How Language Works: An introduction to linguistics
Chapter 1 Glossary
addressee: the person to whom an utterance is addressed (i.e. the person one is speaking to);
sometimes also referred to as “the hearer”
applied linguistics: the field that considers how linguistics can be applied to situations in the
world; includes language teaching, computational linguistics, forensic linguistics, language
documentation, speech pathology and speech and hearing sciences
cognition: how humans learn and process knowledge
cognitive linguistics: the study of how language is related to how humans learn and process
information
computational linguistics: the study of language and computers; includes speech recognition
(computers recognizing human speech) and speech synthesis (computers producing speech)
corpora: see corpus
corpus: (pl. corpora) database containing collected recordings of spoken or written language
corpus linguistics: a methodology for linguistic analysis which examines statistically significant
patterns over very large sets of discourse data with the help of computers
dialect continuum: situation in which speakers of adjacent language varieties can understand
each other, but speakers of geographically separated varieties cannot
discourse analysis: analysis of how speakers use linguistic structures in stretches of language
larger than the sentence for the purposes of communication; includes language and interaction,
conversational analysis, information structuring, etc.
descriptive: an approach to language that describes how people actually use language without
evaluating language use as either “right” or “wrong”; contrasts with prescriptive
empirical: based on observable or experimental data
forensic linguistics: the examination of linguistic evidence in legal proceedings
function: the purpose for which a linguistic structure is used in context
grammar: the morphology and syntax of a language, also known as morphosyntax (Note: this is
a complex term used in a number of ways in linguistics; this definition is the one used most
frequently within this book.)
historical linguistics: the study of how languages change over time, how languages are related,
and how they have descended from a language spoken in the past; includes the study of language
contact
language acquisition: the study of how language is learned, includes first language acquisition
(the study of how children learn their native language) and second language acquisition (the
study of how speakers learn a language that is not their native tongue)
language and the brain: the field that examines the physical and neurological basis of language
language change: language innovation that spreads throughout a speech community to become a
regular feature of the language
language conservation: efforts to keep a language alive within a speech community through
finding ways to promote its use; often includes development of materials to be used in education,
as well as activities leading to language documentation
language contact: the situation in which speakers of two or more distinct languages interact with
each other, leading to changes in one or more of the languages
language death: the loss of a language that occurs when the last speaker of the language dies
How Language Works: An introduction to linguistics
language documentation: the creation of an extensive record of a language and how it is used
by the speech community; typically involves creation of an analyzed archive of recordings of
authentic speech
language revitalization: efforts on the part of communities whose languages have been entirely
lost or significantly reduced to strengthen or reintroduce the languages
language transmission: the passing on of a language from one generation to the next
lexical semantics: the study of meanings of words
linguist: a person who examines the structures of languages and the principles underlying those
structures; one who practices linguistics
linguistic analysis: the process of recognizing and analyzing systematic patterns in languages
linguistic typologist: a linguist who studies the classifications of languages based on structure
and looks for relationships between structural types
linguistics: the scientific study of language
morphology: the creation and structuring of words; the study of the principles underlying such
structuring
morphosyntax: the morphology and syntax of a language and their interaction; also known as
grammar
mutual intelligibility: the ability of speakers of two or more language varieties to understand
each other (a possible criterion for distinguishing language from dialect)
neurology: the study of the nervous system; for linguistics, the primary neurological domain of
relevance is the brain
objective: unbiased; independent of preconceptions or evaluative judgments
phonetics: the physical properties of sounds in language and the study of those properties
phonology: the systematic patterns of sounds in language and the study of those patterns
polyglot: a person who speaks many languages
pragmatics: the interpretation of the relevance of utterances in a given context; the study of the
principles underlying such interpretations
prescriptive: an approach to language that sets out rules for “proper” grammar and classifies
language use as “right” or “wrong”; contrasts with descriptive
propositional semantics: the study of how meanings combine in clauses and sentences
semantics: the study of meaning in language
sociocultural linguistics: the study of language as embedded in the society and culture of its
speakers
speech and hearing sciences: the study of the anatomy and physiology of hearing and
communication, including development of speech and language
speech pathology: the study of speech disorders
standard language: a variety of a language that is implicitly or explicitly recognized as being
the norm within a nation, often given legal status, and usually taught in schools and used in print
and broadcast media
syntax: the structuring of phrases, clauses, and sentences; the study of such structuring and the
principles underlying them
typology and universals: the study of how the world’s languages are similar and different;
includes classification of languages based on structure as well as positing relationships between
structural types