Linguistics

n. scientific study of language

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist. Theoretical (or general) linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields, such as the study of language structure (grammar) and meaning (semantics). The study of grammar encompasses morphology (formation and alteration) of words and syntax (the rules that determine the way words combine into phrases and sentences). Also a part of this field are phonology, the study of sound systems and abstract sound units, and phonetics, which is concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds (phones), non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and perceived.
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(n.)
The science of languages, or of the origin, signification, and application of words; glossology.
  

Noun
1. the scientific study of language
(hypernym) science, scientific discipline
(hyponym) computational linguistics
(part-holonym) cognitive science
(class) analytic, uninflected
2. the humanistic study of language and literature
(synonym) philology
(hypernym) humanistic discipline, humanities, liberal arts, arts