<P> By introducing a distinction between diachronic and synchronic analyses of language, he laid the foundation of the modern discipline of linguistics . Saussure also introduced several basic dimensions of linguistic analysis that are still fundamental in many contemporary linguistic theories, such as the distinctions between syntagm and paradigm, and the Langue - parole distinction, distinguishing language as an abstract system (langue), from language as a concrete manifestation of this system (parole). </P> <P> In the 1960s, Noam Chomsky formulated the generative theory of language . According to this theory, the most basic form of language is a set of syntactic rules that is universal for all humans and which underlies the grammars of all human languages . This set of rules is called Universal Grammar; for Chomsky, describing it is the primary objective of the discipline of linguistics . Thus, he considered that the grammars of individual languages are only of importance to linguistics insofar as they allow us to deduce the universal underlying rules from which the observable linguistic variability is generated . </P> <P> In opposition to the formal theories of the generative school, functional theories of language propose that since language is fundamentally a tool, its structures are best analyzed and understood by reference to their functions . Formal theories of grammar seek to define the different elements of language and describe the way they relate to each other as systems of formal rules or operations, while functional theories seek to define the functions performed by language and then relate them to the linguistic elements that carry them out . The framework of cognitive linguistics interprets language in terms of the concepts (which are sometimes universal, and sometimes specific to a particular language) which underlie its forms . Cognitive linguistics is primarily concerned with how the mind creates meaning through language . </P> <P> Speaking is the default modality for language in all cultures . The production of spoken language depends on sophisticated capacities for controlling the lips, tongue and other components of the vocal apparatus, the ability to acoustically decode speech sounds, and the neurological apparatus required for acquiring and producing language . The study of the genetic bases for human language is at an early stage: the only gene that has definitely been implicated in language production is FOXP2, which may cause a kind of congenital language disorder if affected by mutations . </P>

The way of speaking a word is called its origin