"The founder of modern linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure inaugurated semiology, structuralism, and deconstruction and made possible the work of Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Lacan, thus enabling the development of French feminism, gender studies, New Historicism, and postcolonialism. Based on Saussure's lectures, Course in General Linguistics (1916) traces the rise and fall of the historical linguistics in which Saussure was trained, the synchronic or structural linguistics with which he replaced it, and the new look of diachronic linguistics that followed this change. Most important, Saussure presents the principles of a new linguistic science that includes the invention of semiology, or the theory of the ""signifier,"" the ""signified,"" and the ""sign"" that they combine to produce.
This is the first critical edition of Course in General Linguistics to appear in English and restores Wade Baskin's original translation of 1959, in which the terms ""signifier"" and ""signified"" are introduced into English in this precise way. Baskin renders Saussure clearly and accessibly, allowing readers to experience his shift of the theory of reference from mimesis to performance and his expansion of poetics to include all media, including the life sciences and environmentalism. An introduction situates Saussure within the history of ideas and describes the history of scholarship that made Course in General Linguistics legendary. New endnotes enlarge Saussure's contexts to include literary criticism, cultural studies, and philosophy."
By:
Ferdinand de Saussure
Edited by:
Perry Meisel,
Haun Saussy
Translated by:
Wade Baskin,
Wade Baskin
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 23mm
Weight: 425g
ISBN: 9780231157261
ISBN 10: 0231157266
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 28 June 2011
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Editors' Preface and Acknowledgments Textual Note Introduction: Saussure and His Contexts Course in General Linguistics Translator's Introduction Preface to the First Edition Introduction Chapter I. A Glance at the History of Linguistics Chapter II. Subject Matter and Scope of Linguistics; Its Relations with Other Sciences Chapter III. The Object of Linguistics Chapter IV. Linguistics of Language and Linguists of Speaking Chapter V. Internal and External Elements of Language Chapter VI. Graphic Representation of Language Chapter VII. Phonology Appendix: Principles of Phonology Chapter I. Phonological Species Chapter II. Phonemes in the Spoken Chain Part One: General Principles Chapter I. Nature of the Linguistic Sign Chapter II. Immutability and Mutability of the Sign Chapter III. Static and Evolutionary Linguistics Part Two: Synchronic Linguistics Chapter I. Generalities Chapter II. The Concrete Entities of Language Chapter III. Identities, Realities, Values Chapter IV. Linguistic Value Chapter V. Syntagmatic and Associative Relations Chapter VI. Mechanism of Language Chapter VII. Grammar and Its Subdivisions Chapter VIII. Role of Abstract Entities in Grammar Part Three: Diachronic Linguistics Chapter I. Generalities Chapter II. Phonetic Changes Chapter III. Grammatical Consequences of Phonetic Evolution Chapter IV. Analogy Chapter V. Analogy and Evolution Chapter VI. Folk Etymology Chapter VII. Agglutination Chapter VIII. Diachronic Unites, Identities, and Realities Appendices to Parts Three and Four Part Four: Geographical Linguistics Chapter I. Concerning the Diversity of Languages Chapter II. Complication of Geographical Diversity Chapter III. Causes of Geographical Diversity Chapter IV. Spread of Linguistic Waves Part Five: Concerning Retrospective Linguistics Chapter I. The Two Perspectives of Diachronic Linguistics Chapter II. The Oldest Language at the Prototype Chapter III. Reconstructions Chapter IV. The Contribution of Language to Anthropology and Prehistory Chapter V. Language Families and Linguistic Types Errata Notes Works Cited Index
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) received his doctorate from the University of Leipzig in 1880 and lectured on ancient and modern languages in Paris until 1891. He then taught Sanskrit and Indo-European languages at the University of Geneva until the end of his life. Among his published works is Memoir on the Primitive System of Vowels in Indo-European Languages, published in 1878 when Saussure was twenty-one.Wade Baskin (1924-1974) was a professor of languages at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and translated many works from French, including books by Jean-Paul Sartre.Perry Meisel is professor of English at New York University. His books include The Myth of the Modern, The Literary Freud, and The Myth of Popular Culture.Haun Saussy is university professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago. His books include The Problem of a Chinese Aesthetic and Great Walls of Discourse.
Reviews for Course in General Linguistics
I am delighted that Wade Baskin's classic translation is back in print, especially since Saussy and Meisel's judicious updating and summary of recent scholarly discoveries make this an invaluable resource for English readers.
