Applied Linguistics

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The Applied Linguistics , and Applied Linguistics , is a branch of linguistics . It deals in an interdisciplinary manner with foreign language didactics , with the description of language in the form of dictionaries ( lexicography ) and grammars as well as with problems from the natural, cultural, information, law and human sciences from a linguistic point of view. Applied linguistics also includes the application of linguistic theories, methods and findings from basic linguistic research to clarify language-related problems in other areas.

Topics and priorities

In the post-industrial age of the knowledge society and the increasing change to the information society , applied linguistics tries to bundle fundamental questions and challenges that arise in the environment of human (verbal and non-verbal) communication as well as knowledge organization , presentation , modeling and processing and to develop suitable language technology solutions . Topics such as knowledge transfer , multilingualism , computer-aided modeling and representation of knowledge , the use of language in new media , methods and tools for expanding competencies in acquiring and using information in the native and foreign language form the greatest challenges of this discipline.

There is a close connection between learning and teaching processes in the acquisition of reading and writing, text comprehension, oral communication and adequate conversation skills (e.g. moderation), which implies a direct relationship between applied linguistics and didactics . Linguistic knowledge is conveyed through textbooks and codified in dictionaries . A particular problem - in view of advancing globalization - is the translation , which is firmly anchored in language and cultural mediation and can only be implemented automatically to a very limited extent. Overcoming language barriers is a very important topic for applied linguistics; this includes efforts to simplify natural languages ​​for a specific purpose (e.g. Basic English ), elaboration of basic vocabulary and artificial planned languages such as Esperanto , Interlingua , Interlingue or Volapük .

Another focus is the investigation of the interfaces between writing or speech and non-verbal expression. Written documents often consist partly of (partly) non-linguistic representations that interrupt the text or the text complements the picture . Tables, images, diagrams, formulas, equations, models, maps, graphs, schemes, etc. convey certain content particularly economically and can only be verbally expressed with difficulty. It is therefore impossible to do without these often complex elements and it is essential to explain and interpret them linguistically. In media such as comics , the image can continue language or even replace it where it is insufficient, or the author can consciously subordinate the text to the images. Other texts are in dialogue with the readers: Forms, questionnaires, appointment calendars require active editing of boxes and columns. Research into such texts with regard to clarity, logic and simplicity has contributed significantly to the improved user-friendliness of ergonomic human-machine interfaces in computer science .

Further overlaps between linguistics and computer science arise z. B. in finding information and answering questions on the basis of large databases ( information retrieval , data mining , information extraction ) as well as in the automatic search for text passages, not only in terms of their form but also their meaning (information retrieval and search engines ). Support for the translation of texts into another language (CAT, computer-aided translation ) or complete automatic translation , support for the computer user in word processing (typing, grammar and spelling errors corrections, thesaurus etc.) as well as the processing of spoken language Language ( speech recognition and speech synthesis ) are also part of the field of applied linguistics.

At the same time, applied linguistics in the clinical-pathological field deals with the theoretical principles as well as the diagnosis and therapy of speech disorders. This includes basic psycholinguistic knowledge of language acquisition and language processing , cognitive-neurolinguistic approaches to the relationship between language and the brain , theoretical principles of language disorders in adults and children, as well as methods for the analysis, diagnosis and logopedic therapy of language development disorders and acquired language and speech defects. The study of gestures , the development of static and dynamic Braille as well as research and use of the sign languages ​​of the deaf and teaching of the finger alphabet are also in the focus of interest in applied linguistics.

Applied linguistics depends on cooperation with practice and with other scientific disciplines. "Applied linguistics puts the results of theoretical linguistics in application-related contexts and draws on sciences that are only indirectly related to language." (Definition according to F. Königs).

The term applied linguistics is therefore often used as a generic term for all interdisciplinary sciences with a linguistic component. The so-called “hyphenated linguistics” such as psycho-, socio- and pragmalinguistics, in which the use of language from a certain point of view (interdisciplinary) is the focus of interest in knowledge, arise.

