Ferdinand de Saussure by Jonathan Culler

​Good introduction to Saussure.

Good review on paradigmatic relations and syntagmatic relations.

Learned one important thing about Saussurian structuralism that I was not aware of:
"... the linguistic system consists of different levels of structure; at each level one can identify elements which contrast with one another and combine with other elements to form higher-level units, and the principles of structure at each level are fundamentally the same" (p.46)

Also relates his linguistic revolution to Freud and Durkheim, showing how his transformation of linguistics was a part of the development of modern thought at that time.

Culler sees the future of Saussure's legacy in semiology, a field that has not been studied adequately by linguists.

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