The four dichotomies by Saussure

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Posthumously his work was printed
And dichotomies he formed four
Each of them differed
Yet never were they a bore

His first was Sign, the Signifier and the Signified
It spoke about the concept behind the speaker’s eyes
While the signifier encoded in a form of communication
The receiver understood in tandem realization

The swiss linguist then continued to his second
Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic, two ways to form structures
The first substituting word classes in kind
While the latter continues with combinations in mind

The third, his students said were Parole and Langue
Where Parole spoke in phrases and clauses,
Formed from the concept, that was Langue
A whole formed by its parts, together as one.

The final dichotomy, Ferdinand De Saussure concluded,
Was Synchronic and Diachronic– something quite philosophical
As the first focused on language at a single bubble
Its so-called counterpart compared and acted historical

Hence, dichotomies he formed four
Each with either a friend or a foe
Yet each formed a rule
And each pair was dual.

Ferdinand De saussure Where stories live. Discover now