Language
A system of communication using sounds, gestures, or marks, that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules, resulting in meanings that are intelligible to all who share that language.
Signals
Instinctive sounds and gestures that have a natural or self-evident meaning.
Linguistics
The modern scientific study of all aspects of language.
Phonetics
The systematic identification and description of distinctive speech sounds in a language.
Phonology
The study of language sounds.
Phonemes
The smallest units of sound that make a difference in a meaning in a language.
Morphology
The study of the patterns or rules of word formation in a language. They are distinct from phonemes, which can alter meaning and have no meaning by themselves.
Morphemes
The smallest units of sound that carry a meaning in language. They are distinct from phonemes, which can alter meaning but have no meaning by themselves.
Syntax
The patterns or rules by which words are arranged into phrases and sentences.
Grammar
The entire formal structure of a language, including morphology and syntax.
Language Family
A group of languages descended from a single ancestral language.
Linguistic Divergence
The development of different languages from a single ancestral language.
Linguistic Nationalism
The attempt by ethnic minorities and even countries to proclaim independence by purging their language of foreign terms.
Sociolinguistics
The study of the relationship between language and society through examining how social categories-such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, occupation, and class-influence the use and significance of distinctive styles of speech.
Dialects
The varying forms of a language that reflect particular regions, occupations, or social classes and that are similar enough to be mutually intelligible.
Code switching
The practice of changing from one mode of speech to another as the situation demands, whether one language to another or from one dialect of a language to another.
Ethnolinguistics
A branch of linguistics that studies the relationships between language and culture and how they mutually influence and inform each other.
Linguistic Relativity
The theoretical concept directly linking language and culture, holding that the words and grammar of a language affect how its speakers perceive and think about the word.
Gesture
Facial expressions and body postures and motions that convey intended as well as subconscious messages.
Kinesics
The study of nonverbal signals in body language including facial expressions and bodily posture and motions.
Proxemics
The cross-cultural study of people's perception and use of space.
Paralanguage
Voice effects that accompany language and convey meaning. These include vocalizations such as giggling, groaning, or sighing, as well as voice qualities such as pitch and tempo.
Tonal language
A language in which the sound pitch of a spoken word is an essential part of its pronunciation and meaning.
Whistled Speech
An exchange of whistled words using a phonetic emulation of the sounds produced in spoken voice; also known as whistled language.
Displacement
Referring to things and events removed in time and space.
Writing System
A set of visible of tactile signs used to represent units of language in a systematic way.
Alphabet
A series of symbols representing the sounds of a language arranged in a traditional order.