A Brief Introduction of Saussure.docx

a brief introduction of saussureabstract: ferdinand de saussure is the father of modern linguistics, the man who reorganized the systematic study of language and language in such a way as to make possible the achievements of twentieth-century linguists. this alone would make him a modern master: master of a discipline which he made modern. his linguistic theories are on the nature of the linguistic sign, signifier & signified, langue & parole, synchronic & diachronic, descriptive & prescriptive, and syntagmatic & paradigmatic,key words: modern linguistics, signifier & signified, langue & parole, synchronic, descriptive, syntagmatic & paradigmatic,1.introductionferdinand de saussure (1857-1913) was a swiss linguist who occupies an important place in the history of linguistics. he was the pivotal figure in the transition from the 19th to 20th century, and is generally considered the founder of modern linguistics. he has laid the foundation for constructivism of modern linguistics and put forward the concept of langue and parole from the sociological point of view. his students collected and edited their notes and published his courses in general linguistic (cours de linguistique generale) in 1916, three years after his death. its influence has been unparalleled in european linguistics since then, and it has had a major formative role to play in the shaping of linguistic thought in europe over the thirty years or so which followed its publication. this book became the most important source of saussures ideas and of his influence upon succeeding generations of linguists.2. saussures linguistic theoriesaccording to saussure, language is a system of signs which uses sounds to express and exchange ideas. the sign is the union of a form and an idea, i.e., the signifier and the signified. the sign is the central fact of language, and therefore the study of language must start from the nature of the sign itself.2.1. signifier & signified saussure held that the sign is the union of a form (signifier) and an idea (signified), and it is the central fact of language. the signifier is the pointing finger, the word, the sound-image. a word is simply a combination of letters. it is in the interpretation of the signifier that meaning is created. the signified is the concept, the meaning, the thing indicated by the signifier. it is not a real object, but is some referent to which the signifier refers. the thing signified is created in the perceiver and is internal to them. when people share concepts, they do so via signifiers. while the signifier is more stable, the signified varies between people and contexts. the signified does stabilize with habit, as the signifier cues thoughts and images.2.2. the arbitrariness of signthe relationship between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary (saussure called this unmotivated). a real object need not actually exist out there. when the letters c-a-t spell cat, they do not embody catness. the french chat is not identical to the english cat in the signified that it creates (to the french, chat has differences of meaning). in french, mouton means both mutton and a living sheep, while the english does not differentiate.2.3. langue & parolesaussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterance) as langue and parole. langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community. parole refers to particular realizations of language.2.4. synchronic & diachronic language can be studied at a given point in time or over time. when we study language at a particular time, it is called synchronic research. when we study language developments through time, it is called diachronic research. synchronic research focuses on the state of language at any points in history while diachronic research focuses on the differences in to or more than two states of language over decades or centuries. 2.5. descriptive & prescriptive to say that linguistics is a descriptive science means that linguists tried to discover and record the rules to which the members of a language-community actually conform and does not seek to impose upon them other rules, or norms, of correctness. perspective linguistics aims to lay down rules for the correct use of language and settle the disputes over usage once and for all.2.6. syntagmatic & paradigmaticthe syntagmatic relation refers to a relation between one item and others in a sequence, or between elements which are all present. the paradigmatic relation is a relation between elements replaceable with each other at a particular place in a structure, or between one element present and the other absent. they can substitute for each other without violating syntactic rules. the syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations together, like the two axes of a coordinate, determine the identity of a linguistic sign. 3. conclusionsaussures fun