List of basic linguistic topics

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Below is a list of basic topics in linguistics -- topics which will help the beginner become familiar with the field of linguistics. For a comprehensive list, see List of linguistic topics.

Contents

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Basic questions

What are the basic questions asked in linguistics?

  1. What is language?
  2. How did it/does it evolve?
  3. How does language serve as a medium of communication?
  4. How does language serve as a medium of thinking?
  5. What is common to all languages?
  6. How do languages differ?
  7. Is X a language or a dialect?

(The answers are not necessarily basic or easy to understand.)

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Basic concepts (glossary of basic terms)

What basic concepts / terms do I have to know to talk about linguistics?

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Timeline of discovery of basic concepts

When were the basic concepts first described and by whom?

  • Ancient Sanskrit grammarians
  • Ancient Greek study of language
  • Roman elaborations of Greek study
  • Medieval philosophical work in Latin
  • Beginnings of modern linguistics in the 19th century
  • Behaviorism and mental tabula rasa hypothesis
  • Chomsky and functionalism
  • Generative grammar leads to generative phonology and semantics
  • Birth of Nicaraguan Sign Language
  • Alternate syntactic systems develop in 80s
  • Computational linguistics becomes feasible the late 80s
  • Neurolinguistics and the biological basis of cognition
  • Controversy over Pirahã number conception
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People

People who had a significant influence on the development of the field

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Subfields

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Schools/Movements/Approaches

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