Language Structure: Levels of Linguistic Analysis

Levels of Linguistic Analysis

This document outlines the fundamental levels at which language is studied, from its smallest sounds to its complex meanings and structures.

Phonetic Level: Study of Oral Language

This level focuses on the study of the oral plane of language.

Units of the Phonetic Level:

• Phoneme
• Sound
• Accent
• Intonation

Phoneme

Phonology: The branch of grammar responsible for the study of phonemes.

A phoneme is the smallest distinctive unit of language. It is an abstract unit, consisting of a series of ideal characteristics that differentiate one from another. It has no meaning in itself but serves to distinguish words. In Castilian Spanish, there are 24 phonemes.

Consonant Phonemes

By Point of Articulation:

• Bilabial: Lips meet (e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/).
• Labiodental: Upper teeth rest on the lower lip (e.g., /f/).
• Interdental: Tongue is placed between the upper and lower teeth (e.g., /θ/ in Castilian Spanish).
• Dental: Tongue approaches the upper teeth (e.g., /t/, /d/).
• Alveolar: Tongue is close to the alveoli (e.g., /s/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /ɾ/).
• Palatal: Tongue adheres to the hard palate (e.g., /ɲ/, /ʎ/, /ʝ/).
• Velar: Back of the tongue is located in the soft palate (e.g., /k/, /g/, /x/).

By Manner of Articulation:

• Occlusive: The air outlet channel is closed and opened with a single burst (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/).
• Fricative: Articulatory organs do not close completely; air goes out causing friction (e.g., /f/, /s/, /θ/, /x/, /ʝ/).
• Affricate: The channel closes and then gently releases the air (e.g., /tʃ/).
• Nasal: Air exits through the nose (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ɲ/).
• Liquids:
  • Lateral: Air exits from both sides of the mouth (e.g., /l/, /ʎ/).
  • Vibrant: Tongue vibrates against the alveoli (e.g., /r/, /ɾ/).

Vowel Phonemes

By Tongue Position:

• Front (Palatal): Tongue touches the anterior palate (e.g., /i/, /e/).
• Central: Tongue is located in the central part of the mouth (e.g., /a/).
• Back (Velar): Tongue approaches the back of the palate (e.g., /o/, /u/).

Sound

A sound is the practical realization of a phoneme, i.e., the way each speaker pronounces each sound. It has real and concrete existence, and its number is undetermined.

Phonetics: The discipline responsible for studying sounds.

Accent

The force applied when uttering a syllable within a word.

Intonation

The melodic contour that covers an entire sentence. It expresses moods, feelings, and cultural characteristics of the speaker.

Morphological Level

This level focuses on the structure of words and their formation.

Monemes

Monemes are the smallest meaningful units of language. They can be:

• Simple words
• Derived words
• Compound words
• Parasinthetic words

Morphemes

Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units that can be part of a word.

Dependent Morphemes:

• Inflectional (e.g., for tense, number, gender)
• Derivational (e.g., prefixes, suffixes that change meaning or word class)
• Appreciative (e.g., diminutives, augmentatives)

Independent Morphemes:

• Determiners (e.g., articles, demonstratives)
• Relational (e.g., prepositions, conjunctions)

Lexemes

A lexeme is the basic lexical unit of a word, carrying its core meaning (root).

Grammatical Categories

These are classes of words based on their grammatical properties and functions:

• Determiners
• Nouns (Substantives)
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• Verbs
• Adverbs
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections (Expletives)

Syntactic Level

Syntax is the part of grammar that deals with the study of sentence structure and how words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Statement

A sequence consisting of one or more words that acquire a complete sense within a given situation.

Clause

A type of construction formed by a group of words that contains at least one conjugated verb.

Sentence

A statement configured by one or more words without a full clause structure (e.g.,"Hello").

Phrase

A group of words, smaller than a clause, composed of a nucleus and some adjacent elements.

Semantic Level

This level relates to the meaning of words, the lexicon of a language, its origin, existing mechanisms for its expansion, and the compilation of dictionaries.

Meaning of Words

Semantics

The discipline that studies the meanings of words.

Semes

Minimal features that provide specific information about a word's meaning.

• Denotative Semes: Basic semes of a word, shared by the entire linguistic community. They usually appear in dictionaries.
• Connotative Semes: Subjective meanings added to the denotative semes due to cultural reasons.

Lexical Relations

Relationships between words based on their meaning.

• Lexical Family: Words with the same lexeme (root).
• Synonymy: The relationship between two or more words of the same class that have a similar meaning.
• Polysemy: A single word having multiple related meanings.
• Homonyms: Words that originally were different but eventually sound the same (homophones) or are spelled the same (homographs).
• Antonymy: Words with opposite meanings.

Lexicology

The study of the lexicon or vocabulary of a language.

Lexicography

The discipline responsible for the technique of making dictionaries.

Types of Dictionaries

• Normative: Fixes the lexicon and prescribes usage.
• Etymological: Traces word origins.
• Usage: Explains different uses of a word.
• Thematic/Ideological: Groups words from a common core of meaning.
• Doubt/Usage: Provides solutions to common linguistic difficulties.
• Synonyms and Antonyms: Lists words with similar or opposite meanings.
• Idioms and Phrases: Compiles common expressions and fixed phrases.