Genito Eugénio

Nakatembo Filipe Emílio

Paula da Barca Anito

Paulo Sócrates Anito

Rahamane Buana Bacar

Valgy Safari Assane Alfredo

Saussurean Principles

Diachronic and Synchronic approaches

English Teaching Course

Universidade Rovuma

Instituto Superior de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente

2024
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Genito Eugénio

Nakatembo Filipe Emílio

Paula da Barca Anito

Paulo Sócrates Anito

Rahamane Buana Bacar

Valgy Safari Assane Alfredo

Saussurean Principles

Diachronic and Synchronic approaches

English Teaching Course

A scientific work to be delivered at

the department of Social Sciences
and letters in the subject of General
Linguistics, taught by:

Dr. Saide Aligora

Universidade Rovuma

Instituto Superior de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente

2024
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Contents
I. Introduction................................................................................................................4
1. Diachronic vs Synchronic approaches.......................................................................5
1.1. Diachronic approaches...............................................................................................5
1.2. Synchronic approach..................................................................................................5
2. Language vs langue vs parole........................................................................................6
2.1. Signifier vs signified...................................................................................................7
2.2. Differences between signified and signifier...............................................................7
3. Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic relationship...............................................................7
3.1. Later development......................................................................................................8
3.2. Noam Chomsky..........................................................................................................9
IV. Conclusion.................................................................................................................10
V. Bibliography...............................................................................................................11
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I. Introduction

In the field of linguistics is well known as having great power of dealing with language
aspects in general. Linguistics itself is recognized as a science that studies human
natural language. Without shifting neither to the left nor to the right, we are going
straight forward with what concerns us in this work. This work focuses mainly on
Saussurean principles namely: diachronic and synchronic approaches, language vs
langue vs parole, signifier vs signified, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationship, later
developments and Noam Chomsky. We will bring possible definitions for the main
topic as well as subtopics to better clarify them in a simple way. Therefore the
sequential order will help anyone reading this work not to lose control by following the
contents.
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1. Diachronic vs Synchronic approaches

In linguistics, the terms synchrony and diachrony refer to two different approaches in
linguistic research, with respect to the periods of time.

1.1. Diachronic approaches

Diachrony is the change in the meaning of words over time. Diachrony is also named as
historical linguistics. For example in the way that 'magic' meant 'good' in youth culture
for a period during the 1980s and, to a lesser extent, beyond. It is thus the study of
language in terms of how it visibly changes in usage. It is based in the dictionary
meaning of words.

“According to Moessner (2001), the diachronic approach means studying any

aspect of language by comparing it between two or more periods of time;
effectively focusing on the change and evolution of whatever it is you’re looking
at’’.

As an example, studying the usage patterns of double negatives in English in the 18th
century and comparing it to the patterns in the 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries to see
how double negatives in English may or may not have changed. Therefore, historical
linguistics typically employs diachronic approaches whereby two negatives are
detected.

E.g.: I haven’t seen anybody.

We haven’t invited anybody here.

“According to Saussure (1959, p.91), Diachronic facts are those whose a

change in a system takes place about events which not only are outside the
system but are isolated and form no system among themselves. While
synchronic facts, no matter what they are, evidence a certain rule but they are
not imperative. Diachronic facts, on the contrary, force themselves upon
language but are in no way general’’.

e.g.: I ain’t got no money. (Double negatives incorrect),informal.

I haven’t got any money. (Double negatives correct), formal.

1.2. Synchronic approach

Synchrony was proposed firstly by Saussure. He stated that language as a system of

signs can be studied as a complete system at any given point in time. A synchronic
approach is one where two similar things exist at the same time. Modern American
English and British English have a synchronic approach.

“Meyer et al. (2005, p. 117), stated that the synchronic approach means
studying any aspect of language solely in one particular period of time without
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taking into account other periods of time in that language’s history. For
example, studying the usage patterns of double negatives in English’’.

In most cases, in linguistics fields typically synchronic approaches are employed as to

not lose focus in their research.

“According to Saussure (1959, p. 91), a synchronic approach is one where two

similar things exist at the same time. As for example, Modern American English
and British English have a synchronic relationship’’.

E.g.: AmE word railroad tie in BrE is railway sweeper

2. Language vs langue vs parole

Apart from Language, the terms langue and parole are almost running to the same
direction, this means they all follow the grammatical rules by forcing the speaker of the
language not to omit the recommended rules while Language is just a form
communication between human beings by using vocal sounds.

Saussure (2004) quoted by Jial Cao (2022, p.27), stated “that langue is a treasure house
stored in all members of a social group through the practice of speech or a grammatical
system stored in the minds of a group of people. This means it is a system that is
combined by certain vocabulary and grammatical rules in accordance with the agreed
rules and internalized by the speaker’’.

“Cao (2022, p.28), parole is the embodiment or actualization of langue. It

refers to a real and concrete speech act in which individuals express their
abstract langue symbols according to the rules under the guidance and
influence of the internalized grammar and lexical rule systems’’.

According to “Sapir (1921, p.8), Language is purely human and non-instinctive method
communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced
symbols’’.

“Language is generally considered to be a form of communication between

human beings by means of system which are principally transmitted by vocal
sounds. Stuart C. Poole,( 1999, P.8)’’.
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2.1. Signifier vs signified

According to “Saussure (1959, p.65), language, when reduced to its elements is not a
naming-process only, as it is thought to be rather a list of words, each corresponding to
the thing that it names. This means that ready-made ideas exist before words and it does
not tell us whether a name is vocal or psychological in nature, for example the word
arbor can be considered from either viewpoint’’.

