Introduction, general principles and synchronic linguistics

This chapter is a guide through the first half of the Course in General Linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), the founding document of modern linguistics. It explains how the text was assembled posthumously by two of Saussure's colleagues, based on the course which he gave three times at the University of Geneva between 1907 and 1911. In some cases Saussure's views altered over those years, and the chapter clarifies the confusions which this creates. Also explained are the sometimes confusing figures and diagrams contained in this part of the book, which have been hugely influential, but also much misunderstood.