Applied linguistics: Definitions, questions, etc.

5. Phonetics , the study of the physical properties of sounds of human language. Phonology , the study of sounds as discrete, abstract elements in the speaker's mind that distinguish meaning. Morphology , the study of internal structures of words and how they can be modified. Syntax , the study of how words combine to form grammatical sentences . Semantics , the study of the meaning of words (lexical semantics) and fixed word combinations (phraseology), and how these combine to form the meanings of sentences. Pragmatics , the study of how utterances are used (literally, figuratively, or otherwise) in communicative acts. Discourse analysis , the analysis of language use in texts (spoken, written, or signed) General divisions of linguistics

6. General divisions of applied linguistics Major branches of applied linguistics include bilingualism and multilingualism, computer-mediated communication (CMC), conversation analysis, language assessment, literacies, discourse analysis, language pedagogy, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, language planning and policies, pragmatics, forensic linguistics, and translation.

7. Is a language teacher an applied linguist? Yes Who else is an applied linguist? Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or Speech and Language Therapists and translators, etc.

8. Is a language teacher an artist, a craftman, a technologist or a scientist? To a mind of flint, the teacher must be iron, and strike sparks. To the empty pitcher, the teacher becomes a well. To the fallow mind, a planter of seeds. To the cluttered mind, a gardener to weed, shape, and clear a space for growing. To the lens, the teacher is light, and to the mind of light, a lens. To the sleeper, the teacher is the wake-up call of birds at sunrise. To clay, the teacher is potter, sculptor, and trainer in self-shaping. To the wanderer, the teacher is a knowing guide. To the developed mind, the teacher is colleague, listener, friend. To all, the teacher is a mirror that shows not only the self but the path and its choices, the task and its demands--the difficulties, the joys. To all and from all, the teacher is a learner, a person--and a prism through which the ordinary continuously reveals itself to be miraculous. (by Gerald Grow )