M. A. I english P. C3 & C6 Modern Linguistics title pmd

1.5.1 Branches of Linguistics 
The study of linguistics has been further divided into different 
branches according to different aspects one needs to address through one’s 
studies. Though there are several branches of linguistics, we will discuss a 
few widely studied and a few branches of current importance.
1) 
Historical Linguistics : 
Historical linguistics is the oldest branch of modern linguistics. It 
undertakes the study of language change over a period of time. Different 
aspects of study of historical linguistics are system of sound, orthography, 
lexicography, language change, morphology, and meaning. It encompasses 
almost all the aspects of modern linguistics and analyses historical changes. 
The two approaches used in the historical linguistics are Synchronic 
Approach and Diachronic Approach. Synchronic is the study of language at a 
particular time in history while diachronic approach studies a language over a 
period. 

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2) 
Comparative Linguistics : 
Comparative Linguistics is the scientific study of language from 
comparative point of view. It involves comparing and classifying languages. 
There are three principles to compare languages: genetic, typological and 
areal. The genetic classification compares languages to identify language 
family. The linguists try to show that certain languages have same origin and 
they have evolved from a single language which they call proto-language. 
The typological classification studies type of language. It tries to explore 
typological similarities among languages. The last principle is areal principle. 
Here, the classification is based on the language area. The areal 
classification attempts to show that certain languages show certain 
characteristics because of language contacts.