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Ferdinand deSaussure (pronounced [fÉ›Êdi'nɑ̃ dÉ™ so'syÊ]) (November 26, 1857 – February 22, 1913) was a Geneva-born Swiss linguist whose ideas laid the foundation for many of the significant developments in linguistics in the 20th century.
However, their expansive interpretations of Saussure's theories, which contained ambiguities to begin with, and their application of those theories to non-linguistic fields of study such as sociology or anthropology, led to theoretical difficulties and proclamations of the end of structuralism in those disciplines.
DeSaussure betoogde dat de taalkunde la langue als onderzoeksterrein moest nemen en dus niet het taalgebruik, of het laatste tenminste steeds in verhouding tot het tekensysteem, dat symbolisch en dus volkomen arbitrair is.
Saussure legde de basis voor de moderne structuralistische taalkunde, en vond, althans wat zijn conceptuele voorstelling van de taal betrof, veel navolging in zowel functionele als generativistische hoek.