EBOOK Saussure

"e;In a language there are only differences without positive terms. Whether we take        the signified or the signifier, the language contains neither ideas nor sounds that        pre-exist the linguistic system, but only conceptual differences and phonic        differences issuing from this system."e; (From the posthumous Course in General        Linguistics, 1916.)No one becomes as famous as Saussure without both admirers and        detractors reducing them to a paragraph's worth of ideas that can be readily quoted,        debated, memorized, and examined. One can argue the ideas expressed above - that        language is composed of a system of acoustic oppositions (the signifier) matched by        social convention to a system of conceptual oppositions (the signified) - have in        some sense become "e;Saussure"e;, while the human being, in all his complexity, has        disappeared. In thefirst comprehensive biography of Ferdinand de Saussure, John        Joseph restores the full character and history of a man who is considered the        founder of modern linguistics and whose ideas have influenced literary theory,        philosophy, cultural studies, and virtually every other branch of humanities and        thesocial sciences.Through a far-reaching account of Saussure's life and the time in        which he lived, we learn about the history of Geneva, of Genevese educational        institutions, of linguistics, about Saussure's ancestry, about his childhood, his        education, the fortunes of his relatives, and his personal life in Paris. John        Joseph intersperses all these discussions with accounts of Saussure's research and        the courses he taught highlighting the ways in which knowing about his friendships        and family history can helpus understand not only his thoughts and ideas but also        his utter failure to publish any major work after the age of twenty-one.