Descriptive (or synchronic) Linguistics Describing dialects (forms of a language used by a specific speech community). this study includes phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
Historical (or diachronic) Linguistics Describing changes in dialects and languages over time. This study includes the study of linguistic divergence and language families.
Ethnolinguistics Analyzing the relationship between culture, thought, and language.
Sociolinguistics Analyzing the social functions of language and the social, political, and economic relationships among and between members of speech communities.
