Branches of Linguistics

• Phonetics: The study of speech sounds or signed gestures (the signal).
• Phonology: The study of sound patterns or gesture systems.
• Morphology: The study of "word" structure and formation.
• Syntax: The study of sentence structure and combinatorial principles.
• Semantics: The study of the meaning of linguistic expressions.
• Pragmatics: The study of meaning arising from conversational context.

Subfields by Approach

• Formal (Theoretical) Linguistics: Focuses on structural properties and mental grammar.
• Psycholinguistics: Studies cognitive processes (comprehension/production).
• Neurolinguistics: Studies the brain mechanisms of language.