Langue and parole (language and speech).

Both terms were introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure and came to exercise considerable influence in linguistics and literary theory. Langue (language) is the language system shared by a speech community and according to Saussure the genuine topic of linguistics, whereas parole (speech) signifies the act of speaking in actual situations by an individual. The dichotomy langue - parole is not identical, but very similar to Noam Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance and is sometimes reflected in the modern contrast of systematic and applied linguistics.