A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas...
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Speech has both an individual and a social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Speech is inherently both personal and social; one influences the other.
Ferdinand De Saussure highlights the dual nature of speech, emphasizing that it cannot be fully understood in isolation from its social context. This interplay suggests that our individual expressions are shaped by societal norms, and conversely, the social fabric is woven through individual contributions to language and communication.
Themes
SpeechCommunicationSocialIndividualLanguage
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar on linguistics, to illustrate the interconnectedness of personal expression and societal influence.
More from Ferdinand De Saussure
All quotes βLinguistics will have to recognise laws operating universally in language, and in a strictly rational manner, separating general phenomena from those restricted to one branch of languages or another.
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Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.
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Any psychology of sign systems will be part of social psychology - that is to say, will be exclusively social; it will involve the same psychology as is applicable in the case of languages.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
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