Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise. — Ferdinand de Saussure
Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law — Ferdinand de Saussure
Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends — Ferdinand de Saussure
Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and — Ferdinand de Saussure
Henceforth, language studies were no longer directed merely towards correcting grammar. — Ferdinand de Saussure
Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth. — Ferdinand de Saussure
Any psychology of sign systems will be part of social psychology – that is to say — Ferdinand de Saussure
A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas. — Ferdinand de Saussure
It is useful to the historian, among others, to be able to see the commonest forms — Ferdinand de Saussure
It is only since linguistics has become more aware of its object of study, i.e. Perceives the whole extent of it — Ferdinand de Saussure
It is one of the aims of linguistics to define itself, to recognise what belongs within its domain. — Ferdinand de Saussure
In general, the philological movement opened up countless sources relevant to linguistic issues — Ferdinand de Saussure
In fact, from then on scholars engaged in a kind of game of comparing different indo-european languages — Ferdinand de Saussure
The very special place that a language occupies among institutions is undeniable — Ferdinand de Saussure
The business, task or object of the scientific study of languages will if possible be — Ferdinand de Saussure
Outside speech, the association that is made in the memory between words having something — Ferdinand de Saussure
Nearly all institutions, it might be said, are based on signs, but these signs do not directly evoke things. — Ferdinand de Saussure
Within speech, words are subject to a kind of relation that is independent of the first — Ferdinand de Saussure
Whitney wanted to eradicate the idea that in the case of a language we are dealing with a — Ferdinand de Saussure