| microlinguistics |
| Definition - A structural linguistics' term denoting the areas of linguistics that are concerned with the direct analysis of linguistic phenomena — e.g. phonology, grammar, and lexicology. |
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Etymology - The term derives from the Greek mikros, small + linguistics. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from 1949: "The whole of the field concerned with language … we shall call Macrolinguistics. The three subdivisions we shall call Prelinguistics, Microlinguistics, Metalinguistics." (G. L. Trager in Studies in Ling.: Occasional Papers i. 2 ) |
