langueparole

Langue and parole are two foundational concepts in linguistics, introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure to describe different aspects of language. The term langue, often written as langue, denotes the abstract, systematic set of conventions shared by a speech community. It encompasses the structure of a language: its grammar, vocabulary, rules for combining signs, and the differences that constitute meanings. Parole, by contrast, refers to the actual use of language in concrete contexts—spoken or written utterances by individuals, with all their variability, improvisation, and situational adjustments.

The two are interdependent. Parole actualizes langue by producing speech acts, while langue provides the underlying system that makes those acts possible. However, parole can reveal tensions, innovations, or deviations that, over time, contribute to changes in langue. In this sense, the relationship is dynamic: the social system of signs conditions individual use, and repeated use can gradually modify the system itself.

Methodologically, Saussure distinguished synchrony and diachrony. Langue is typically studied synchronically as a static system at a given moment, whereas parole exemplifies diachronic change through time. The distinction also informs semiotics, since signs arise from the shared conventions of langue, yet their actual deployment occurs in parole.

Influence and limitations: the langue-parole distinction was central to structuralism and subsequent linguistic theory, offering a way to separate system from use. Critics argue that the boundary is porous and that language emerges from usage, making a strict division less tenable. Nevertheless, the concept remains a central reference in discussions of how language is organized and realized.