Area of Study
Phenomena
Epistemology
Sub-Field within the Discipline
Research Method
Key Concepts
Leading Theory
Key Book/Seminal Text
Key Thinker and a Key Practitioner
Professional/Academic Journal
Professional/Academic Association
Letters and Modern Languages
Letters and Modern Languages phenomena includes anything that relates to the development, acquisition, change, etc. of language, and the ways that individuals communicate between each other or a large number of people. This includes written, spoken, read, visual (i.e. sign language), and physical (i.e. braille) forms of language communication.
The epistemology of Letters and Modern Languages is the assumption that the investigation of the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world can help individuals understand each other even when their cultures and backgrounds differ. This field also assumes that the necessary skills for the previously mentioned understanding can be found in written, spoken, read, visual, and physical forms of communication.
Linguistics
Research methods in Letters and Modern Languages tend to be predominantly qualitative, although there could be a small use for quantitative methods as well. The three main research methods in this field are close reading (a method of analyzing text in great detail), secondary source analysis (analyzing sources that have already been created, such as books, articles, websites, etc.), and field research (interviewing people to learn more about their language and/or customs.
Three terms in Letters and Modern Languages are morpheme, orthographic knowledge, and cadence.
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language. A morpheme can be one syllable or more than one syllable. It can be a whole word or a part of a word such as a prefix or suffix.
Orthographic knowledge is an understanding of the rules governing the way in which the sounds in a language are represented by written or printed symbols.
Cadence refers to the fall in pitch of vocalized sounds at the end of phrases and sentences, typically indicating an ending or a significant pause.
Universal grammar (UG) is the theory that the human brain contains an innate mental grammar that helps individuals acquire grammar. Essentially, the theory states that the ability to learn grammar is built into the human
Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication would be an example of a key book when referencing Linguistics.
However, since the nature of Letters and Modern Languages encompasses all languages, there isn’t a piece of text that a majority of individuals refer to.
Noam Chomsky
The Modern Language Journal
Modern Language Association (MLA)