Linguistics (JH)

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists investigate how language works; how patterns of sounds, words and sentences combine to convey meaning. Language is fundamental to nearly every aspect of human experience: how we communicate, our sense of identity, how we interact socially, how we think. Linguists explore all these areas and more. They study everyday language use, how it varies and changes geographically, socially and across time, and how children acquire language. Even when they investigate specific languages, linguists are often trying to shed light on language in general. Some investigate how people acquire their knowledge about language and what this tells us about how the mind works. Many linguists investigate how languages vary across speakers, social groups and geographic regions, and some are involved in the documentation and maintenance of endangered languages. Some make computational models of speech and language based on collections of spoken and written language.