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  1. Linguistics | Definition, Examples, Science | Britannica

    Sep 5, 2025 · linguistics, the scientific study of language. The word was first used in the middle of the 19th century to emphasize the difference between a newer approach to the study of …

  2. Language - Structure, Acquisition, Use | Britannica

    Sep 23, 2025 · Language - Structure, Acquisition, Use: Languages are immensely complicated structures. One soon realizes how complicated any language is when trying to learn it as a …

  3. Philology | Historical Linguistics, Textual Criticism & Comparative ...

    Philology, traditionally, the study of the history of language, including the historical study of literary texts. It is also called comparative philology when the emphasis is on the comparison of the …

  4. Linguistics - Language Classification | Britannica

    Sep 5, 2025 · Linguistics - Language Classification: There are two kinds of classification of languages practiced in linguistics: genetic (or genealogical) and typological. The purpose of …

  5. Historical linguistics | Language Change, Comparative Method ...

    Historical linguistics, the branch of linguistics concerned with the study of phonological, grammatical, and semantic changes, the reconstruction of earlier stages of languages, and the …

  6. Anthropology - Language, Culture, Society | Britannica

    Sep 6, 2025 · A central question for linguistic anthropology is whether differences in cultural and structural usage among diverse languages promote differences among human communities in …

  7. Morphology | Syntax, Semantics & Phonology | Britannica

    Oct 11, 2025 · Morphology, in linguistics, study of the internal construction of words. Languages vary widely in the degree to which words can be analyzed into word elements, or morphemes …

  8. Phonology | Phonetics, Speech Sounds, Articulation | Britannica

    Phonology, study of the sound patterns that occur within languages. Some linguists include phonetics, the study of the production and description of speech sounds, within the study of …

  9. Semiotics | Definition, Theory, Examples, & Facts | Britannica

    Semiotics, the study of signs and sign-using behavior. It was defined by one of its founders, the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, as the study of ‘the life of signs within society.’

  10. Phonetics | Definition, Types, Examples, & Facts | Britannica

    Oct 8, 2025 · phonetics, the study of speech sounds and their physiological production and acoustic qualities.