The Opposition and Unity of Saussure
Views on Linguistic Signs

Ferdinand de Saussure

He was the founder of
structural linguistics

Dichotomy Between
the Signifier and the Signified

Denies that language is a
nomenclature that
labels different
things differently

Linguistic signs do not associate things
and names, but concepts and sound images

Signifier and the signified
indicates the duality
and composability of a
linguistic sign

Natures of a Linguistic Sign

Language as a Value System

The meaning of a word arises from the differences between the values of linguistic signs, or specifically, the relationship between linguistic values.

The value of linguistic signs in terms of conceptual aspect,
material aspect and the sign as a whole

In a given language, all the words which express neighboring ideas help define
one another’s meaning

The language system is a value system which combines sounds and concepts.

Linguistic signs have two important natures: arbitrariness and linearity

The arbitrariness means that the combination of a signifier and a
signified is arbitrary

Linearity, which means when linguistic signs are used, they are strung in a
linear way

A linguistic sign is both invariable and variable

The mixture and communication of language users of all ages
ensure the coherence of language inheritance

He made a distinction
between:

Langue and parole

The signifier and the
signified

The syntagmatic and the associative
relationships

Synchronic and
diachronic linguistics