written and spoken language from a computational perspective, and building artifacts that usefully process and produce language, either in bulk or in a dialogue setting. To the extent that language is a mirror of mind, a computational understanding of language also provides insight into thinking and intelligence. And since language is our most natural and most versatile means of communication, linguistically competent computers would greatly facilitate our interaction with machines and software of all sorts, and put at our fingertips, in ways that truly meet our needs, the vast textual and other resources of the Internet.

Cognitive Linguistics: Cognitive Linguistics grew out of the work of a number of researchers active in the 1970s who were interested in the relation of language and mind, and who did not follow the prevailing tendency to explain linguistic patterns by means of appeals to structural properties internal to and specific to language. The most influential linguists working along these lines and focusing centrally on cognitive principles and organization were Wallace Chafe, Charles Fillmore, George Lakoff, Ronald Langacker, and Leonard Talmy. Each of these linguists began developing their own approach to language description and linguistic theory, centered on a particular set of phenomena and concerns

Applied Linguistics: Applied Linguistics is concerned with the systematic study of language structure, the acquisition of first and subsequent languages, the role of language in communication, and the status of language as the product of particular cultures and other social groups.

Applied Linguistics:

• Examines the structure of language and its role in communication
• Explores how children acquire language
• Studies how the skills of second-language speakers develop
• Investigates how the social or cultural environment interacts with language

Summary: The main scope of linguistics is Language. Linguists differ according to what they consider as included in the scope of linguistic studies. Some consider the proper area of linguistics to be confined to the levels of phonology, morphology and syntax. This can be called a Micro-linguistic perspective. However, some take a broader, or macro-linguistic view that includes the other levels of analysis mentioned above, as well as other aspects of language and its relationship with many areas of human activity.

Phonetics is the study of human sounds and phonology is the classification of the sounds within the system of a particular language or languages. Phonetics is divided into three types according to the production (articulatory), transmission (acoustic) and perception (auditive) of sounds. Three categories of sounds must be recognised at the outset: phones (human sounds), phonemes (units which distinguish meaning in a language), allophones (non-distinctive units). Sounds can be divided into consonants and vowels. The former can be characterized according to 1) place, 2) manner of articulation and 3) voice (voiceless or voiced). For vowels one uses a coordinate system called a vowel quadrangle within which actual vowel values are located. Phonotactics deals with the combinations of sounds possible and where sounds can occur in a syllable. The major structure for the organization of sounds is the syllable. It consists of an onset (beginning), a rhyme (everything after the beginning) which can be sub-divided into a nucleus (vowel or vowel-like center) and a coda (right- edge). Prosody is concerned with features of words and sentences above the level of individual sounds, e.g. stress, pitch, intonation. Stress is frequently contrastive in English. The unstressed syllables of English show characteristic phonetic reduction and words containing this are called weak forms. It is essential to distinguish between writing and sound. There are various terms (homophony, homography, homonymy) to characterize the relationship between the written and the spoken form of words depending on what the match between the two is like.

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