1. Phonology: The study of sounds in language. This includes:
* Phonemes: The basic units of sound that distinguish meaning (e.g., the "p" sound in "pat" vs. the "b" sound in "bat").
* Allophones: Variations of phonemes that don't change meaning (e.g., the "p" sound in "pin" vs. "spin").
* Prosody: The rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech.
2. Morphology: The study of word structure. This includes:
* Morphemes: The smallest units of meaning in a language (e.g., the "un" in "unhappy" or the "-ing" in "walking").
* Free morphemes: Morphemes that can stand alone as words (e.g., "cat," "run").
* Bound morphemes: Morphemes that must be attached to other morphemes (e.g., "un-", "-ing").
3. Syntax: The study of sentence structure. This includes:
* Phrases: Groups of words that act as a unit (e.g., "the big red ball").
* Clauses: Groups of words that contain a subject and a verb (e.g., "The cat sat on the mat").
* Sentence types: Declarative, interrogative, imperative, etc.
* Word order: The arrangement of words in a sentence.
4. Semantics: The study of meaning in language. This includes:
* Lexical semantics: The meaning of individual words.
* Sentence semantics: The meaning of sentences.
* Pragmatics: The study of how context affects meaning.
5. Pragmatics: The study of how language is used in context. This includes:
* Speech acts: The actions that are performed through language (e.g., requesting, promising, apologizing).
* Conversational implicatures: The meanings that are implied but not explicitly stated.
* Turn-taking: The rules for who speaks when in a conversation.
6. Lexicon: The vocabulary of a language. This includes:
* Words: The basic units of meaning in a language.
* Idioms: Phrases with a figurative meaning (e.g., "kick the bucket").
* Slang: Informal language used by a particular group.
These are some of the key parts of a language. However, there are many other areas of study within linguistics that focus on different aspects of language, such as sociolinguistics (the study of language in society), psycholinguistics (the study of language in the mind), and historical linguistics (the study of language change over time).
It's important to note that these parts of language are interconnected and influence each other. For example, the sounds of a language (phonology) can affect the structure of words (morphology), and the structure of sentences (syntax) can affect the meaning of a sentence (semantics).