What is the central idea of Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics ?
Correct answer: C. Language can be analyzed as a formal system of elements.
- A. Language is inseparable from its historical context.
- B. There are five phases of linguistic development.
- C. Language can be analyzed as a formal system of elements.
- D. Linguistics is too complicated to be distilled to a formula.Books & Literature
Explanation
Saussure treats language synchronically as a structured system of signs whose elements gain value through their differences from one another. This formal, relational approach became a foundation for structuralism.
Report an error
The more specific you are, the faster it gets fixed. A source beats an opinion.
Prefer email? [email protected]
Practise Literary Criticism
268 free Literary Criticism MCQs from English Literature, each with the correct answer and an explanation. Unlimited attempts, no account needed.
Discussion
Stuck on an option, or know a faster way to get there? Ask or explain it here.
No comments yet. Be the first to explain this one.
Exams that ask English Literature questions like this
English Literature is on 2 papers prepared for on TestUstad, and all of them draw the same bank, so this question is worth knowing for every one of them.
More Literary Criticism questions
With which theorist is the term identity thinking most closely associated ?
From whom did New Historicists draw the idea of "self-regulating systems" ?
Which theorist is most closely associated with the idea of art as imitation ?
Which of the following ideas relates to J.L. Austin's performativity theory ?
In her essay "The Laugh of the Medusa," what does Hélène Cixous suggest for women ?
Modern literary theory began with the work of which theorist ?