Meaning & use
linguistic
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Connected with language, words or the way people speak and write.
Grammar: Almost always before a noun: linguistic skills.
Patterns
- linguistic skills
- linguistic diversity
Children's linguistic skills grow fast between ages two and five.
The country is known for its linguistic diversity.
She has a talent for linguistic detail.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Connected with the scientific study of language, called linguistics.
Grammar: Used in academic contexts: linguistic theory.
Patterns
- linguistic analysis
- linguistic theory
The paper offers a linguistic analysis of political speeches.
He is studying linguistic theory at university.
Common combinations
- linguistic skills
- The job needs strong linguistic skills.
- linguistic diversity
- Linguistic diversity enriches a country's culture.
- linguistic analysis
- A linguistic analysis revealed the author's style.
- linguistic barrier
- The linguistic barrier slowed the negotiations.
- linguistic minority
- Rights for each linguistic minority are protected by law.
Synonyms and how they differ
- verbal
- This often means spoken, as opposed to written, and does not suggest a study of language.
- lingual
- This is rare and refers to the tongue, so it is not interchangeable.
- language-related
- This is plainer and informal, but less precise in academic writing.
- philological
- This relates to the historical study of texts and languages, and is older and narrower.
Opposites
Word family
- linguist noun
- a person who studies language
- linguistics noun
- the scientific study of language
- linguistically adverb
- in a way related to language
- bilingual adjective
- speaking two languages
- multilingual adjective
- speaking many languages
Commonly confused: linguistic or linguistics? linguistic or lingual?
linguistic vs linguistics
Linguistics is the field of study, a noun. Linguistic is the adjective.
linguistic vs lingual
Lingual refers to the tongue and is mostly used in medicine.
Practice
Her ______ skills allowed her to speak four languages with ease.
Choose one answer.
Linguistic skills are language abilities. Logistic relates to organizing supplies, lyrical to poetry or song, and literal to exact meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “linguistic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.