Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (Volume 1 & 2)

Description

Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics primarily deals with major research methodologies in arts, culture, language, literature and linguistics. Human language is also modalityindependent— that is, it is possible to use the features of displacement, generativity, and recursion across multiple modes. Speaking is the auditory form of language, but writing and sign language are visual forms. Language, like culture, that other most human attribute, is notable for its unity in diversity: there are many languages and many cultures, all different but all fundamentally the same, because there is one human nature and because a fundamental property of this human nature is the way in which it allows such diversity in both language and culture. Linguistics is the scientific study of natural language. It encompasses a number of sub fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning. Grammar encompasses morphology syntax and phonology. Another component of language structure is grammar. There is more to language than sounds, and words are not to be regarded as merely sequences of syllables. The concept of the word is a grammatical concept; in speech, words are not separated by pauses, but they are recognized as recurrent units that make up sentences. Very generally, grammar is concerned with the relations between words in sentences. Language, being a human activity, is social in nature; hence, linguistics is usually classified as a social science. Because languages can only be studied through human behavior, linguistics, like psychology, is further classified as a behavioral science; and because language is essentially mental, linguistics is also a cognitive science. This encyclopedia on in language and linguistics will take readers beyond their introductory textbook and introduce them to the thoughts and writings of many esteemed authorities.