Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist, whose innovative ideas paved the way for numerous key developments in modern linguistic theory. Saussure's theories allowed linguists to analyze language synchronically, as a complete system at any given point ... ...

• Word Count: 862
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , listening, reading and writing. Furthermore, thought is central and language is a symbolic system that we use to refer in various ways to what we think."" Robert Lado Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, was one of the founders of modern linguistics. He established the structural study of language, emphasizing the arbitrary relationship of the linguistic sign to that which it signifies. Saussure ... ...

• Word Count: 1928
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate