Language Use, Sociology of

Linguistic Universals versus Variation

A major theoretical departure in the study of language pits linguistic universality against variation with its sociological counterpart found in theories of the relationship between influences of structure and agency. Within the former, the distinction can be traced to the work of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913), a Swiss linguist whose main contributions were made through the published interpretations of former [Page 1412]students after his death. Saussure argued that languages are complete systems with two distinct layers: langue and parole. Langue is the consistent and complex template of a language that is possible due to the innate predisposition to knowledge of grammar that only humans possess. Langue is composed of systematic pairings of labels and their meanings called “signs.” A sign is the association between a signifier (label) and a signified (object or concept), and meaning is found in the relationship of signs to each other. Once acquired, the association between signified and signifier is taken for granted as being natural and irreversible.

Parole, on the other hand, is the historically and culturally variable manifestation of langue. At the level of parole, signs are relative and arbitrary. The association between signifier and signified is relative in the sense that tree and arbre are culturally distinct labels used to represent a similar concept. For Saussure, the substance and form of signs are also arbitrary. In other words, reality is divided and categorized differently in different cultures, resulting in variable linguistic forms. For instance, the language system of Inuits has far more signs for snow than do languages in climates where the distinctions are less critical. Representations that address such a fine array of differentiation allow people to reflect on and communicate important facets of their culture. Conversely, a lack of representation precludes reflection or communication of concepts that have not been linguistically noted in a culture. For Saussure, by the time individuals reach maturity, a complete langue has been acquired and it becomes nearly impossible to separate the signifier from the signified (i.e., the label from the concept). Consequently, words and thoughts become one. Although originally created at the level of parole, once language is established, it becomes autonomous and the autonomy of the subject is undermined or lost entirely.

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