Syntax.
Syntax is the study of sentence structure. The underlying structure of
English for example would have a subject-verb-object sentence order (
John hit the
ball
).
Semantics.
Semantics is the study of meaning. It is concerned with describing
how we represent the meaning of a word in our mind and how we use this
representation in constructing sentences. Semantics is based largely on the study of
logic in philosophy.
Language Acquisition.
Language acquisition examines how children learn to
speak and how adults learn a second language. Language acquisition is very
important because it gives us insight in the underlying processes of language. There
are two components which contribute to language acquisition. The innate knowledge
of the learner (called Universal Grammar or UG) and the environment. The notion of
UG has broad implications. It suggests that all languages operate within the same
framework and the understanding of this framework would contribute greatly to the
understanding of what language is.
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