Landsmål Norwegian langage [Fr. ‘language’]

An umbrella term used by F.de Saussure for langue and parole. The ‘faculté de langage’ signifies general human linguistic and language ability, that is to say, the ability to communicate using a system of sounds and symbols. ‘Taken as a whole, speech is manysided and heterogeneous; straddling several areas simultaneously-physical, physiological, and psychological-it belongs both to the individual and to society’ (Saussure 1916/1983:11).