Definition of linguistics
:the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language
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Any analysis of language, including 8th-grade grammar, can be called linguistics. As recently as 200 years ago, ordinary grammar was about the only kind of linguistics there was. Today a linguist may be a person who learns foreign languages, but the term usually refers to people who devote themselves to analyzing the structure of language. Many linguists concentrate on the history of a language; others study the way children learn to speak; others analyze the sounds of a language—and still others just study English grammar, a subject so big that you could easily spend your entire life on it.
First Known Use of linguistics
circa 1837
Other Language Terms
LINGUISTICS Defined for English Language Learners
LINGUISTICS Defined for Kids
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See words that rhyme with linguistics Spanish Central: Translation of linguistics Nglish: Translation of linguistics for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of linguistics for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about linguistics
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