Ferdinand de Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913), the Swiss linguist often regarded as the founder of modern structural linguistics, was one of the most influential figures in shaping twentieth century thought. His lectures were compiled and published posthumously as Course in General Linguistics (1916). This work provided the basis for the Structuralist school and introduced a scientific way of studying language. Saussure argued that language should not be treated merely as a historical sequence of changes. Instead, it should be understood as a structured system of signs functioning at a particular point in time. This shift in perspective laid the groundwork for semiotics, the science of signs. His ideas continue to influence fields ranging from anthropology to literary theory.

Langue and Parole

One of Saussure’s first distinctions was between langue and parole. Langue refers to the collective system of conventions, rules, and grammar that underlies a language. It is social, shared, and exists beyond the will of any individual. For example, the rule that adjectives usually come before nouns (“red car,” not “car red”). Parole, in contrast, is the individual use of that system, the concrete act of speaking or writing. For example, when someone says, “Good morning!” or writes, “I love reading novels,” that’s parole. Langue is the entire English language system, while a person saying “Good morning!” is an example of parole.

Saussure emphasised that language as a whole is not the private property of individual speakers. Rather, it is a social institution, a “storehouse” of rules and conventions that every member of a community unconsciously draws upon. This distinction also means that when we read an individual poem or novel, we are not merely encountering an isolated act of creativity but engaging with the larger social structure of language.

Semiotics: The Science of Signs

For Saussure, words are not symbols but signs. They are not simply labels attached to things. Instead, they work as signs within a system of meaning. A sign has two inseparable parts: the signifier and the signified.

The signifier is the form of the word, either spoken or written. For example, the sound we hear when someone says “tree” (/triː/) or the letters t-r-e-e on a page. The signified is the concept or mental image that comes to mind. When we hear or see “tree”, we do not focus on the letters themselves. We think of the idea of a tall plant with a trunk, branches, and leaves. The signifier and signified always go together. A sound without meaning is just noise. A concept without a word cannot be communicated. For Saussure, then, language is not a collection of labels for objects. It is a system of signs that connects forms (signifiers) with ideas (signifieds).

The Principle of Arbitrariness

The relationship between the signifier and signified is arbitrary. There is no natural or logical reason why a tree should be called a tree in English, arbre in French, or vriksham in Malayalam. The connection is based entirely on social agreement within a linguistic community. This arbitrariness explains why languages differ so widely and why language is flexible, diverse, and dependent on shared social codes.

Difference and Value

Saussure explained that signs do not get their meaning from direct links to real-world objects. Instead, meaning arises from differences between signs within the language system. The word hut carries its meaning only because it is different from words like house, shed, or mansion. A sign’s identity depends on what it is not, rather than on what it directly names.

This principle is clear in examples like the 8:25 Geneva–Paris train. Even if the locomotive, coaches, or staff change each day, we still recognise it as the same train because of its position in the schedule, its difference from the 7:25 or 9:25 trains. Similarly, the letter t can be written in many ways, yet it keeps its identity as long as it is distinct from letters like l, f, or i. What matters is not the substance of the sign but its relational value within the system.

Binary Oppositions

According to Saussure, language is structured through contrasts between signs. Meaning depends on these oppositions, such as day/night or good/bad. Even simple words like cat gain their identity because they are different from bat, cut, or cot. Binary oppositions form the backbone of how language organises meaning. They show that signs do not exist in isolation but always in relation to others.

Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Relations

Saussure identified two axes of linguistic relations: syntagmatic and paradigmatic.

The syntagmatic axis is the horizontal combination of words in a sequence. For example, in the sentence ‘The cat plays with a ball,’ meaning builds as the words are combined in order. Adding more words, such as in the garden or before dinner, extends the chain and adds further meaning. The paradigmatic axis is the vertical selection of alternatives at each position in a sentence. For instance, replacing ball with mouse changes the meaning entirely. Similarly, calling someone a ‘terrorist’ versus a ‘freedom fighter’ alters the sentence’s political significance without changing its grammar. Together, these axes show how meaning is generated internally within the language system, rather than by referring to an external reality.

Language and Reality

Perhaps Saussure’s most profound contribution was his claim that language does not simply reflect reality, it constructs it. Signs exist only as differences within the system, and there are “no ideas or sounds that preexist the linguistic system.” Words create categories that shape how we perceive the world: colors are divided into named segments of a spectrum, and time is broken into days, months, and seasons.

Because meaning is relational and constructed, language has the power to reshape reality itself. A shift in words, such as substituting terrorist with freedom fighter, creates an entirely new understanding of the same event. Thus, language is not a passive tool but an active structure that organizes experience.

Influence and Legacy

Saussure’s theories reshaped not only linguistics but also anthropology, cultural studies, and literary criticism. Anthropologists like Claude Lévi-Strauss and Mary Douglas used structuralist principles to analyze cultural practices as systems of binary opposition. Roland Barthes extended Saussure’s semiotics to popular culture, interpreting advertisements, fashion, and even food as systems of signs. In literary studies, structuralist critics sought to bring rigor and objectivity by treating texts as systems of functions and structures. Vladimir Propp, for example, developed a structural model of folktales based on recurring narrative functions.

Saussure also opened the way for poststructuralist critiques. Thinkers like Jacques Derrida questioned whether structures had stable centers at all, pointing out that meaning could endlessly shift through processes of “deconstruction.”

Conclusion

Ferdinand de Saussure’s vision of language as a structured system of signs revolutionized modern thought. By distinguishing between langue and parole, defining the sign as a union of signifier and signified, emphasizing arbitrariness, and demonstrating that meaning arises through difference, he provided the foundation for semiotics. His insights revealed that language does not merely represent reality but actively constructs it, a realization that continues to shape the humanities and social sciences today.