Module 11: Got some change, mate?

One way of classifying these items is like this:

• Items 1-3 deal with grammar. In linguistics we prefer speaking of syntax, the study of how sentences are formed, rather than grammar, because the term grammar is not very precise.
• Items 4-5 deal with words and their meaning. This area of linguistics is called semantics.
• Item 6 deals with the way language is used to communicate. This area of linguistics is called pragmatics. Pragmatics deals with what is sometimes called ‘invisible meaning’.
• Items 7-11 deal with the sounds of language. This area of linguistics is called phonology.

There is also something which all these items have in common. They all in one way or another deal with variation. The beggar makes a choice between the strong and the weak form of some, between mate and Sir, between a complete and an incomplete sentence, and so on. Of course, these choices are made unconsciously. Language production is mainly unconscious, and language production is mainly the result of choices between varieties.