Language vs Linguistics
Language and Linguistics are two different words that have to be used differently. A language is a mode of expression of thought by means of articulate sounds. Thoughts alone are not sufficient to express yourself. You need to do it by means of articulate sounds too. Articulation brings life to a language.
On the other hand linguistics is a branch of study that deals with languages. It is a comparative study of languages. Linguistics is a branch of study wherein you make a historical study of languages. It is otherwise called as comparative philology. Linguistics has four branches upon which the study is built.
The four branches of linguistics are phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Phonology deals with the study of sounds. Morphology deals with the manner in which the words are formed by the combination of sounds. Syntax deals with the manner in which the words are arranged in a sentence and finally Semantics deals with the study of meanings and the method by which the meanings came to be attached to particular words.
Hence it should be understood that linguistics is a subject of study that is build on languages. Therefore it can be said that language is the fundamental unit of the branch of linguistics. Without languages the subject of linguistics cannot be there. In other words languages pave the way for the growth of the field of linguistics.
Linguistics studies the nature of languages, the various phonetic changes that take place in the languages, the changes in the meanings of particular words in the course of time and the like. A few laws have also been advocated by linguists who work on the languages. On the other hand each language has special and inherent characteristics. Since the languages are individual and separate in nature the need for their comparative study arose.