Linguistics is the scientific study of language, and involves an analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context. The earliest activities in the documentation and description of language have been attributed to the 6th century BC Indian grammarian Pāṇini, who wrote a formal description of the Sanskrit language in his Aṣṭādhyāyī.
The Mediterranean supports a rich diversity of marine life, which is the focus of conservation efforts. An EU-funded initiative is investigating how best to designate and manage these sites for marine conservation.