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
Methodologically, Saussure distinguished synchrony and diachrony. Langue is typically studied synchronically as a static system at
Influence and limitations: the langue-parole distinction was central to structuralism and subsequent linguistic theory, offering a