Practice question · True or false
For Saussure, a word's meaning is fixed by what it is not, as much as by what it is.
Hints
- His formula is that language contains only differences without positive terms.
- The word's value depends on the neighbouring words that could have filled the slot.
Show the answer
True
Why
True. Value comes from position in a system of contrasts, which is why a word with no near-synonyms behaves differently from one that competes with three. It is also why a bilingual dictionary is misleading: two words can point at the same object while dividing the surrounding field quite differently.
Practise The Sign, the Code and the Six Functions
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More questions on The Sign, the Code and the Six Functions
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