Notes on the Saussurian refusal to the notion of language as representation

Abstract

This article is an attempt to discuss the radical separation between the Saussurian sign and the traditional notion of linguistic sign as representation. We seek to address the issue of internal versus external dualism regarding language and two consequences of this issue: the notion of identity – which implies the speaker’s body – and the dualism event versus state of language. We then highlight issues and paradoxes in an effort to break the naturalness Saussure’s refusal to the representational conception of language has been dealt with.
Keywords: Saussure. Language. Sign. Representation. Dualism.