Theoretical linguistics

Theoretical linguistics studies the structure of human language and the principles that explain its sounds, words, sentences, and meanings.

Phonetics: The study of how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived. It examines the physical speech signals that theoretical accounts of sound must explain.
Generative grammar: An approach that models language as a system of rules or principles generating well-formed expressions. It offers a prominent account of the mental system underlying grammatical sentences.
Structural linguistics: An approach that analyzes language as a system of interrelated signs and formal contrasts. It emphasizes relations within linguistic systems rather than innate generative rules.
Noam Chomsky: An American linguist whose work transformed generative grammar and modern theories of syntax. His proposals reshaped debates about grammatical knowledge and its place in the mind.
Phonology: The study of how languages organize speech sounds into patterns and systems. It models the sound patterns that distinguish words and shape pronunciation.
Minimalist Program: A research program in generative grammar seeking the simplest principles that explain human language. It develops a specific account of how syntax builds expressions from minimal operations.
Functional linguistics: An approach that explains linguistic structures through their communicative functions and use. It contrasts with accounts that prioritize autonomous formal structure.
Ferdinand de Saussure: A Swiss linguist whose lectures founded major ideas in structural linguistics and semiotics. His account of linguistic signs and systems shaped structural approaches to language.
Morphology: The study of the internal structure of words and how they are formed. It explains how meaningful word parts combine and vary.
X-bar theory: A syntactic framework that represents phrases with recurring hierarchical structure. Its phrase structures illustrate how theoretical syntax represents constituents and their relations.

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Applied linguisticsCompared with: Applied linguistics foregrounds practical problems, while theoretical work need not target an intervention.