In this sense, the linking of a name and a thing is a very simple operation an assumption
that is anything but true. The terms signifier and signified show us that the linguistic
unit is a double entity which is formed by associating of the two terms.

2.2. Differences between signified and signifier

According to “Saussure (1959, p. 65), signified pertains to the plane of content,

while signifier is the plane of expression. This means, that signified is the
concept of idea evoked by a sign, while signifier is the sound of spoken word or
string of letters on a page that a person recognized as a sign’’.

Saussure, in his book (1916) Course in General Linguistics, divides the sign into two
distinct components:

The signifier means sound-image and the signified means concept. For “Saussure,
(1959, p.65) the signified and signifier are purely psychological meaning that they are
form rather than substance’’. For example: the word star is a signifier while the object is
the signified image.

Star = signifier (sound-image) Object=signified (concept).

”According to Hjelmslev (1931 ) cited by Shakeri (2016.p.7), the signifier is the

conceptual material form, i.e. something which can be seen, heard, touched,
smelled or tasted while the signified as the conceptual ideal form. In other
words, the signifier is the form that the sign takes and the signified as the
concept to which it refers’’.

The relationship between the signifier and signified is an arbitrary relationship this
means there is no logical connection between them.

3. Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic relationship

Syntagmatic relationship occurs to the linear relationship between elements in a

linguistic sequence, such as a sentence. It involves arrangement of the words or
morphemes in a specific order to form meaningful units.

For example: The cat chased the mouse. In this sense there is a syntagmatic relationship
between them because they combine in a specific sequence to convey meaning.
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“According to Saussure (1959, P.124), quoted by Madina (2023, p.36) the

linear aspect of language, which prevents two elements from being uttered at
the same time, forms the basis of the syntagmatic relationship at the same
moment’’.

Paradigmatic relationship refers to the relationship between elements that can

potentially replace each other in a given linguistic context. It involves the selection of
one element from a set of alternatives to convey a particular meaning. Example: I want
to buy a __, __, and __.

In the above example, I want to buy a …. There might be some words to be filled in the
gaps such as book, car, and house. So the paradigmatic relationship exists between the
word book, car, and house as they represent different options that could fill the blank
space to complete the sentence.

“According to Sahlgren (2006), quoted by Madina (2023, p.36), a paradigmatic

relation connects concepts that do not appear together in the text’’.

“For Jones (2002), quoted by Madina (2023,P.36), stated that conjunctions and
paradigmatic related adjectives frequently co-occur in the same phrases’’.

3.1. Later development

It is a fact, however, that every language is at every moment in the process of evolution.

“According to Austin (2022, p.163), everything may change in a language: the

form and meaning of the morphemes, that is the morphology and vocabulary;
the order of morphemes in the utterance, in other words syntax; finally, the
nature and conditions of use of the distinctive units, that is phonology’’.

New phonemes, new words, new constructions make their appearance while old units
and old turns of phrase lose their frequency and become forgotten. All this happens
without the speakers ever having the feeling that the language which they speak and
which is spoken around them is no longer the same.

Austin (2022, p.164), stated that the language in process of evolution is that of a strictly
monoglot community, perfectly homogeneous in the sense that observable differences
represent successive stages of the same usage and not concurrent usages.

This does not correspond to the facts observed, for instance, in the case of French as it
is spoken in Paris, where all sorts of influences overlap and where usages of social and
geographical origin exist side by side.
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3.2. Noam Chomsky

According to Chomsky (1957) quoted by Shafiee (2018, P.22), stated that

Syntactic Structures mark the beginning of the second of these phases. His
approach is more syntagmatic than paradigmatic. That is to say, it takes a
structuralist approach, assuming that language can be described cross-
sectionally or at any moment in history in terms of a coherent system of rules.

Such an approach is part of the tradition of cognitive neuro-scientific theories of

language Production in that it is interested in the structural relationships between words,
phrases and clauses in sentences, rather than in classificatory categories or parts of
speech.

Chomsky’s theory,(1957) quoted by Pinker (1995, P.88). stated that the opposite can
happen as well. Sentences can make no sense but still be recognized as grammatical.
Example: colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
The sentence was made contrived to show that syntax and sense can be independent of
each other.
“According to Rasooyar et al (2018, P.22), the ability to utilize grammar
accurately, meaningfully and properly is required for English student to convey
both in oral and written way. What is to compose and talk must be founded on
correct grammar, so that the message communicated can be found out’’.

Rasooyar et al (2018, P.23), argue that these grammars operated from basic principles in
the construction of meaning that Chomsky (1972, p.28), claims existed as universals in
all languages and which were intended to be able to generate intelligible sentences.
Such generative capacity involved a transformation from deep structural rules and
formulae to the actual utterances of everyday speech and writing.
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IV. Conclusion

Saussurean principles in language perspective deal with linguistic system whereby each
individual’s brain is constructed from experience. As we can see from Saussure’s
comments, langue is a treasure house stored in all members of a social group through
the practice of speech or a grammatical system stored in the minds of a group of people.
This all does not run away from idea “experience’’ in this case to deal with language
requires individual smartness.
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V. Bibliography

SAUSSURE, Ferdinand. A course in General Linguistics, N.Y.C., 1959

SAPIR, Edward. An Introduction to the Study of Speech, Harcourt, Brace, N.Y., 1921

POOLE, Stuart. An Introduction to Linguistics, New York: Palgrave, 1999

CHOMSKY, Noam & BELLETTI. On Nature and Language, C.U.P. UK, 2022

SHAFIEE, Sajad. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, A.U., 2018

PINKER, Steven. The Language Instinct, United States of America, 1994

CHOMSKY, Noam. Language and Responsibility and Reflections on Language, New

York: US, 2007