Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends with the life of society, and the latter, inert by nature, is a prime conservative force. — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
Nearly all institutions, it might be said, are based on signs, but these signs do not directly evoke things. — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
In general, the philological movement opened up countless sources relevant to linguistic issues, treating them in quite a different spirit from traditional grammar; for… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
The ultimate law of language is, dare we say, that nothing can ever reside in a single term. This is a direct consequence of the fact that linguistic signs are unrelated to what they designate and that, therefore, 'a' cannot designate anything without the the aid of 'b' and vice versa, or, in other words, that both have value only… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share
It is useful to the historian, among others, to be able to see the commonest forms of different phenomena, whether phonetic, morphological or other,… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
It is only since linguistics has become more aware of its object of study, i.e. perceives the whole extent of it, that it is… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
A language presupposes that all the individual users possess the organs. — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends with the life of society, and the latter, inert by nature, is… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
The business, task or object of the scientific study of languages will if possible be 1) to trace the history of all known languages.… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
The first of these phases is that of grammar, invented by the Greeks and carried on unchanged by the French. It never had any… — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise. — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth. — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law — Ferdinand de Saussure Copy Share Image
