must take into account the situation of that interaction within the specific community, or across communities. The study of code-switching will increasingly be able to contribute to an understanding of the nature of speech communities. Related fields Anthropological linguistics is concerned with Descriptive (or synchronic) linguistics: Describing dialects (forms of a language used by a specific speech community). This study includes phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and grammar. Historical (or diachronic) linguistics: Describing changes in dialects and languages over time. This study includes the study of linguistic divergence and language families, comparative linguistics, etymology, and philology. 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. See also Linguistic relativity Linguistic anthropology Gender role in language Sociolinguistics Sociology of language World Oral Literature Project Semiotic anthropology References External links Linguistics