1. What is linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, in other words, it is the discipline that studies the nature and use of language. The field of linguistics is very broad and there are many areas of linguistics.

2. Core Areas Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics
The first areas I want to mention are considered the core areas, they are the areas of linguistics that you must have some background in in order to pursue any type of linguistics career.
So first off there is phonetics, which deals with the description and articulation of sounds in a language, and within phonetics there are 3 areas: one, articulatory, which deals with production, two, acoustic, which deals with physical properties, and three, auditory, which obviously deals with perception.
The area of phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language, basically how sounds are organized. So for example a phonologist would look at what type of sounds can occur next to each other at the beginning of a word.
Morphology is the analysis of word formation, in other words, how existing words are formed and new ones created
The analysis of sentence structure is called syntax, which deals with how words combine to form meaningful phrases.
And lastly, semantics, which is the study of meaning within language, so it deals with conceptual systems.
Phonetics – the description and articulation of sounds in a language
there are 3 areas: articulatory (production), acoustic (physical properties), auditory (perception)
Phonology – the patterns of sounds in a language; how sounds are organized
Morphology – analysis of word formation; how existing words are formed and new ones created
Syntax: analysis of sentence structure, how words combine to form meaningful phrases
Semantics: the study of meaning within language; conceptual systems

3. Branches Sociolinguistics Language Acquisition Brain and Language
Historical Linguistics
Sociolinguistics: study of language in its social context- specifically variation within language and how it relates to the social context
Language Acquisition: 1st language and 2nd language
Brain and Language: Neurolinguistics (physical) and Psycholinguistics (psychological)
Historical Linguistics: language change in all realms – word meaning, pronunciation, syntax
There are other areas, such as gender and language, translation, and so forth. A lot of these fields have branches of their own. The best example is Sociolinguistics, under which there is language contact, language attitudes, language in interaction, and much more.