Linguistics, the systematic study of human language, lies at

the crossroads of the humanities and the social sciences. Much

of its appeal derives from the special combination of intuition
and rigor that the analysis of language demands. Major subfields
include: phonetics and phonology, the study of speech sounds;
syntax, the study of how words are combined; semantics, the
study of meaning; historical linguistics.
 PHONETICS is a branch of linguistics that focuses on
the production and classification of the world’s speech
sounds. The production of speech looks at the interaction of
different vocal organs, for example the lips, tongue and teeth,
to produce particular sounds. By classification of speech, we
focus on the sorting of speech sounds into categories which can
be seen in what is called the International Phonetic Alphabet.
 PHONOLOGY is a branch of linguistics concerned with the
systematic organization of sounds in spoken languages and signs in
sign languages. It used to be only the study of the systems of
phonemes in spoken languages (and therefore used to be also
called phonemics, or phonematics), but it may also cover any
linguistic analysis either at a level beneath the word (including
syllable, onset and rime, articulatory gestures, articulatory
features, mora, etc.) or at all levels of language.
 MORPHOLOGY is also looks at parts of speech,
intonation and stress, and the ways context can
change a word's pronunciation and meaning.
Morphology differs from morphological typology,
which is the classification of languages based on their
use of words,and lexicology, which is the study of
words and how they make up a language's
vocabulary.
 SEMANTICS is the linguistic and
philosophical study of meaning in language,
programming languages, formal logics, and
semiotics. It is concerned with the
relationship between signifiers—like words,
phrases, signs, and symbols—and what they
stand for in reality, their denotation.
 PRAGMATICS is a subfield of linguistics and semiotics that
studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning.
Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational
implicative, talk in interaction and other approaches to
language behavior in philosophy, sociology, linguistics and
anthropology Unlike semantics, which examines meaning
that is conventional or "coded" in a given language,
 The main goal of linguistics, like all other
intellectual disciplines, is to increase our
knowledge and understanding of the world.
Since language is universal and fundamental
to all human interactions, the knowledge
attained in linguistics has many practical
applications.
(1) Pāṇini (ca. 4th century BC)

-was a profoundly influential

Sanskrit grammarian who
formulated rules of morphological
analysis that were more advanced
than any western linguist until the
20th century.
(2) Noam Chomsky (1928-present) -

-revolutionized the philosophy of

language as well as the formal methods used
to describe linguistic structures. Most
schools of linguistic thought either directly
incorporate his views on the generative
nature of syntactic structure, or stand in
reaction to it.
(3) Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)

-was the Zfirst linguist to

distinguish between synchronic and
diachronic analyses of language: how
languages function today versus how
they evolved over time. He is also
considered the father of semiotics.
Plato’s Problem

The writings of Plato stretch all the way back to

the beginnings of Western philosophical thought, but
Plato was already posing problems critical to modern
linguistic discourse.In the nature versus nurture
debate, Plato tended to side with nature, believing
that knowledge was innate.
Cartesian Linguistics, by Descartes

-Centuries later, the French philosopher Descartes

took a crack at linguistic philosophy. In his opinion, language
acquisition was a simple and easy process, barely worthy of
his attention. Like Plato he believed in the innateness of
language because he thought it reflected the general
rationality of human beings.
SUBMITTED BY:

CARL JUSTINE AURE

JERCEY MENDOZA
ERICKA VILLAVICENCIO
ZEDRICK SANIO

HUMSS 11 -2 ST. GREGORY THE GREAT