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.
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