langue
- noun
- /lɑŋ/
- Specialized
:
lengua
- In linguistics, langue refers to the underlying structure and system of a language that enables communication.
Examples
-
This is the fallacy of extrapolating wildly from the system of phonemic differences that comprise langue to the level of semantics and semantic operation.
Academic text (1995) -
Understanding langue helps linguists analyze the rules and patterns that govern how languages function.
-
I do not mean to imply that particular yards are "tokens of a type" -- some sort of concrete yard-parole to an abstract yard-langue.
Academic text (1993) -
The Knights of St. John, from the end of the thirteenth century, were divided by nationality into tongues, or langues.
Academic text (2012) -
The study of langue contrasts with parole, focusing on the abstract aspects of language rather than individual utterances.
Synonyms
797
1.0
A system of communication used by a group or country with words and grammar
1
4.2
All the sounds, words, and rules used in a language
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A group of old French dialects spoken in northern and central France in the Middle Ages
- Specialized
A group of old French dialects spoken in northern and central France that used 'oïl' for yes
- Literature
A group of old French dialects once spoken in southern France that use oc for yes
Surface Forms
Etymology
Langue comes from the French word for 'tongue', from Latin lingua. Think of the 'tongue' as the shared tool for speech, so langue means the shared system or rules behind a language.