Ferdinand De Saussure, a Swiss linguist, made groundbreaking contributions to the field of linguistics, especially through his distinctions that laid the foundation for structuralism.
The relationship between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary
His distinctions proved to be mainsprings to productive linguistic research and can be regarded as starting points on the avenue of linguistics known as structuralism.
He also introduced two terms that have become common currency in linguistics—“parole,” or the speech of the individual person, and “langue,” the system underlying speech activity.
He thus formalized the basic approaches to language study and asserted that the principles and methodology of each approach are distinct and mutually exclusive.
Saussure established his reputation with a brilliant contribution to comparative linguistics.