Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Frank-Henri Jullien
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) was a Swiss linguist best known for his contributions to semiology and the philosophy of language. Philosopher Adam Schaff said,
"With de Saussure, the concept of meaning is inseparably connected with his concepts of sign and language... According to de Saussure, a linguistic sign is a psychic whole with two aspects: sound image and notion. Thus the sign is a specific combination of these two elements." (Introduction to Semantics, 1962)The rest of this post is some quotes from Saussure
Linguistics
"The scope of linguistics should be: a) to describe and trace the history of all observable languages... b) to determine the forces that are permanently and universally at work in all languages... c) to delimit and define itself." (Cours de Linguistique Generale, 1916)
"The linguistic entity is not accurately defined until it is delimited, i.e. separated from everything that surrounds it on the phonic chain. These delimited entities or units stand in opposition to each other in the mechanism of language." (Cours de Linguistique Generale, 1916)
Signs and thought
"Speech has both an individual and a social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other." (Cours de Linguistique Generale, 1916)
"Thus we may found the science for the study of the life of signs against the background of social life; it would form part of social psychology, and consequently of general psychology; we shall call it semiology (from Greek semeion - 'sign')." (Cours de Linguistique Generale, 1916)
"Without language, thought is a vague uncharted nebula. There are no pre-existing ideas, and nothing is distinct before the appearance of language." (Cours de Linguistique Generale, 1916)
"The characteristic role of language with respect to thought is not to create a material phonic means for expressing ideas but to serve as a link between thought and sound..." (Cours de Linguistique Generale, 1916)
