Chapter 2 The Beginning of Modern Linguistics

2.1 A Brief Introduction to Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) was a Swiss linguist who occupies an important place in the history of linguistics. He was the pivotal figure in the transition from the 19th to 20th century, and is generally considered the founder of modern linguistics.

He was born in Geneva, on December 26, 1857, Switzerland. By age 15, he had learned Greek, French, German, English, and Latin. He began his education at the University of Geneva, studying physics and chemistry from 1875 to 1876. He went to Leipzig in 1876 to study linguistics.

Saussure published a book entitled Dissertation on the Primitive Vowel System in Indo-European Languages in 1878.

He wrote his doctoral thesis On the Genitive Absolute in Sanskrit in Berlin in 1879. He returned to Leipzig and was awarded his doctorate in 1880. He taught in Paris for 11 years (1881-1891) before returning to Geneva in 1891.

He lectured on Sanskrit and Indo-European at the University of Geneva from 1891 to 1907. Saussure began teaching the course of general linguistics in 1907 (1907-1911). He died in 1913 in Australia.