A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas...
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law
Interpretation
What this quote means
Language, like all things, evolves over time influenced by cultural and societal changes.
In this quote, Ferdinand De Saussure asserts that change is an inherent aspect of existence, and language is no exception to this rule. Just as other elements of life adapt and transform, so too does the way we communicate, reflecting shifts in society, technology, and shared human experience.
Themes
LanguageChangeSocietyEvolutionCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the evolution of English, one might quote, 'Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law.'
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.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
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
Speech has both an individual and a social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
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