Linguistics seems rather impenetrable to the outsider. It is not taught in schools; you will not find a linguistics section in your local bookshop and many textbooks assume at least some prior knowledge of language. Moreover, even if you do get past the jargon, many of the debates are theory-internal and most research sits behind a pay-wall. I struggle to understand this situation. After all, linguistics is the study of language. And language is an integral part of what makes us human. It shapes the way we experience the world around us – so you might think the study of linguistics ought to be of interest to everybody.
Read more: Linguistics at a glanceIn this article, I answer some general questions that you may have as a newcomer to this vast and fascinating subject. The questions are (i) What is a linguist? (ii) What is linguistics? (iii) What is applied linguistics? (iv) What are the branches of linguistics? (v) What are the links between linguistics and other subjects? (vi) What methods are used in linguistics? (vii) What are the important debates within linguistics? (ix) Where can I learn more about linguistics? (x) What are the career prospects of linguists? (xi) Why is linguistics important?
What is a linguist?
There is some confusion about the terminology. In casual speech and in the media, a linguist is usually somebody who speaks a foreign language (or foreign languages). But, strictly speaking, this is not correct. A polyglot (or hyperpolyglot) is a speaker of many languages. A linguist (I have also seen the term linguistician) is not merely a language learner, but rather an individual who studies and conducts research in the field of linguistics – the subject of this article.
What is linguistics?
Linguistics bears no resemblance to the subject called English that we all learned at School. It is not the study of literature, nor is it the study of how to learn or teach foreign languages. Rather, linguistics is concerned with (i) language as a social and cognitive phenomenon, as well as (ii) our species-specific capacity to produce and understand language. Linguists study how language is used in society, how it changes over time, how it is acquired by children – and many other topics besides.
What is applied linguistics?
The goal of linguistics is to understand language in all of its facets. Some of this work is relevant to other disciplines, but not all of it. By contrast, the goal of applied linguistics is to apply an understanding of language to real-world problems. For instance, applied linguists may develop language policies or find ways to teach languages more effectively. They may also analyze how language is used in popular culture and in the media.
What are the branches of linguistics?
There are many branches of linguistics (not counting the applied kind) – Phonetics / Phonology is the study of sound systems; morphology is the study of word-formation; syntax is the study of sentence-formation; sociolinguistics is the study of language in society; psycholinguistics is the study of the link between language and the brain; language acquisition is the study of how infants acquire their native language; historical linguistics is the study of how language changes over time – and so on.
What are the links between linguistics and other subjects?
Linguistics is an inter-disciplinary field. There is a Biology component, since language is produced and understood by the brain. There is also a Physics component, since language is also a physical speech wave. Maths plays a part, as some linguists are interested in capturing the complexity of natural language with logical notation. There is a Literature component, since certain linguists analyze this kind of written language. Some aspects of formal linguistics have even been of interest to computer scientists over the years.
What methods do linguists use?
The scientific method involves making a hypothesis, designing an experiment to test that hypothesis and analyzing the results. Much of linguistics adheres to the scientific method; experiments in linguistics could be psychological studies in controlled settings, or simply the use of made-up sentences in a thought experiment. A reliable linguistics study will meet three levels of adequacy: (i) observational, (ii) descriptive, and (iii) explanatory. Recently, a fourth level of adequacy has been added – evolutionary adequacy.
What are the important debates within linguistics?
There is a split within theoretical linguistics between generative and emergentist perspectives. Generative approaches all assume that natural language is generated by some sort of language module within the brain. Emergentist approaches do not assume this, instead appealing to general-level cognitive function to produce the full range of possible sentence forms. This debate has its roots in the work of American linguist Noam Chomsky, whose famous Universal Grammar (UH) hypothesis has polarized opinion within the field for many decades.
Where can I learn more?
There’s a great YouTube mini-series called Crash Course Linguistics. Aside from that, you won’t find much material online which is suitable for the beginner. My two favourite book-length introductions are Language: the basics (RL Trask) and The Study of Language (George Yule). Both of these authors do a splendid job of combining breadth and depth in just the right amounts. My advice is to read as many introductory books like these as you can. Reading about the same topics from slightly different perspectives is a great way to deepen your understanding.
What are the career prospects for linguistics?
Many linguistics graduates enter academia and carry out their own work within linguistics, although this is certainly not the only career path. Linguists have strong communication, observational and analytical skills – all of which are easily transferable. This explains why linguistics graduates choose careers as varied as marketing, editing, the civil service, language teaching and many more besides. As a linguistics graduate, you will have to consider how to market your skills. Be warned that not every employer will have even heard of linguistics or what it involves.
Why is linguistics important?
Language is a universal phenomenon as well as a lens through which we can understand large numbers of cultures and social practices. Speech therapists use their knowledge of linguistics to help people who suffer from speech impediments. Historical linguists work with anthropologists to shed light on our early history. Transcriptional linguists help to preserve records of endangered languages around the world. As you can see, there are many important applications of linguistics. Most importantly, though, language defines us and shapes our reality.