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social science subjects > linguistics > descriptive linguistics

Preferred term

descriptive linguistics  

Definition

  • Descriptive linguistics is a subfield of linguistics that studies and describes language in structural terms. In its investigation of linguistic structure, descriptive linguistics emphasizes the primacy of speech, the adoption of a synchronic approach, and the description of language and dialect systems as they are found to be spoken. [Source: Encyclopedia of Anthropology; Linguistics, Descriptive]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/descriptive_linguistics

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