--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Written forms obscure our view of…" description: "\"Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.\" — Ferdinand de Saussure" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_disguise_written-forms-obscure-our-view-of-langua_1090612.jpg" --- # Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not… ![“Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.” quote by Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_disguise_written-forms-obscure-our-view-of-langua_1090612.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_disguise_written-forms-obscure-our-view-of-langua_1090612.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ferdinand-de-saussure-19549_disguise_written-forms-obscure-our-view-of-langua_1090612.jpg) > “Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.” [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Written language hides the true nature of speech, acting more like a mask than clothing. **In simple terms:** Writing disguises speech. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between spoken and written meaning. Themes language communication representation mask disguise Mood analytical thoughtful Type linguistic philosophical When to use this quote - teaching language - translation work - literary analysis - media studies Key Concepts semiotics signifier/signified phonetics orthography Questions to Reflect On - How does writing shape thought? - Can we fully capture spoken meaning in text? A Different Perspective Written forms can limit nuance and spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disguise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends with the life of society, and the latter, inert by nature, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/of-all-social-institutions-language-is-least-amenable-to-initiative/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Feminism is not a patch; it is a whole new pattern which can only be realized by weaving a new garment, seamless from top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-marie-schneiders/feminism-is-not-a-patch-it-is-a-whole-new-pattern-which-can-only-be/) Sandra Marie Schneiders > [Humility is my table, respect is my garment, empathy is my food and curiosity is my drink. As for love, it has a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/humility-is-my-table-respect-is-my-garment-empathy-is-my-food-and/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [The conventional explanation for Jewish success, of course, is that Jews come from a literate, intellectual culture. They are famously "the people of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-conventional-explanation-for-jewish-success-of-course-is-that/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [If you want to conquer conceit, do not desire praise, laurels, nice garments, respect, favor, but like to be blamed and slandered by people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/if-you-want-to-conquer-conceit-do-not-desire-praise-laurels-nice/) [Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/) > [Remember - the fault is in the garment, certainly not the girl. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with the shape of her. Some designers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-bear-bergman/remember-the-fault-is-in-the-garment-certainly-not-the-girl-there-is/) [S. Bear Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-bear-bergman/) > [Twas a clever quibble. Here, a garment for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/twas-a-clever-quibble-here-a-garment-for-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gadadhara-pandit-dasa/as-a-person-puts-on-new-garments-giving-up-old-ones-the-soul/) Gadadhara Pandit Dasa > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“You see the same plain landscape day after day, and then one day, perhaps it's the play of light or the time of year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hay/you-see-the-same-plain-landscape-day-after-day-and-then-one-day/) [Elizabeth Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hay/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [There is surely no more unselfish person than the anthologist. For while all we others are striving to ensure our own immortality with eagerness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-surely-no-more-unselfish-person-than-the-anthologist-for/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Not simply the righteousness of our Saviour, not simply the beauty of His holiness or the graces of His character, are we to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adoniram-judson-gordon/not-simply-the-righteousness-of-our-saviour-not-simply-the-beauty-of/) [Adoniram Judson Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adoniram-judson-gordon/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) ## More by Ferdinand de Saussure > [Nearly all institutions, it might be said, are based on signs, but these signs do not directly evoke things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/nearly-all-institutions-it-might-be-said-are-based-on-signs-but-these/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [In general, the philological movement opened up countless sources relevant to linguistic issues, treating them in quite a different spirit from traditional grammar; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/in-general-the-philological-movement-opened-up-countless-sources/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [The ultimate law of language is, dare we say, that nothing can ever reside in a single term. This is a direct consequence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/the-ultimate-law-of-language-is-dare-we-say-that-nothing-can-ever/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [It is useful to the historian, among others, to be able to see the commonest forms of different phenomena, whether phonetic, morphological or other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/it-is-useful-to-the-historian-among-others-to-be-able-to-see-the/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/it-is-only-since-linguistics-has-become-more-aware-of-its-object-of/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [A language presupposes that all the individual users possess the organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/a-language-presupposes-that-all-the-individual-users-possess-the/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends with the life of society, and the latter, inert by nature, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/of-all-social-institutions-language-is-least-amenable-to-initiative/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [The business, task or object of the scientific study of languages will if possible be 1) to trace the history of all known languages.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/the-business-task-or-object-of-the-scientific-study-of-languages-will/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [The first of these phases is that of grammar, invented by the Greeks and carried on unchanged by the French. It never had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/the-first-of-these-phases-is-that-of-grammar-invented-by-the-greeks/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/everyone-left-to-his-own-devices-forms-an-idea-about-what-goes-on-in/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/time-changes-all-things-there-is-no-reason-why-language-should-escape/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Linguistics will have to recognise laws operating universally in language, and in a strictly rational manner, separating general phenomena from those restricted to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/linguistics-will-have-to-recognise-laws-operating-universally-in/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [Without language, thought is a vague, uncharted nebula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/without-language-thought-is-a-vague-uncharted-nebula/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [I’m almost never serious, and I’m always too serious. Too deep, too shallow. Too sensitive, too cold hearted. I’m like a collection of paradoxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/i-m-almost-never-serious-and-i-m-always-too-serious-too-deep-too/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/a-linguistic-system-is-a-series-of-differences-of-sound-combined-with/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) [Explore all 30 Ferdinand de Saussure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) ## More Disguise quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [I am a dork in disguise; I love doing stupid stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-j/i-am-a-dork-in-disguise-i-love-doing-stupid-stuff/) [Jessie J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-j/) > [In the indications of female poverty there can be no disguise. No woman dresses below herself from caprice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/in-the-indications-of-female-poverty-there-can-be-no-disguise-no/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [My dad's idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass, and then throw me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/my-dad-s-idea-of-punishment-was-to-dress-me-up-in-all-green-to/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [Cameras are a lifesaver for very shy people who have nowhere else to hide. Behind a lens they can disguise the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/cameras-are-a-lifesaver-for-very-shy-people-who-have-nowhere-else-to/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [What if it turns out there really are witches and vampires and werewolves living right here alongside us? After all, what better disguise could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/what-if-it-turns-out-there-really-are-witches-and-vampires-and/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/from-childhood-i-was-compelled-to-concentrate-attention-upon-myself/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [The best live among us in disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-dudek/the-best-live-among-us-in-disguise/) [Louis Dudek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-dudek/) > [Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-is-a-divinity-in-disguise-a-god-playing-the-fool/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I have found that in fiction one is freer to speak the truth, if only because in fiction the truth is not expected or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/i-have-found-that-in-fiction-one-is-freer-to-speak-the-truth-if-only/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [“He was a chameleon. 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