How are the french term 'entendu dire' and 'entendu parler' used what are the differing meanings and examples of usage?

Answer 1

'parler' is to talk or to speak in French, 'dire' is to say, to tell.

j'ai entendu dire = this is hearsay, someone told you that ... this is a legitimate information : j'ai entendu dire que le gouvernement allait augmenter les impôts (I heard that the government will raise the taxes)

Est-ce que tu as entendu dire que .... have you heard that ...

entendre dire is a very common and safe expression.

entendre parler is either a popular version of entendre dire (in that case this is not very good French, but means the same: j'ai entendu parler que le gouvernement allait augmenter les impôts), or the fact that you overheard people speaking or talking (not specially to you). In that latter sense the things that you are hearing of are considered less important or of little use: j'ai entendu parler de cette affaire = I heard of that matter (but I didn't bother about it...)

Answer 2

"Entendu dire" means "heard it said" and is used when reporting something one has heard. Example: J'ai entendu dire qu'il va pleuvoir demain (I heard it said that it will rain tomorrow). "Entendu parler" means "heard of" and is used when referring to something heard about without necessarily hearing it firsthand. Example: J'ai entendu parler de ce film mais je ne l'ai pas encore vu (I heard of this movie but I haven't seen it yet).