The Summary of Ferdinand de Saussure

The study of language in any period of history has always reflected the predominant interest of the time. In some instances methods of other disciplines have been adapted to linguistic purposes. During his studies Ferdinand de Saussure had become dissatisfied with the idea that sole method of studying language scientifically is from a historical point of view.

Durkheim’s “Rules of the Sociological Method”

Durkheim’s little book Rules of the Sociological Method is still considered a classic in the field of sociology, even though its principles and findings have been challenged. In order to outline what such a science would encompass Durkheim attempted to define social facts as “things” comparable to the “things” studied by the physical sciences. It was this idea that led de Saussure to study without requiring historical inquiry.

One of the most general criticisms of Durkheim’s position was that he had needlessly made things out social facts. He claimed that the source of his critics ‘dissatisfaction with his calling social facts “things” was their native understanding of what a thing is. Some of his contributions to linguistics can be summarized by examining the terms he either coined or to which he gave a characteristic stamp: (1) the distinction among la langue, la parole, and le langage; (2) the distinction between diachronic and synchronic language study; (3) his definition of the “linguistic sign”; (4) the distinction between associative and syntagmatic relations in language; (5) the notion of content, as opposed to linguistic signification and value; and (6) his description of the concrete and abstract unit of language.

La Langue, La Parole, Le Langage

In chapter 1 of this book it was suggested that there are three are many sets of data to which the term “language” can be applied. In French there are three expressions referring to language that de Saussure used to call attention to distinct aspects of language that he considered important. His reason for making these distinctions was that he wanted to define language in such a way that it could be considered a thing, an object that could be studied scientifically.

The term de Saussure used to refer to the individual manifestations of language is la parole, “speaking.” The sum of la parole and the rules of language de Saussure called le langage. Le langage does not have a principle of unity within it that enables us to study it scientifically. One definition that de Saussure gave of la langue is “le langage minus la parole.”

In summary, then de Saussure saw as the sole object of linguistic science that aspect of language which corresponds to a social fact. While this idea may seem to be an abstraction from the physical point of view, language (la langue) is not and cannot be a physical fact.

Synchronic versus Diachronic Study of Language

The Junggrammatiker had proclaimed that the sole mean of studying language scientifically is to examine it historically, that is, diachronically, through time. De Saussure flatly contradicted this idea. In this connection he had a good word to say for traditional grammar: they were purely synchronic. The synchronic study of language has decided advantages, from a practical as well as a scientific point of view, over the historical.

The Linguistic Sign

In defining the linguistic sign, de Saussure refined the notion of La Langue as a “deposit of signs.” In de Saussure’s view the linguistic sign “unites, not a thing and a name, but a concept and an acoustic image . . .  psychic entity with two sides.”

Associative and Syntagmatic Relations

a.       Associative, one of the difficulties with the notion associative relations as defined by de Saussure is that every other item in the language either resembles or fails to resemble in form or meaning any given item.

b.      Syntagmatic Relations, for de Saussure syntagmatic was any combination of discrete, successive units.

Linguistic Value, Content, and Signification

This passage is telling a critique of the methods employed by traditional grammars. The distinctions that derive from it concerning signification, value, and content can be illustrated in de Saussure’s discussion of the difference terms in two difference system. De Saussure used the notion of value to examine not only the conceptual but also the material, or phonetic aspects of language.

Abracadabra

This example illustrates how de Saussure conceived of the independence of la langue from la parole: all of the a’s in the word are different, but they do not contrast with each other but only with the other letters of the alphabet. La langue is, therefore, a deposit of signs: a sign is the unity results from the association of an acoustic image with a concept this association is the sole positive fact of language.

These pages have given only an indication of some of the more important contributions he made to linguistics and cannot serve as a substitute reading the Cours itself.