BRANCHES OF

LINGUISTICS
MORPHOLOGY

LINGUISTICS • is the linguistic branch that focuses on the study

of morphemes - the smallest meaningful unit of a
• Linguistics is the scientific study of human language that cannot be further divided.
language. It is a science that studies the rules,
systems, and principles of human language. It is • studies different morphological structures of
also concerned with human life, behavior, society, words, describes how words are formed, and
and so forth. demonstrates how word formation processes
affect the meaning of words and their
pronunciation.

MICRO-LINGUISTICS
• Also called as theoretical linguistics or general SYNTAX
linguistics
• branch of linguistics that focuses on the
• Studies the nature of language - that is, what a arrangement of words and phrases to form
language is all about and how it works. It focuses sentences.
on the structural components of language under
• If morphology studies how words are formed,
the broad level of grammar, which is divided into
syntax deals with how sentences are structured.
few structures or levels such as phonetics,
morphology, and syntax. The word 'syntax' in Greek is syntaxis, which
means arrangement.

• Hence, it studies how words, phrases, and

PHONOLOGY clauses are arranged or ordered to form sentences
and the relationship between them. It also
• studies the systems of sounds within a language describes and sets the rules or principles that
or between- different languages. It is primarily govern the order of words and structures of
concerned with the systematic organization of sentences.
sounds especially in spoken languages. It studies
the patterns of sounds in a language, how speech
sounds are organized, and how they are used to
convey meaning.
SEMANTICS
• one of the major branches of linguistics, deals
• Phonology is different from phonetics.
Phonology focuses on the abstract properties of with the study of the linguistic meaning of words
sounds, such as how sounds are acquired or stored and sentences. It encompasses morphological
in the human mind. meaning and the combined meaning of syntactical
structures.

• It studies language meaning in terms of words-

PHONETICS sentence relationships whether in the lexical or
compositional level. Some semantic relationships
• studies the physical properties of sounds - that is, between words are synonymy, antonymy,
how sounds are produced and articulated through homonymy, and polysemy.
the interaction of the different vocal organs.
 PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
PRAGMATICS • focuses on the interrelation between linguistic
and psychological factors that enable humans to
• It studies language meaning in terms of words- understand, acquire, and use language. Hence, it is
sentence relationships whether in the lexical or primarily concerned with the processes related to
compositional level. Some semantic relationships word cognition and learning in particular and
between words are synonymy, antonymy, language acquisition in general.
homonymy, and polysemy.

• Pragmatics and semantics are the two main

branches of linguistics that focus on the study of COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS
language meaning. Their main difference is that
semantics studies the conceptual meaning of • studies the application of computer science in
words and sentences, while pragmatics studies the analysis of language and speech and other
their contextual meaning. linguistic studies. It is primarily concerned with
how computational modeling and approaches can
• Pragmatics deals with meaning beyond the be used to help describe linguistic processes and
surface or literal level; it focuses more on the analyze research data related to linguistic issues
intended meaning of the speaker rather than what and problems.
the sentence is when they use language. Literally
means. Therefore, it analyses implied meanings or
what people actually mean when they make use of
language.
HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS
• known as diachronic linguistics. It deals with the
study of language change or change of a group of
MACRO-LINGUISTICS languages over time, including phonological,
grammatical, and semantic changes. It is
• It is concerned with how a language is acquired concerned with tracing the history of language
or used and how it relates to society as a whole. family and identifying how a particular language
develops into its present form.
• it focuses on the application of language in daily
life. Under this branch of linguistics are the
famous fields of psycholinguistics and
sociolinguistics. COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS
• is a sub-field of historical linguistics that is
primarily concerned with comparing languages to
SOCIOLINGUISTICS establish their similarities and differences,
especially in identifying whether or not they have
• deals with the study of the effects of the different a common ancestral language.
social and cultural factors on the use of language.
It examines the patterns and variations in language
within a society or community.
STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS
• It analyzes how people, or a certain group of
people, make choices in terms of language style or • focuses on the study of language as an
the way they use language to express their independent network of formal systems or
personal and social identity. structures. It is based on theories and principles
that language is composed of structural units such
as lexical and syntactic elements.
BIOLINGUISTICS NEUROLINGUISTICS
• an interdisciplinary study involving other • studies the relationship between language and
disciplines such as biology, linguistics, the structures and functions of the brain. Its aim is
psychology, and neurolinguistics, primarily aims to analyze the different brain functions and
to explain the evolution and formation of mechanisms that are related to language
language. comprehension, production, and acquisition.

APPLIED LINGUISTICS STYLISTICS

• primarily concerned with the application of • deals with the study on how different individuals
language studies in real life, such as in language or social groups use language in all types or
teaching and learning. It is a broad term referring forms, spoken or written in their communication.
to the range of activities that involve the solving Is also called as literary linguistics because it
of some language-related problems and concerns. studies the different authors and writers , their
writing styles as they use a variety of literary
techniques and devices to provide distinctness and
CLINICAL LINGUISTICS variety in their writing.

• focuses on the application of linguistic concepts

and theories in the field of Speech-Language
Pathology. It involves the description, analysis, ETYMOLOGY
and treatment of language disabilities and • is the branch of linguistics that investigates the
disorders. origins of words, their birth, and development,
often delineating their spread from one language
to another and their evolving changes in form and
DEVELOPMENTAL LINGUISTICS meaning.

• field of linguistics that studies the development

of the linguistic ability of an individual especially
children. It focuses on how children acquire
language in childhood, such as acquisition of
syntax and other linguistic elements.

LINGUISTIC TYPOLOGY
• aims to classify languages based on their
structural and functional components. It focuses
on describing the diversity of the languages in the
world especially in terms of their properties and
structures.