Ferdinand de Saussure: The Linguistic Unit — Sign, Signified and Signifier Explained
Author: Lesley Lanir
Due to his theories on the structure of language, the Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) is often known as the founder of modern linguistics.
In order to understand Saussure’s linguistic theories, you have to be able to grasp the basics of his psycho-linguistic terminology and his explanation of the nature of language units.
Understanding the basic concepts of his linguistic theory is not only essential for linguistic students, but for anyone studying semiotics, or the use of various types of signs to communicate. Semiotics is also a basic element in film theory studies.
In Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics, a book summarising his lectures at the University of Geneva from 1906 to 1911, he explained the relationship between speech and the evolution of language, investigating language as a structured system of signs.
It is important to note that Saussure perceived a linguistic unit to be a ‘double entity.’ The closest way of describing this is that it is composed of two elements. He viewed the linguistic unit as a combination of:
1. A sound-image
