Knowing linguistics better, part-1

I will be writing three parts about linguistics. Three part because there are three branches of linguistics.
They are: descriptive, historical and applied linguistics.

Let’s start with descriptive linguistics. In the scientific study of language when the study is about the structure of language it is called descriptive linguistics. Now in each branches of linguistics there are a few more branches or sectors. The branches of descriptive linguistics are

1. Phonetics and Phonology
2. Morphology
3. Syntax
4. Semantics
5. Pragmatics
6. Discourse Analysis

Let’s start the discussion about these branches.

Phonetics:
When we study the sounds of language, it is called phonetics. For example in English language if we are studying about the letters such as a b c d etc. and how they sounds and the process of the sounds making of our body parts(the parts that are used to produce sounds), then it is a part of phonetics.

Phonology:
Phonology is the study of the sound patterns of language. It is concerned with how sounds are organized in a language. Every time you speak you can notice this sounds patters in your voice.

Morphology:
Morphology is how the words are formed and how the structures of the words are. In this sector we also study the minimal meaningful unit. For example the word ‘’imperfections’’ is composed of four minimal meaningful unit: im+perfect+ion+s.

Syntax:
Syntax is the study of sentence structure. Syntax describes how words combine into phrases and clauses and how these combine to form sentences. For example, I got a job yesterday’’ is embedded as a relative clause in the sentence ‘’ the job I got yesterday pays a lot.’’

Semantics:
Semantics is the study of meaning in language. It deals with how we present the meaning of a sentence or a word in our mind and how we use this representation in constructing sentences.

Pragmatics:
Pragmatics deals with how context affects meaning. When a sentenced is said that single sentence can have a lots of different meaning. That is what pragmatics deals with. Suppose you said, ‘’ I am expecting a phone call’’ this sentence may have variety of meanings. It may mean that it is suggested to leave the phone line free or to not leave the house so you don’t miss the call.

Discourse analysis:
Discourse analysis examines the way in which sentences relate in larger linguistic units such as conversational exchanges or written texts. So it basically deals with the length of the linguistic units whether it is larger or smaller.

These are the branches of descriptive linguistics. If you are a student of English literature I am sure this will be very helpful to you. I tried to explain all the sectors in as easy way as possible. There are two branches left which I will write about once I arrange it in a easy way for others to understand.