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The Influence Envrionment Has On Linguistics

The underlying goal of a linguist theorist is to discover the universals of language. Linguistics focuses more so on describing and explaining rather than the prescriptive rules of language. Language has evolved over thousands of years as a "tool for communicating symbolic meaning; becoming a cross-cultural tool for expression." Today, there are infinite numbers of various dialects, modes of pronunciation, and unique individual styles of language use in our world today. Being that the field of linguistics consists of various perspectives, theories, and ideas, it was necessary to narrow down this research paper to a specific research. This term paper will discuss how an individual's environment can influence linguistics in regards to four factors; subject matter, vocabulary, its phonetic system, and its grammatical form.

In the past, researchers have analyzed populations by a society's physical and social environment. The geographical features that comprise an area are referred to as physical environments. In New York State alone we have a diverse geography which includes rugged mountains, valleys and coastal plains just to name a few. A "social environment is the religion, ethical standards, political organization, and arts of a population of people." One might ask themselves how a social or physical environment relates to linguistics. Imagine a person who lives in rural upstate New York on a farm and then compare their lifestyle to an individual who is a businessman living in an
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apartment in New York City. One would imagine it would be drastically different. Now think of it from a language perspective. Would there be a contrast in dialect and pronunciation? Can an individual's environment significantly influence their linguistic performance?

The subject of a given sentence or conversation permits the hearer to know who is doing what to whom. "The subject matter of linguistics is language, not particular language, but...