Many people still think that linguists are, at best, those who compose school textbooks on the Russian language and for some reason force us to say “zvon” And sh", and at worst - just someone like polyglots or translators.
In fact, this is not true at all. Modern linguistics is expanding the boundaries of its interests more and more, merging with other sciences and penetrating almost all spheres of our life - if only because the object of its study is everywhere.
But what exactly are these strange linguists studying?
1. Cognitive linguistics
Cognitive linguistics is a field located at the intersection of linguistics and psychology and studies the connection between language and human consciousness. Cognitive linguists are trying to understand how we use language and speech to create certain concepts, concepts, categories in our heads, what role language plays in the process of our understanding of the world around us, and how our life experiences are reflected in language.
The problem of the influence of language on cognitive processes has been in science for a very long time (many are familiar with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity, which assumes that the structure of language determines thinking). However, cognitive scientists also continue to struggle with the question of to what extent language influences consciousness, to what extent consciousness influences language, and how these degrees relate to each other.
Quite interesting and new is the use of the achievements of cognitive linguistics in the field of analysis of literary texts (the so-called cognitive poetics).
Researcher at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Kibrik talks about cognitive linguistics.
2. Corpus linguistics
Obviously, corpus linguistics is concerned with the compilation and study of corpora. But what is a hull?
This is the name given to a collection of texts in a particular language, which are marked in a special way and which can be searched. Corpora are created in order to provide linguists with a sufficiently large amount of linguistic material, which will also be real (not some artificially constructed examples like “mother washed the frame”) and convenient for searching for the necessary linguistic phenomena.
This is a fairly new science, which originated in the USA in the 60s (at the time of the creation of the famous Brown Corps), and in Russia in the 80s. Currently, productive work is underway on the development of the National Corpus of the Russian Language (NCRL), which includes many subsections. For example, such as a syntactic corpus (SinTagRus), a corpus of poetic texts, a corpus of oral speech, a multimedia corpus, and so on.
Doctor of Philological Sciences Vladimir Plungyan about corpus linguistics.
3. Computational linguistics
Computer linguistics (also: mathematical or computational linguistics) is a branch of science formed at the intersection of linguistics and computer technology and in practice includes almost everything related to the use of programs and computer technologies in linguistics. Computational linguistics deals with the automatic analysis of natural language. This is done in order to simulate the work of language in certain conditions, situations and areas.
This science also includes work on improving machine translation, voice input and information retrieval, and the development of programs and applications based on the use and analysis of language.
In short, “okay, Google”, and searching for VKontakte news, and the T9 dictionary are all achievements of excellent computer linguistics. At the moment, the area is the most developing in the field of linguistics, and if suddenly you also like it, you are welcome at the Yandex School of Data Analysis or at ABBYY.
Linguist Leonid Iomdin on the beginnings of computer linguistics.
That is, what we say is considered as a communication event, in conjunction with gestures, facial expressions, speech rhythm, emotional assessment, experience and worldview of the participants in communication.
Discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary field of knowledge in which, along with linguists, sociologists, psychologists, artificial intelligence specialists, ethnographers, literary scholars, stylists and philosophers participate. All this is very cool, because it helps to understand how our speech works in certain life situations, what mental processes occur at these moments, and how all this is connected with psychological and sociocultural factors.
Sociolinguistics now actively continues to grow and develop. You may have heard about the sensational problems - the extinction of dialects (spoiler: yes, they are dying out; yes, this is bad; allocate funds to linguists, and we will fix everything, and then languages will not drown in the abyss of oblivion) and feminists (spoiler: no one has understood yet , good or bad).
Doctor of Philology M.A. Krongauz about language on the Internet.
