Syntax in Linguistics

Study Notes

Deals with the rules governing the arrangement of words to form sentences
Concerned with the structure of sentences and phrases
Examines how words are combined to convey meaning
Involves the study of:
- Phrase structure: how words are grouped into phrases
- Clause structure: how phrases are combined into clauses
- Sentence structure: how clauses are combined into sentences
Syntax is often divided into:
- Phrase structure grammar: focuses on the organization of phrases
- Dependency grammar: focuses on the relationships between words

Concerned with the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences
Examines how language conveys meaning and how people interpret it
Involves the study of:
- Word meaning: the meaning of individual words
- Compositional semantics: how word meanings combine to form phrase and sentence meanings
- Inference: how listeners/readers draw conclusions from language
Semantics is often divided into:
- Lexical semantics: focuses on word meaning
- Compositional semantics: focuses on how word meanings combine

The scientific study of language
Examines language structure, language acquisition, and language use
Involves the study of:
- Phonetics: the sounds of language
- Phonology: the sound system of language
- Morphology: the structure of words
- Syntax: the structure of sentences
- Semantics: the meaning of language
Linguistics is often divided into:
- Theoretical linguistics: focuses on the underlying principles of language
- Applied linguistics: focuses on the practical applications of language study

The study of language in literature and other forms of writing
Examines how language is used to create literary effects and convey meaning
Involves the study of:
- Language choice: how authors select language to achieve effects
- Language variation: how language varies in different contexts
- Language and identity: how language reflects and shapes identity
Stylistics is often divided into:
- Literary stylistics: focuses on the language of literature
- Critical discourse analysis: focuses on the language of social and political discourse

Concerned with how language is used in communication
Examines how language is used to convey meaning in context
Involves the study of:
- Speech acts: how language is used to perform actions (e.g. making promises, giving orders)
- Implicature: how language implies meaning beyond what is explicitly stated
- Contextualization: how language is influenced by the context in which it is used
Pragmatics is often divided into:
- Micro-pragmatics: focuses on the language of individual speech acts
- Macro-pragmatics: focuses on the language of social and cultural contexts

Syntax deals with the rules governing the arrangement of words to form sentences
It is concerned with the structure of sentences and phrases
It examines how words are combined to convey meaning
It involves the study of phrase structure, clause structure, and sentence structure
Syntax is often divided into phrase structure grammar and dependency grammar

Linguistics is the scientific study of language
It examines language structure, language acquisition, and language use
It involves the study of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics
Linguistics is often divided into theoretical linguistics and applied linguistics

Stylistics is the study of language in literature and other forms of writing
It examines how language is used to create literary effects and convey meaning
It involves the study of language choice, language variation, and language and identity
Stylistics is often divided into literary stylistics and critical discourse analysis