Interdisciplinary application

Examples of interdisciplinary applications are:

Contents and research areas

The contents of applied linguistics include, in addition to the use of contemporary language:

  1. Language theory (as a basis for application)
  2. Description of individual languages ​​(including monolingual lexicography , especially synchronous )
  3. Comparison of several languages ​​( contrastive linguistics , bilingual lexicography , especially synchronous )
  4. Sprachlehr- teaching and learning research (including teaching and learning of foreign languages in the teaching of foreign languages , work in the language lab , teaching of the mother tongue )
  5. Specialized language research (including terminology , comprehensibility problems, scientific language , expert-lay communication )
  6. Translation science ( localization of software, technical documentation )
  7. Corporate communication
  8. Failure analysis
  9. Text-picture relationships
  10. Hyphen linguistics (selection):
  • Computational linguistics (examines how natural language in the form of text or language data can be algorithmically processed with the help of the computer)
  • Sociolinguistics (also: variety linguistics, language use of different social groups, language barriers and code switching)
  • Psycholinguistics (language acquisition, language knowledge and language process research)
  • Pragmalinguistics (language and action, language usage rules, speech act theory, theory of conversation maxims)
  • Ethnolinguistics (culture-specific characteristics of language use)
  • Historical linguistics ( diachronic language change with respective synchronous language states, influencing factors)
  • Text linguistics / conversation analysis (analysis of linguistic regularities and the extra-linguistic context)
  • Clinical linguistics ( diagnosis and therapy of impairments in linguistic communication or language acquisition in medicine, especially aphasia )
  • Forensic linguistics (criminological investigation of linguistic units in forensics )
  • Contact linguistics (deals with the linguistic structures and consequences as well as the social and language-political conditions of language contact)
  • Corpus linguistics (which creates or tries to prove theories about language using examples from the largest possible text corpus)
  • Politolinguistics (the scientific study of communication in politics)
  • Neurolinguistics (deals with the connection between language processing and the underlying neuronal structures in the brain)
  • Legal linguistics (examining the background to legal issues related to language)
  • Patholinguistics (the study of pathological language including language development disorders)
  • Feminist linguistics (which analyzes and assesses language behavior from a feminist point of view)
  • Eurolinguistics (deals with the languages ​​of Europe)
  • Interlinguistics (the study of international communication and planned languages )
  • Media linguistics (primarily to investigate multilingualism in the media, but also to capture media discourses)
  • Quantitative linguistics (examines languages ​​using statistics in order to establish language laws)
  • Ecolinguistics (examines interactions between languages ​​and between languages ​​and their environment, i.e. the society in which they are used)
  • Paleolinguistics (studies the origins of human language; has many overlaps with psychology and anthropology).

Important representatives

literature

  • Gruber, Helmut; Menz, Florian (Ed.): Interdisciplinarity in applied linguistics. Oskar Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-36531-4 .
  • Horseshoe, Britta; Neuner, Gerhard: Applied linguistics for foreign language German lessons. Langenscheidt Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-468-49657-5 .
  • Knapp, Karlfried (Ed.): Applied Linguistics. with CD-ROM; 3rd, completely revised and exp. Edition. Francke Verlag, Tübingen / Basel 2011, ISBN 978-3-7720-8410-2 .
  • Kuhlmann, Julia: Applied linguistics in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945. Oskar Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-51820-X .
  • Spillner, Bernd (ed.): Perspectives of applied linguistics ; Forum Applied Linguistics Vol. 12 + Vol. 13 (Kühlwein, Wolfgang [Hrsg.]), Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1987, ISBN 3-87808-762-4 and ISBN 3-87808-763-2 .
  • Peuser, Günter and Winter, Stefan (Ed.): Applied Linguistics. Basic questions - areas - methods. Bouvier Verlag (Herbert Grundmann), Bonn 1981, ISBN 3-416-01590-8 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Applied linguistics  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations