Linguistic anthropology is the study of communication and human language and how language influences culture. It explores how language is used to form social identity, organize cultural ideologies and develop a common relationship between natural and social worlds. As a branch of anthropology, linguistic anthropology consists of many disciplines that focus on language use as a means for social interaction. Linguistic anthropologists investigate this relationship between culture and communication. They use tools to teach parts of language, sentence structure and specific speech patterns.

Sociolinguistics

• Introduction to Sociolinguistics: Explore core theoretical areas and gain insight on how sociolinguistics works by studying its grammatical properties.

• Explore! Linguistics – Sociolinguistics: Learn the various aspects of sociolinguistics, including social factors, politeness strategies and difference in speech between men and women.

• Linguistics Courses Resources for Sociolinguistics: Links to important terms and summarizations of key concepts of sociolinguistics.

• What is Sociolinguistics? – The Basics: Gain a basic understanding of sociolinguistics and how it can be analyzed to understand how language and society come together.

• Linguistic Society of America – Sociolinguistics: Article that discusses the connection between language and social behavior and how sociolinguistics defines interpersonal relationships.

Historical Linguistics

• Overview of Historical Linguistics: Basic description of historical linguistics and how languages exist and change around the world.

• Historical Linguistics Sub-Disciplines: Learn the sub-divisions of historical linguistics, including etymology, dialectology, phonology, morphology and syntax.

• Introduction to Historical Linguistics: Overview of the history of historical linguistics and early ideas about language.

• Why Languages Change: Information on the history of languages and how they change over time.

Phonology

• Phonology Introduction and Activities: Description of phonology with lessons and exercises to better understand its concepts.

• Phonology Video Clips: Online video lesson or QuickTime progressive download on phonology.

• Introduction to Segmental Phonology: Student-oriented website created to aid in the understanding and identification of phonological segments.

Syntax

• English Sentence Structure: Information and examples of sentence structure (syntax) and common problems in written language.

• Use of Syntax in Language: Learn the rules of language, components of grammar and the representations of syntax.

• Syntax: Definitions of common vocabulary words in the study of the field of syntax and information on phrase trees and how to construct them.

• Syntax of Language: Comprehensive text and learning materials on the syntax of English language.

• Understanding Syntax and Sentence Structure: Breakdown of the English language and ways to interpret sentences.

Semantics & Semiotics

• Meaning of Semantics: Definition of semantics and examples of word arrangements to create relationships in a sentence.

• Semantics Tree Diagrams: Semantics are explained through traditional syntactical “trees” used to create sentences.

• Semiotic Terminology: Collection of semiotic terms used to learn the study of signs, symbols and signification.

• Theories for Semiotic Research: Information for research on social semiotics, eco-social dynamics, and discourse analysis.

• Semantics Conceptual Role: Article that discusses metaphysical semantics, motivations for functional role semantics, and two-factor conceptual role semantics.

Applied Linguistics

• Description of Applied Linguistics: Basic definition of applied linguistics from the International Association of Applied Linguistics.

• Goals of Applied Linguists: List of common questions asked by applied linguists for language teaching and learning.

• What is Applied Linguistics?: Discussion of what exactly applied linguists do and their relation to the field of TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language).

• Overview of Applied Linguistics: Learn the areas that applied linguistics consist of in simple terms.

• Center for Applied Linguistics: Information on research, job finding, projects, and other help for those in the field of applied linguistics.

Famous Linguists

• Jean-Francois Champollion: Brief biography of French scholar and archaeologist, Jean-Francois Champollion, the founding father of Egyptology.

• Noam Chomsky: Overview of the life of American linguist, philosopher and activist, Noam Chomsky.

• Leonard Bloomfield: Interesting biography of Leonard Bloomfield who influenced the world with his theory of Linguistics.

• Ferdinand de Saussure: Survey of the history of linguistics and developments in the field made by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure.

• Edward Sapir: Life and contribution of anthropologist-linguist, Edward Sapir, and his leadership in American linguistics.

Linguistic Anthropology Careers

• Majoring in Linguistics: Important reasons for majoring in linguistics, what the major entails and career opportunities in the field.

• Areas of Anthropology: Breakdown of the four major areas of anthropologist training in the United States.

• Social Scientists: Employment, earnings, training and other social scientist career information from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

• Linguistic Anthropologist Career Information: Outline of job duties, required skills, and salary and career outlook of a linguistic anthropologist.