A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas...
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law
Interpretation
Language, like all things, evolves over time influenced by cultural and societal changes.
In this quote, Ferdinand De Saussure asserts that change is an inherent aspect of existence, and language is no exception to this rule. Just as other elements of life adapt and transform, so too does the way we communicate, reflecting shifts in society, technology, and shared human experience.
In practice
In a lecture about the evolution of English, one might quote, 'Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law.'
A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas...
Linguistics will have to recognise laws operating universally in language, and in a strictly rational manner, separating general phenomena from those restricted to one branch of languages or another.
Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.
Any psychology of sign systems will be part of social psychology - that is to say, will be exclusively social; it will involve the same psychology as is applicable in the case of languages.
Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.
Speech has both an individual and a social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other.
A significant portion of the earth's population will soon recognize, if they haven't already done so, that humanity is now faced with a stark choice: Evolve or die.
People only seriously consider change when they feel accepted for exactly who they are.
I suppose we need not go mourning the buffaloes. In the nature of things, they had to give place to better cattle, though the change might have been made without barbarous wickedness.
There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions because we aren't addressing what must be done to change the current racial climate.
The Millennium Development Goals can be met by 2015, but only if all involved break with business as usual and dramatically accelerate and scale up action now.
Even with censorship, the Internet is a force for change.
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