Introduction

Introduction Modern linguists began from the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. He is often described as “ father of modern linguistics” (现代语言学之父)and “ a master of a discipline which he made modern”(使语言学科 èµ°å�‘ 现代的 大师). From 1907 to 1911, Saussure lectured on general linguistics in the University of Geneva [dÊ’iˈni: vÉ™]. After he died in 1913, his colleagues and students thought that his ideas concerning linguistic questions were original and insightful and should be preserved. Two of his students collected lecture notes and put them together to produce the greater work, Course in General Linguistics(普通语言学教程), in 1916. This book became the most important source of Saussure’s ideas and of his influence upon succeeding generations of linguists. Saussure’s ideas were developed along three lines: linguistics, sociology, and psychology. In linguistics, he was greatly influenced by the American linguist Whitney, who raised the question of the sign. By insisting on the concept of arbitrariness of the sign to emphasize that language is an institution, Whitney  [‘witni] brought linguistics onto the right track. Following the French sociologist Durkheim, Saussure held that language is one of the “ social facts”, which are ideas in the “ collective mind” of a society and radically distinct from individual psychological acts. What matters is not the way in which a certain thinker individually conceives an institution, but the group’s conception of it. In psychology, Saussure was influenced by the Austrian psychiatrist  [saiˈkaiÉ™trist] Freud  [frÉ” id], who hypothesized the continuity of a collective psyche, called the unconscious. Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterances) as langue and parole. What does langue mean? It’s the system of a language, the ideal form of a language, the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country. Langue is used to express the voice of the complex and the most important of human communication tool. Language is abstract and stable. It’s“ All the term (the use of language) that use individual memory to keep in the minds— the sum of the image. ” What does parole mean? It’s the actual use of language by people in speech or writing, including errors, slips, stuttering, etc. Parole constitutes the immediately accessible data. The linguist’s proper object is the language of each community, the lexicon  [‘leksikÉ™n], grammar, and phonology implanted in each individual by his upbringing in society and on the basis of which he speaks and understands his language. When we say parole, the speaker uses the vocal cords and all kinds of vocal organ to issue voice to convey meaning so that those who listen to them can understand the communication process. But langue is closely related with the thinking of mankind, and the essential character that different from other animals. Let’s create a situation: Jack said “ I love you” to Rose in the street. The sentence itself is the parole. And how Rose understands this sentence is all about the langue. In Chinese, 我 爱你means I have a strong feeling for you, and hope that I could be the only one you care. So the result may be that they two got married. While in America, I love you not only can be used between lovers but also friends. So the story may have a totally different edition: On Christmas day, Rose sent a gift to every friend. Jack received a basketball. He was so excited and said, “ What a gift! I love you, Rose! ” In such a situation, “ I love you” does not change anything. As we can see, It is langue that makes the same words have different understanding. Now let’s conclude the differences between langue and parole. First, langue is the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; while parole is the realization of langue in actual use; it is concrete; it has sound and written form. Second, langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to abide by; it is social and national which cannot be easily changed by individual. While parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules; it is simply a personal choice. Third, langue is relatively fixed; only when a new word gains public recognition, can it be accepted as part of the language. While parole is temporary; and it varies from person to person, and from situation to situation. Now let’s come to the relationship between langue and parole. Langue denotes the abstract systematic principles of a language. Parole, on the other hand, designates individual acts, statements and utterances, events of language use. So we can see the key points are “ systematic principle” and “ individual language use”. According to Saussure, “ If we could embrace the sum of word-images stored in the minds of all individuals, we could identify the social bond that constitutes language (langue). It is a storehouse filled by the members o a given community through their active use of speaking (parole), a grammatical system that has a potential existence in each brain, or, more specifically, in the brains of a group of individuals. For language (langue) is not complete in any speaker; it exists perfectly only within a collectivity. ç´¢ç» ªå°” 在《普通语言学教程》中æ��到，“ 如 果我 们能将所有个人头脑 中的 语言形象汇总 èµ·æ�¥ï¼Œæˆ‘ 们就能确定组 æˆ�语言的 社会纽带。 那是一个大储è—�室，满是既定团体 çš„ å�„ 个æˆ�员，他们积æž�使用语言和存在于个人大é�“ 中的 潜在的 语法系 ç» Ÿï¼Œæˆ–者更准确地说，存在于一群人的 大脑 中的 语法系 ç» Ÿã€‚ 音ä½�ä»» 何说è¯�者都ä¸�å�¯èƒ½å±•çŽ°è¯­è¨€çš„ 全部，语言å�ªå­˜åœ¨äºŽä¸€ä¸ªé›†å�ˆä½“ 中。 ” The abstract systematic principles of a language, in fact, exists in every individual’s mind although sometimes most of us do not realize it. Just imagine, if there is not some systematic principles in language, how can we organize our utterances and how can we be understood by each other without any misunderstanding? We can communicate in the society, because we have some common things. Those common things, in linguistics, can be called systematic principle of language, such as grammar, phonology, etc. At the same time, the abstract systematic principles of a language need to realize its values by people’s using. Just based on Saussure’s theory, langue is “ the competence of the speaker”. If we only have the ability, but no media for us to put this competence into practice, the competence will be meaningless. For example, you are able to ride a bike, but you do not have a bike to realize your ability. After some period of time, your rising-bike ability will be disappearing gradually. Like riding a bike, if there are only some abstract systematic principles of a language, but no media to use the language, this language competence will also disappear. From all above, we can make a clear conclusion on the relationship between langue and parole: Parole must depend on langue, and without parole, there would not be any existing significance for langue. Langue and parole are interdependent. They together constitute language.