Lecture Notes on Applied Linguistics (PDF)

Linguistics can be defined as "the scientific study of a language - any language - by virtue of description and analysis" - a major concept, introduced by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure(1857-1913), one of the pioneering early exponents of modern linguistics. According to him:
"the one and the only correct subject of linguistics is language, which involves in itself for the sake of itself" (Al-Saaran: 1962, p.49).
Some enormous attempts were made by Dr. Mohamoud Al-Sa'aran to explain and interpret F.D. Saussure's working words on linguistics in this context, as he points out:
"The researcher of a language studies a language for its sake. Also she/he studies it as it appears, without any oscillation. The researcher has no right to confine herself/himself to explaining and investigating only one aspect of a language, by reason of her//his highly commendation and to abandon the other attempts to explore the other aspect of language recklessly and wildly, because of her/his disapproval and disapprobation , as well as her//his frivolity of it. Furthermore, she/ he acts according to her/his own desire or for any other reason" (Ibid, p.51).
On his turn, Al-Sa'aran also explains the working words of F.D. Saussure "for its own sake", by saying that:
"the researcher studies language objectively in order to explore and probe its reality. She/he does not aim at achieving, for instance, either pedagogical objectives or any working goals. Fittingly, the researcher does not study language in order to enhance and to correct one of its aspects or to make any other amendments on it. But, she/he has to confine herself/himself to describing and analyzing language objectively" (Ibid, p.51).