Discussion Topic

The scientific nature of linguistics

Summary:

Linguistics is considered a scientific study because it systematically investigates the structure, use, and psychology of language through empirical and objective methods. Linguists employ data collection, hypothesis testing, and analysis to understand language phenomena, making it akin to other sciences in its approach and methodology.

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Is linguistics is a science? Is linguistics is a science?  

Linguistics represents, in part, a scientific analysis of sound and sound making in the study of phonetics. Sounds are now recorded and measured on sensitive equipment to determine precisely their vibrational and intonational ranges. These ranges are compiled and quantified within dialects and languages then compared across dialects and languages to yield precise quantifiable knowledge about phonetic sound production. Further, occurrences of sounds, words, and phrases within sociolinguistic groups are counted and statistically analyzed to quantitatively determine individual and cultural speech patterns and changes over time and across contiguous geographic zones. Linguistics is a science that has many branches and applications. These are just some examples of the quantifying nature of the science of linguistics.

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Is linguistics is a science? Is linguistics is a science?  

One aspect of linguistics is a social science.  While the social sciences often struggle for recognition and prestige given to other sciences, this does not mean linguistics is not important.  By studying how people use language, we learn about ourselves.  Linguistics has many uses, including understanding and describing human behavior and in teaching.

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Is linguistics is a science? Is linguistics is a science?  

Overall, I would say that linguistics is not a "hard science."  This is because there are many subfields within linguistics, some of which are really not particularly scientific or objective.  Because of this, the field as a whole cannot really be a science.

Some aspects of linguistics are scientific.  Linguists break languages and words down into various kinds of sounds.  They categorize these sounds by where and how they are made in the mouth.  This is factual stuff that can be proven or disproven and it is, therefore, scientific.

However, there are other fields of linguistics that are not scientific.  To take one example, there are debates in the field as to whether different languages promote different ways of thinking about the world in those that speak them.  This is not something that can really be quantified and tested scientifically yet.  There are many areas of linguistics like this.

If a field as a whole has subfields that are not scientific, I do not think the field as a whole can truly be a science.

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Is linguistics a science?  

One could reasonably argue that linguistics is indeed a science in that it uses recognized scientific methods like observation and experimentation in order to generate systematized knowledge.

Furthermore, linguistics is systematic, which is another characteristic associated with science. In practical terms, this means that linguists, like scientists in other fields, study relevant phenomena—such as sounds and the basic structures of words, for example—in a well-ordered, structured manner that tends to provide comprehensive results.

Indeed, the academic discipline of linguistics can be defined as the scientific study of language in all its various aspects and manifestations. It was founded with the express intention of arriving at scientific truths through the kind of study, observation, and data-gathering that are part and parcel of the methodology of natural sciences (i.e. biology and chemistry).

The science of linguistics also regularly forms hypotheses, another feature of scientific methodology, which are then tested in order to reach a conclusion.

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