Micro-linguistics is a branch of linguistics that concerns itself with the study of language systems in the abstract, without regard to the meaning or notional content of linguistic expressions. In micro-linguistics, language is reduced to the abstract mental element of syntax and the physical elements of phonology and phonotactics. It contrasts with macro-linguistics, which includes meanings, and especially with sociolinguistics, which studies how language and meaning function within human social systems. The term micro-linguistics was first used in print by George L. Trager, in an article published in 1949 in Studies in Linguistics: Occasional Papers.
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