Paper Title
SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC APPROACH OF LINGUISTICS: A PERSPECTIVE

Abstract
This paper delves into two complementary perspectives of linguistic analysis viz. Synchronic approach and diachronic approach. The former depicts the language structure to be described at a certain point in time whereas the historical evolution of any language over a period of time, is explained by the latter. A synchronic description can be taken as the comparison of words at a particular time e.g the pronoun ‘you’ was not often used in the old English. The old English contained the words ‘thou’ and ‘thee’. The socially class conscious people tried to avoid the old English ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ as a matter of status. They were consciously using ‘you’ to pose that they are being socially upgraded. The change of ‘thee’ & ‘thou’ to ‘you’ can be a diachronic study and the existence of both the usages at the same time and their comparison leads to the term synchronic approach. Ferdinand de Saussure was a historical linguist and he described diachronic approach with reference to synchronic approach. Synchronic analysis explores linguistic scenario occurring at a specific time. Diachronic approach is a historical approach to linguistics thus called historical linguistics. The evolution of language over a period of time through different ages occurs due to the social, economic, anthropological differences and change over time. This change is not so rapid to be noticed but is a very slow and steady process, wherein the words, pronunciations, structures of a language or some traditional ways of using a language must experience change in them. Though this change is very slow and unnoticeable, it is factual and clear. After years together, people realize that the previous usage has been unknowingly replaced by the current one. This is a natural and inevitable process of evolution within any language. Communication of people of any era, does not restrict itself to one language or dialect, but there are many languages & dialects at a particular time. The speakers of one language or dialect get influenced by the other dialect or language and start using the patterns of that language unconsciously, this adoption of foreign language, dialect, vocabulary or structure, at a particular time is a synchronic approach. Later, it is noticed that the words or usages of a foreign language or dialect have been entering into the native language very unnoticeably over a period of time leading to the evolution of that particular language or dialect, it is a diachronic approach. Keywords - Synchronic, Diachronic, Evolution, Language, Structure, Vocabulary