Phonetics. Phonetics is the science investigating production and perception of
speech sounds. It describes language sounds and studies the way sounds are
articulated and perceived. Phonetics, in its turn, also has several subdivisions:
articulatory, auditory an acoustic phonetics; segmental and suprasegmental phonetics,
etc.
Phonology. Phonology is the study of the sound patterns; it is not interested in
individual and isolated sounds, but is concerned with how sounds are organized in
larger units, what occurs when sounds are united to form a word and how sounds
interact with each other.
Morphology. Morphology is the study of formation and structure of words; it is
concerned with how words are put together from morphemes and the rules governing
this process.
Syntax. Syntax is the study of the phrase and sentence structure.
Semantics. Semantics is the study of meaning. It studies the way we represent
the meaning of a word in our mind and how we use this representation to make
sentences.
Language Acquisition. Language acquisition examines how children learn to
speak and how adults learn a second language. Language acquisition gives us insight
in the core processes of the language. There are two components which make
language acquisition possible. They are the innate knowledge of the learner (called
Universal Grammar) and the environment. The notion of the Universal grammar
implies that all languages operate within the same framework and the understanding
of this framework would contribute greatly to the understanding of what language is.
Sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics studies the interrelations of the language with
social structure, linguistic variations, and attitudes toward the language.
