What is Linguistics?
'''Linguistics''' is the scientific study of [[language]]. People who study language are called linguists. There are five main parts of linguistics: the study of how language is produced ([[phonology]]), the study of how words are formed ([[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]]), the study of [[word order]] and how sentences are made ([[syntax]]), the study of the meaning of words ([[semantics]]), and the study of the unspoken meaning or social context of speech ([[pragmatics]]). There are many ways to use linguistics every day. Some linguists are [[theoretical linguistics|theoretical linguists]] and study the theory and ideas behind language, such as [[historical linguistics]] (the study of the history of language, and how it has changed), or the study of how different groups of people may use language differently ([[sociolinguistics]]). Some linguists are [[applied linguistics|applied linguists]] and use ideas and data from linguistics to solve real-world problems. For example, [[forensic linguistics]] is used in crime investigations, and [[computational linguistics]] is used to help make computers produce and understand languages, as in [[speech recognition]]. == Specialties == There are many different specialties (subfields or sub-disciplines) within linguistics. Linguistics can be theoretical or it can be applied. Theoretical linguists try to develop theories on how people think about language. Applied linguists try to find ways that linguistics theories can be used in the real world (ex. in [[Computational linguistics|technology, coding]], [[Speech and language therapist|speech and language therapy]], [[Artificial language|artificial intelligence]], and many more). There are theoretical linguists and applied linguists in every specialty of linguistics. === Syntax === [[Syntax]] is the study of [[Grammar|''grammars'']]. A linguist who studies syntax is called a ''syntactician''. A language's ''grammar'' is a set of rules that language users follow in order to form sentences. A language's grammar is