The Development and Influences of the Language Philosophy of Saussure

王文英

Introduction：At the beginning of last century，the focus of philosophy changed from epistemology into language，which made language become the central subject of philosophical research. Thus，structuralism appeared under this background. Ferdinand de Saussure is the main representative of structuralism. Saussure s language philosophy can be traced to Russian formalism and Prague structuralism. During the development of Saussure s language philosophy. Also it has influenced deconstructionism and contemporary linguistic study. The language philosophy of Saussure has provided theoretical basis and new perspectives for literary criticism and linguistic study.

Russian Formalism and Prague School： The Original Manifestation and Good Application of the Language Philosophy of Saussure in Literary Criticism

Russian formalism and Prague school began to focus on the form and structure of literature itself by absorbing Saussure s language philosophy，which promoted the development of literariness.

In Russian formalism，“defamiliarization” put forward by Viktor Shklovskyaims to achieve aesthetic value of literary by defamiliarizing daily language to literary language. Literary language is different from daily language for it looses the social function through defamiliarization. Therefore，literary language only has the function of signifier. Formalists illustrated the relation between form and content in literary works by inheriting Saussure s thought-signified and signifier to emphasis the leading role of form. Prague school also applied Saussure s language philosophy in literary study. They distinguished the meanings of words and grammar by studying phonological opposition in order to analyse the structure of language. Moreover，they insist to combine synchronic and diachronic ways in language study，which develops Saussure s thoughts that exclude the influence of historical environment.

Deconstructionism： The Criticism and Development of Language Philosophy of Saussure

By criticizing and deconstructing Saussure s language philosophy，Derrida put forward différance which was the main point of deconstructionism. In the first place， différance refers to the distinction between the members in sign system due to the sealing properties of the system，distinguishing activities must be broke off at a certain point. And Derrida thinks that the meaning of the sign is not only decided by the reference of other members in synchronic system，but also depends on the different applications in different speech contexts （ Zhang，2006 ）. Therefore，the static structure of sign will be challenged and changed by new speech context，which means the combination of signifier and signified may not be corresponding. Secondly，Derrida dissolves the binary opposition in Saussure s language philosophy. Signifier and signified are the main binary pair in structural linguistic of Saussure. Signified commands signifier. However，Derrida states that language is an open system in which all the elements have free play in the structure. The elements are mutually complementary. Signifier and signified could have a conversion in the system. At last，Derrida criticized on phonocentrism of Saussure by presenting “Arch-writing” to indicate the superiority of writing.

The Influence of Saussure s Language Philosophy in Contemporary Linguistic Study

As the father of modern linguistic，Saussure has made a good contribution to contemporary linguistic study. First is the influence of language and parole. Linguistic competence and linguistic performance put forward by Chomsky are based on Saussure s language philosophy that language is the object of linguistic study. Secondly，synchronic linguistic and diachronic linguistic have enriched the research methods of linguistic. Although he empathizes the significance of synchronic study，he insists the dialectical relationship between the two ways. Not only should we study language in a specific historical period，but also we should consider the evolution of language in history. Last is Saussure s concept of linguistic sign. The bond between signifier and signified is arbitrary. Hence，besides the standard language in books，oral expressions should be studied. Languages of some minority nationalities are still worthy to be studied.

Conclusion

Since 20th century，language philosophy of Saussure has developed continuously by virtue of its scientificity. Meanwhile，it has influenced some academic schools，. Also Saussure has made good contribution to finding new perspectives in contemporary study. However，Saussure s language philosophy has its disadvantages such as excessively focusing on the synchronic study of language without considering its evolution in history. In a word，Saussure s language philosophy should be inherited critically and applied reasonably.

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（作者单位：延边大学，吉林 延吉 133000）