Parole

Philosophy
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Parole is the individual, concrete act of speech or writing. It is the personal, creative use of language in a specific utterance, distinct from the system of langue.

Detailed Definition
Saussure's distinction places parole as the performance. In poetry, the poem is a unique parole, a new utterance made from the langue. The poet's art lies in the specific choice and arrangement of words. Each poem is a fresh, unrepeatable act of language, transforming the abstract system into concrete meaning. This emphasizes the poet's creativity and the event-like nature of the poetic text.
Example
Example in poetry:
A specific poem, like "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," is a unique parole, a specific act of speech using the English language; The individual voice of a poet, such as the unique style of Emily Dickinson, is their parole; Every performance of a poem is a new parole, a unique event in language; A poet's particular choice of words in a single line is an act of parole, a creative instantiation of the langue.
Additional Notes
Parole, in Saussure's structural linguistics, is the individual, concrete act of speaking or writing. It is the personal, creative use of the language system (langue) in a specific utterance. Parole is the event of language, the performance, whereas langue is the abstract rule-governed system. In poetry, every poem is a unique act of parole, a new and unrepeatable utterance that draws upon the langue. The poet's art lies in the specific, creative choices they make—the particular words, syntax, and rhythm they select. This concept emphasizes the poet's agency and originality, showing that poetry is a fresh act of creation within the larger linguistic system, transforming the potential of langue into the actuality of a poem.
Also Known As
Individual speech act Utterance Performance (linguistic)
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