List of language subsystems

Major subsystems

• Phonetics, the sounds of human speech, including their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status;
• Phonology, the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language ;
• Morphology, the structure of meaningful units of a language, such as words and affixes;
• Syntax, the principles and rules for constructing phrases, clauses, and the like in human languages;
• Semantics, the meaningful content of words, sentences, or other language elements;
• Pragmatics, the ways in which context contributes to meaning in natural language use; and
• Lexicology, the study of words.

Sociolinguistics

• The term variety in sociolinguistics is used as a cover term for dialects, registers, and other forms of language, including standard languages.
• * Dialect refers to a variety that is used by a particular group of speakers.
• * Accent refers to a specific system of pronunciation.
• * Idiolect refers to the variety that is used by an individual speaker.
• * Register or style refer to a variety that is used in a particular setting or for a particular purpose.
• * Standard language is a variety promoted by some social group, either officially or unofficially, as the preferred form.
• Abstand and ausbau languages are concepts developed by sociolinguists to describe related language varieties, ranging from dialects of a single language to distinct languages.