Saussurean Perception: Between Previous Reduction And Original Innovation The Linguistic Unit In Arabic Reception As A Model

Abstract

The principles laid out by Ferdinand de Saussure in his book "Cours de Linguistique Générale" marked a pivotal epistemological and methodological shift in the history of linguistics. His concepts and terminologies dominated the scientific landscape and became the cornerstone for all linguistic sciences. However, with the discovery of his new manuscripts in 1996—written in his own handwriting—some of these concepts began to diverge from their previously established interpretations. Notably, this includes the concept of the linguistic sign, its characteristics, and its relationship to reality and thought. 

Building on the writings of Arab linguists regarding these manuscripts, this article seeks to examine the key conceptual differences related to linguistic semantics between Saussure's thought, as understood by his students, and his thought as it emerges from his manuscripts. The goal is to understand the extent of his intellectual diversity that was previously reduced.