linguistics, linguistics) - the science of language, its structure, functioning and development: “the manifestation of the ordering, systematizing activity of the human mind as applied to the phenomena of language constitutes linguistics” (I.A. Baudouin de Courtenay). Language emerged from philosophy at the beginning of the 19th century, when it developed its own research methods, and the first among them was the comparative historical method, which explains the similarity of languages by the commonality of their previous development (F. Bopp, R. Rask, J. Grimm, etc. .). In the modern world, linguistics is divided into specific (studying the structure, functioning and development of a particular language) and general (studying language as a universal human phenomenon). On another basis, language is divided into diachronic language (the study of language in historical development, in evolution) and synchronic language (the study of language at a specific chronological point). The third opposition presented in today's linguistics is the opposition between descriptive linguistics (reflecting the real functioning of language) and normative (prescribing the use of some linguistic facts and not recommending the use of others). The fourth division of language is into internal (which studies the own laws of the structure and functioning of language) and external (which studies the interaction of language with other social and natural phenomena). The field of external linguistics includes, in particular, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, linguoculturology, and others, which have been rapidly developing in recent years. Literature includes a number of special sciences: phonetics and phonology, which study the sound structure of a language; semasiology, which studies the meaning of linguistic units; lexicology and lexicography, which deal with the word and its representation in the dictionary; etymology, which studies the origin of words and their parts; grammar, traditionally divided into morphology (the science of the structure of words) and syntax (the science of the structure of sentences), etc. Philosophical aspects of language were studied in ancient India (Yaska, Panini, Bharthari), China (Xu Shen), ancient Greece and Rome (Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Donatus, etc. - see Language). Within the framework of the newest European tradition, W. Humboldt is considered the founder of the philosophical approach to language. Humboldt's concept of the “folk spirit,” as well as its inherent psychologism in the interpretation of the spiritual and cultural life of society, formed the basis of such modern scientific movements as ethnopsychology and linguistic neo-Humboldtianism. Among the most important philosophical problems of modern L. include, in particular: 1) the problem of the formation (formation) of language - both in terms of phylogenesis (the emergence of a human means of communication, in connection with the global problem of the origin of humanity, the determination of its ancestral home, the characteristics of the most ancient stage of development, general laws of evolution, etc. ), and in terms of ontogenesis (linguistic development of the individual, characteristics of the child’s language, social significance of language learning, etc.); 2) epistemological and cognitive aspects of the use of language, namely: the properties of language as a sign system, the relationship of the linguistic sign with the denotation (designated), the identity of the sign to itself (which becomes especially relevant in connection with the phenomena of polysemy and homonymy in language), the function of the sign as instrument of cognition (against the background of the general philosophical problem of the knowability/unknowability of the world), determination of the truth value of a statement, etc. (see Sign, Semiotics); 3) a complex of problems “language and society”: social functions of language (including communicative, regulatory, ethnic, etc.), the relationship between the categories of language and national-cultural mentality, classification of speech acts, genres and styles of speech (in connection with communicative intentions and role structure of communication), the structure and place of texts within various civilizations, etc. (see Discourse, Communication, Autocommunication). Many modern concepts of language have served as the actual basis for original philosophical theories or have their roots in specific philosophical teachings (see Language). Thus, the theory of linguistic relativity, developed by American linguists E. Sapir and B. L. Whorf, interprets language as a kind of frame through which a person perceives reality. The basis for this comparison was primarily observations of the structure of American Indian languages, which are fundamentally different from the European standard languages. (These differences, relating, in particular, to the characteristics of counting, periodization of time, lexical classifications, etc., are, according to scientists, reflected in the behavioral characteristics of the aborigines.) The final conclusion from these premises is global in nature: language has a direct influence on human activity. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis continues to cause active discussions among linguists today (see Linguistic relativity concept). At the same time, hyperbolization or absolutization of the role of language in the process of cognition is characteristic of various branches of logical positivism and analytical philosophy. Wittgenstein's postulate became widely known: “The boundaries of my language mean the boundaries of my world” (see Wittgenstein). At this point, representatives of existentialism and irrationalism join forces with positivists (see Heidegger). Many philosophers see in the text and the relationships between its units a kind of sample, a model for systematizing the world of culture in its development: “Language forces randomly presented elements to line up in a linear order” (Foucault). Similar premises determine the theoretical provisions of another “linguistic” branch in modern philosophy - general semantics (which has become most widespread in the USA). Here special attention is paid to the conventional nature of the linguistic sign. S. Hayakawa, one of the most prominent representatives of this trend, argues: social life is a network of mutual agreements, and its course depends on the success of cooperation through language. At the same time, the determining criterion in the classification of realities is not objective truth, but social expediency and linguistic experience: “We unconsciously put into the world the structure of our own language” (A. Kozybski). Linguistics of the 20th century. developed under the strong influence of the ideas of structuralism (see Structuralism, Poststructuralism). Saussure's Course in General Linguistics played a significant role in this. The principles of structuralism, which were further developed in the linguistic works of N.S. Trubetskoy, Jacobson, L. Elmslev, R. Barth, Chomsky and others, in particular, are as follows: “the properties of an individual sign are derived from the properties of the whole system”; “the differences between a sign and other signs are everything that makes it up”; “the state of the system (synchrony) is fundamentally opposed to its development (diachrony),” etc. In Leningrad at the end of the 20th century. structuralism takes the form of generative grammar and logical semantics; its principles are also used in functional grammar, structural typology of