Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguists gather information about sounds and sound patterns, about words and word patterns. They look at how words form sentences and how language is used to communicate.Linguists who focus on the form of language look at phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax.

Life is full of ki-do-ai-raku (kee-doh-ah-ee-rah-koo; delight-anger-sorrow-fun), and some phrases slip out of our mouths repeatedly such as greetings and responses to different daily situations. Master these common Japanese expressions and use them casually to sound like a native. Yatta (yaht-tah; I did it!)Say yatta when you accomplish something big, receive a great opportunity, or feel victorious.

Many linguists are academics — studying languages for their own sake — but a lot of others work for government organizations, including the military, or for nonprofits documenting and revitalizing languages. Still others work for corporations that use linguistics to solve technical problems. Linguists explore all areas of human language.

There are about 6,000 human languages currently spoken. You would think that would be enough, but some brave souls feel the need to make up new languages from scratch. These constructed languages are sometimes called conlang and are especially popular in fantasy and science fiction writing and moviemaking. How does linguistics fit into this?

If you’re into linguistics, it’s important to be familiar with the founding linguists. Here are some of the big thinkers — and some of their important ideas — from ancient times to today: Pāṇini (around the 5th century BCE): Not to be confused with the Italian word panini ‘sandwich’ — this guy is famous for developing the first comprehensive and scientific theory of grammar.

The problems posed by linguistics can make you notice really cool things about language. You’ve probably asked yourself these questions without even realizing that they’re linguistic questions. Why is learning a second language so difficult? Why do French and English have so many words in common? Why do dialects exist?