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A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas; but the pairing of a certain number of acoustical signs with as many cuts made from the mass of thought engenders a system of values.

— Ferdinand de Saussure Cours de linguistique générale (1916)

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More quotes by Ferdinand de Saussure

Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law.

Cours de linguistique générale (1916)

Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.

Cours de linguistique générale (1916)

Without language, thought is a vague, uncharted nebula.

Cours de linguistique générale (1916)

Language is a system in which all the parts can and should be considered from the viewpoint of their synchronic interrelatedness.

Cours de linguistique générale (1916)

Speech has both an individual and a social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other.

Cours de linguistique générale (1916)

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