language, langue, and parole (2)
The sign
The focus of Saussure’s investigation is the linguistic unit or sign.
The sign (signe)
is described as a "double entity", made up of the signifier, or sound image,
(signifiant), and the signified, or concept (signifié).
The sound image is a psychological, not a material concept, belonging to
the system. Both components of the linguistic sign are inseparable. One way to
appreciate this is to think of them as being like either side of a piece of
paper - one side simply cannot exist without the other.
The relationship between signifier and signified is, however, not quite
that simple. Saussure is adamant that language cannot be considered a collection
of names for a collection of objects (as where Adam is said to have named the animals).
According to Saussure, language is not a nomenclature. Indeed, the basic
insight of Saussure s thought is that denotation, the reference to objects in
some universe of discourse,
is mediated by system-internal relations of difference.