LINGUISTICS: MEANING AND ETYMOLOGY

LINGUISTICS: MEANING AND ETYMOLOGY

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It examines how language is formed, structured, used, and interpreted by speakers.

Linguistics is scientific because it uses:

· observation

· analysis

· patterns

· rules and systems to understand how human language works.

Etymology

The word linguistics comes from:

· Latin: lingua equals "tongue" or "language"

· Suffix: - istics (from Greek -istikos) equals "study of" or "science of"

So, linguistics literally means "the study of language."