Central Concepts of Saussure: Synchrony vs. Diachrony

Saussure and Historical Linguistics "Although nowadays one thinks of Saussure first and foremost as the scholar who defined the notion of 'synchronic linguistics'--the study of languages existing at a given point in time, as opposed to the historical linguistics ('diachronic' linguistics, as Saussure called it to clarify the contrast) which had seemed to his contemporaries the only possible approach to the subject--in his own lifetime this was far from his main claim to fame. . . . [A]ll his publications, and almost all his teaching, throughout his career dealt with historical rather than with synchronic linguistics, and indeed with detailed analysis of various Indo-European languages rather than with the general, theoretical discourse for which he is now famous." (Geoffrey Sampson, Schools of Linguistics. Stanford University Press, 1980)

Synchrony vs. Diachrony

Language Change "For most of the twentieth century, synchronic linguistics was considered to be prior to diachronic linguistics. Historical linguists were expected to gather together descriptions of a language at various points in time, relying to a large extent on the previous work of synchronic linguists. Then they studied the changes which had taken place by comparing the various synchronic states. They behaved somewhat like a photographer trying to work out a continuous sequence of events from a series of separate snapshots--on the face of it, a sensible enough procedure. The problem was simply this: linguists making the synchronic descriptions were, without realizing it, simply leaving out those aspects of the description that were essential for an understanding of language change." (Jean Aitchison, Language Change: Progress or Decay? 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2001)

Synchrony vs. Diachrony

If we sum it all up, according to the method, range or scope of its study, or the focus of interest of the linguist, Linguistics can be classified into different kinds, the chief of which are noted below: Diachronic Linguistics and Synchronic Linguistics. Diachronic linguistics is the kind in which we study the historical development of language through different periods of time.