language the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way linguistics the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics. presuppositon Any information which is taken for granted in a discourse situation, for instance the sentence Did you enjoy your breakfast? assumes that the interlocutor already had breakfast.

pragmatics The study of language in use in interpersonal communication. The formal similarity is an accident of phonological development and the forms do not share a common historical root, contrast this situation with that of polysemy. bar 'legal profession' and bar 'public house'. homonym Any set of words which share their form but have different meanings, e.g. semantics It is the study of meaning in language. grammar A level of linguistics which is concerned with the manner in which words combine together structurally to form sentences. syntax It is the study of sentence structure. morpheme The smallest unit in a grammar which can contrast with another and which carries meaning. keit and -heit in German (Heiterkeit, Schönheit) which vary according to the final consonant of the base to which they are suffixed but share the same grammatical function of nominal derivation. Allomorph A non-distinctive variant of a morpheme, e.g.

The study of language yule