Syntagmatic & Paradigmatic

Ferdinand de Saussure saw the linguistic sign at once as static and dynamic or
developing. The pairing of terms, synchrony-diachrony; form-substance; langue-
parole as sets of contrasting relations amply demostrates this concept. The idea is
to highlight and demonstrate two dominant properties of a linguistic sign, one
linear and the other arbitrary. La langue is thus more stable and predictably
organised than la parole which displays freedom and dynamism which is not rule-
governed, therefore unpredictable.
Similarly, de Saussure put forward the concepts of syntagmatic and what he at that
time called �associative relations�.
In Syntagmatic relations the syntagme is seen as any �combination of discrete
successive units of which there arc at least two, with no limit on the possible
number�. These segments range from the smallest construction units, i.e. phonemes,
to phrases, and so on. The relations binding the successive units are called
relationin praesentia. Thus the word read is a succession of phonemes /r/, /i:/,
/d/; re-read a succession of bound morpheme and a free morphemes.
For Saussure sentence is the most obvious example of a syntagme. It is a
combination of other linguistic units. They demonstrate chain relationship. The
unit acquires its significance by its position of occurrence vis-a-vis other
elements preceding and following it. We shall take an example.
She will come tomorrow. We see elements occurring in a linear order in this
sentence : the pronoun + auxiliary + main verb + adverb. This ordering of the words
cannot be charged. Syntagmatic relations function on the horizontal emphasizing the
relational criteria a identifying or defining lingusitic categories or units. The
concept of syntagmatic relations underlines the structural potential of any item,
under examination.
The paradigmatic relationships are contrastive or choice relationships. Words that
have something in common, are; associated in the memory, resulting in groups marked
by diverse relations. For example, the English word learning will unconsciously
call to mind a host of other words��study, knowledge, discipline, etc. All these
words are re�lated in some way. This kind of relationship is called associative or
para�digmatic relationship. Here the co-ordinations are outside discourse and are
not supported by linearity. They are relations in absentia, and are vertical type
relations. Their seat is in the brain; they are a part of the inner storehouse that
makes up language of each speaker.� (Saussure)
We can visualize a word as the centre of a constellation around which spring other
words. These relations are unpredictable. Associations that are called up in one
person may not occur in the mind of another. Since it is psychological, it is also
subject to individual vagaries and governed by the specific factors governing the
individual�s speech behaviour, Paradigmatic relations are unpredictable, free,
dynamic and idiosyncratic, comparable to la parole.
It was the Danish linguist Lois Hjelmslev who suggested the term �paradigmatic� for
de Saussure�s� �assocative relations�.