languages, and linguistic universals. In general, the modern situation in the humanities is characterized by the closest fusion and interpenetration of individual disciplines. Many linguistic concepts - for example, “word”, “name”, “statement”, “discourse” - become key for a variety of philosophical, psychological, and theological constructions. Thus, according to James, “the name of a thing characterizes the speaking subject to a greater extent than the thing itself.” For Russell, a name is only a definite or ambiguous “description of an object.” Wittgenstein wrote: "The name is not further decomposed by any definition; it is the primary sign." Losev characterized the name as “a tool for communicating with objects and an arena for an intimate and conscious meeting with their inner life.” The implementation of philosophical concepts in modern linguistics can be considered the study of linguistic aspects of the theory of possible worlds, the creation of a theory of speech acts, the identification of pragmatic presuppositions and postulates of speech communication (Austin, J.R. Searle, P. Grice, etc.), the development of fuzzy-set and probabilistic models of language (L. Zade, V.V. Nalimov, etc.), logical and philosophical justification of the nature of linguistic categories (Yu.S. Stepanov, N.D. Arutyunova, etc.), research in the field of semantic primitives, universal semantic code, international (auxiliary) languages (A. Wierzbicka, V.V. Martynov), etc. Among the generally recognized achievements of linguistics of modern times, which have general methodological significance, are the foundations of the genealogical and typological classification of languages (I.A. Baudouin de Courtenay, J. Greenberg, A. Isachenko, B.A. Uspensky, V.M. Illich-Svitych) , an idea of the level structure of language, supplemented by the principle of level isomorphism (Jakobson, E. Benveniste, V.A. Zvegintsev, V.M. Solntsev), the distinction between language, speech and speech activity (going back to Saussure), an understanding of the fundamental multifunctionality of language (K .Bühler, Jacobson), the doctrine of the two sides of a linguistic sign and the relationship between the main components of its content plan (Morris, S. Kartsevsky, G. Klaus, etc.), the doctrine of oppositions and their types (N.S. Trubetskoy, Jacobson, E. Kurilovich, A. Martine), application of field theory to linguistic material (J. Trier, G. Ipsen, V. Porzig, A. V. Bondarko), etc. Verification of these theoretical principles occurs when solving various applied problems of L., including in the development of programs for automatic speech analysis/synthesis and machine translation, linguistic support for computer operations, new models of language teaching, etc. Indicative of the current stage of development of the humanities is also the desire presented in the literature to unite all “linguistic” branches of philosophical research under the general name of philosophical hermeneutics and philosophy of language. (See also Text, Intertextuality, Postmodernism, Language, Secondary Language, Metalanguage, Language-Object.) B.Yu. Norman
What does linguistics study? What does linguistics study? What “sections” can it be divided into?
- LINGUISTICS (from the Latin lingva - language) is the science of language, Russian synonyms LINGUISTICS or LINGUISTICS. There are general, comparative and specific linguistics. It includes many sections and subsections: history of language, phonetics, grammar, lexicology, dialectology, translation theory - you can’t list everything.
- Linguistics studies language. Phonetics, morphology, syntax, punctuation....
- Linguistics, or linguistics, is the science of language, its social nature and functions, its internal structure, the patterns of its functioning and the historical development and classification of specific languages. Linguistics is part of semiotics as the science of signs.
The term linguistics comes from the Latin word lingua, which means language. Linguistics studies not only existing (existing or possible in the future) languages, but also human language in general. In the broad sense of the word, linguistics is divided into scientific (that is, involving the construction of linguistic theories) and practical.
Theoretical linguistics studies the laws of language and formulates them as theories. It can be descriptive (describing real speech) and normative (indicating how to speak and write).Linguistics involves observation; registration and description of speech facts; developing hypotheses to explain these facts; formulation of hypotheses in the form of theories and models describing language; their experimental verification and refutation; predicting speech behavior. The explanation of facts can be internal (through linguistic facts) or external (through physiological, psychological, logical or social facts).
Since language is a very diverse and complex phenomenon, several aspects can be distinguished in linguistics:
General linguistics studies the common features of all languages, both empirically (inductively) and deductively, exploring general trends in the functioning of language, developing methods for its analysis and defining linguistic concepts.
Part of general linguistics is typology, which compares different languages regardless of the degree of their relationship and draws conclusions about Language in general. It identifies and formulates linguistic universals, that is, hypotheses that hold true for most of the described languages of the world.
Particular linguistics (in older terminology, descriptive linguistics) is limited to the description of one language, but can distinguish different language subsystems within it and study the relationships of similarities and differences between them.
Comparative linguistics compares languages with each other. It includes:
1) comparative studies (in the narrow sense), or comparative historical linguistics, which studies the relationships between related languages;
2) contactology and areal linguistics (areology), which studies the interaction of neighboring languages;
3) comparative (contrastive, confrontational) linguistics, which studies the similarities and differences of languages (regardless of their relationship and proximity).Sections of linguistics
Within linguistics, sections are distinguished in accordance with different aspects of the subject.
Grammar (deals with the study and description of the structure of words and inflections, types of phrases and types of sentences)
Graphics (explores the relationships between letters and signs)
Lexicology (studies the vocabulary of a language, or vocabulary)
Morphology (rules for constructing nominative units (word forms) from the simplest significative units (morphemes) and, conversely, dividing word forms into morphemes)
Onomastics (studies proper names, the history of their origin and transformation as a result of prolonged use in the source language or in connection with borrowing from other languages of communication)
Orthography (spelling, a system of rules that determine the uniformity of ways of conveying speech in writing)
Pragmatics (studies the conditions under which speakers use linguistic signs)
Semantics (the semantic side of language)
Semiotics (studies the properties of sign systems)
Stylistics (studies the various expressive capabilities of language)
Phonetics (studies the features of speech sounds)
Phonology (studies the structure of the sound structure of a language and the functioning of sounds in the language system)
Phraseology (studies stable figures of speech)
Etymology (studies the origin of words)
