Linguistics is the scientific study of language that focuses on theoretical and practical aspects of the systematic nature of human language along with its personal and social properties. Today, as a result of the advancements in science, modern linguistic studies have diverse sub-branches and this has led to multidisciplinary works that centre upon the "language" phenomenon.

In universities, there are differences between the approaches of linguistics departments and "language and literature" departments. In general, language and literature (i.e., philology) departments focus on the historical development of languages based on their written and literary products. On the other hand, in linguistics departments, human language is tackled with respect to its diachronic and synchronic aspects as a phenomenon. In linguistics departments, along with studies on written or spoken properties of only one language, it is also possible to conduct studies that focus on cross-linguistic or universal aspects of language.