What is it about?
The name of Ferdinand Saussure is associated with structural linguistics and "structuralism" more generally -- and as such is considered by most to be obsolete today. This text argues that Saussure is anything but an orthodox structuralist, and that the book published under his name, as well as the many notes that have been preserved, suggest a more complex conception of language.
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Why is it important?
Saussure's work, far from establishing a closed and finished system of linguistics, remained unfinished because of its uncompromising appreciation of the complex nature of language as what has been called a "signifying process." The notion of "signifying" remains today rich and suggestive beyond the science of linguistics, since it concerns all attempts to establish meaning - and demonstrates their constitutive and enabling limits.
Perspectives
The notion of differential signifying, which is perhaps the heart of Saussure's thought, is not limited to language or linguistic signs but can guide interpretation in a variety of fields, and indeed wherever "meaning" is in question. "Signifying" -- note the present participle -- is never complete and its actuality is defined in relation to its implementation.
Samuel Weber
Northwestern University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The future of Saussure, Semiotica, January 2017, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/sem-2017-0086.
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