Structuralism and Ferdinand De Saussure

These influential theories of the second half of the twentieth century, all of which are focused on language, have their origins in the linguistic theory of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), he defines the proper object of linguistic study as the system of signs used by human beings, and the relationships of which can be studied in the abstract, or as he says “synchronicity” rather than “diachronically.” In other words, there is no reference to any particular historical implementation of that language.

According to Saussure, the basic unit of language is a sign.  A sign is composed of signifier (a sound-image, or its graphic equivalent) and a signified (the concept or meaning).  So, for example, a word composed of the letters p-e-a-r functions as a signifier by producing in the mind of English-speakers the concept (signified) of a certain kind of rosaceous fruit that grows on trees, viz., a pear.

Saussure’s way around this obvious objection is to say that his interest is in the structure of  language, not the use of language.  As a scientist, Saussure limited his investigation to the formal structure of language (langue), setting aside or bracketing the way that language is employed in actual speech (parole).  Hence, the term structuralism.  Saussure bracketed out of his investigation any concern with the real, material objects (referents) to which signs are presumably related.  This bracketing of the referent is a move that enabled him to study the way a thing (language and meaning) is experienced in the mind.  In this sense, his motivation was similar to Husserl's.  And in the end, Saussure never offered a method for investigating how language as a system hooks up to the world of objects that lie outside language.  As we shall see, this was to have far-reaching effects.