Linguistics is the science that studies human language. It examines language from different perspectives, including how people acquire, use, and process language in the brain. Unlike other sciences where objects of study are predefined, in linguistics the viewpoint influences what is being studied. For example, the word "nu" could be examined as a sound, idea, or Latin derivative depending on the perspective. Psycholinguistics specifically studies how people learn and use language, and how it is represented in the brain. Human language has formal structures and is uniquely human, involving physiology and evolving in a social/psychological context. Key questions include what defines human language and how it differs from animal communication, how it is acquired, and how it operates