structural linguistics

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A method of synchronic linguistic analysis employing structuralism, especially in demonstrating contrasts between formal structures, such as different phonemes or sentence structures, that make up systems, such as phonology or syntax.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun linguistics defined as the analysis of formal structures in a text or discourse