Philosophical study of the nature and use of natural languages and the relations between language, language users, and the world.
It encompasses the philosophical study of linguistic meaning (see semantics ), the philosophical study of language use in communication (see pragmatics ), and philosophical reflection on the nature and scientific status of linguistic theories, known as the philosophy of linguistics. Major areas of investigation have included the theory of reference and the theory of truth . It was the dominant field in analytic philosophy for most the 20th century.