The Problem of Linguistic Unit Extraction in Structuralist Linguistics

Structuralist linguistics refers to the linguistic theory research represented by and influenced by the theory of Ferdinand de Saussure in the 20th century. In 1916, Saussure's Course in General Linguistics was published, marking the birth of structuralist linguistics.

The outstanding features of Saussure's linguistic theory are: a strict distinction between language and speech, and a clear definition of the object of linguistic research; In contrast to historical comparative linguistics, structuralist linguistics attaches great importance to the study of synchronic language (i.e., spoken language), with a special emphasis on analyzing and describing the structural support of language. Never look at linguistic elements in isolation, thinking that everything about language is based on relationships.

In the first half of the 20th century, structuralist linguistics became the mainstream of linguistics, and although its various schools of thought had different views on some specific issues, their basic views were the same, that is, that language was a complete system of symbols, with a hierarchical formal structure; In describing the various levels of linguistic structure, special attention is paid to the analysis of various opposing components. This view strongly influences other sectors of the humanities, such as economics, anthropology, sociology, etc.

If cultural linguistics adopts an interdisciplinary orientation and engages in the interpenetration and reflection of linguistics and other disciplines, then it is complementary to structural linguistics. Structural linguistics is the study of language ontology, and cultural linguistics is the applied study of language. Structural linguistics is the mainstream research, and cultural linguistics is a subordinate and marginal research. If cultural linguistics adopts the orientation of language ontology research, and is engaged in excavating the humanistic nature of language in the context of culture, and thus observing the performance of language states and laws, then it and structural linguistics are disciplines that study language ontology with two different research paradigms.

Structuralist linguistics believes that language itself is a system, and the various elements within the system influence each other, and the system is self-sufficient. The representative figure is Saussure, who distinguishes between synchronic and diachronic, speech and language, signifier and signified. After him, there were linguists such as Sapir, Bloomfield, and so on.

1. The Prague School of Phonemes: also known as the "Structural-Functional School" or "Functional School", which mainly studies phonetics (mainly phonemics). Its pioneer was Matthewus, and its members mainly include Jakobson, Trubetskoy, Haval Anek, etc.

Founded in 1926, the centre of activity is the Prague Linguistic Society. They emphasize the function of the components within the language, emphasize the contrast of the components of the language, and form a general pattern or system through contrast. Breakthroughs have been made in the theory of phonemes and phonemic distinguishing features, and attention has also been paid to the application of the principle of functional attention to the explanation of syntax and article structure.

2. The Copenhagen School of Philology: also known as the Danish School. This school of thought mainly studies the symbolic nature of language, determines the position of language in the humanities from the perspective of symbols, analyzes language from the aspects of form and substance, and gives a more rigorous and accurate analysis of the essence of language, so as to form a rigorous system of synthetic theory.

The founders were mainly Brondal, Urdal and Yermslev. It was marked by the founding of the Copenhagen Linguistic Society in 1931. The problem of linguistics is reduced to a structural problem, that is, the problem of the form of language, and it is believed that language is only a symbol composed of a form of content and expression; In the formal description of language, he paid attention to the computability and precision of language, which had an important impact on the later study of pure theoretical language in Europe and the United States.

3. The American School of Structural Linguistics: It is known for its formal descriptions oriented to linguistic materials and focusing on linguistic structure. The pioneer of this school of thought was Baus, the representative of Bloomfield, whose Theory of Language was the founding work of American structuralist linguistics.

It is the most influential school of structuralist linguistics, and it has also become the American descriptive linguistic school, which is a linguistic school gradually formed by American scholars in the 20s of the 20th century on the basis of the investigation of American Indian languages. They attach importance to spoken language, re-recording the actual language and emphasizing synchronic description, pay attention to formal analysis, and even some reject the meaning of language, in structural analysis, mainly to study the distribution and use alternative methods, often using direct component analysis to analyze the structural level, they pay attention to distribution in the description, and on the basis of which the language units are segmented, classified and combined, and the morpheme phonemic concept of the combination of phonetics and grammar is reconstructed. They had a great influence on later generations.

The phenomenon of synchronic language is the only reality that language users can access, and synchronic linguistics is more important than historical linguistics.

Saussure's doctrine sparked a wave of structural ideas in the 20th century, which gave rise to the school of structural ideas in the field of linguistics. Before the Second World War, the Prague School, the Copenhagen School, and the American School of Descriptive Linguistics emerged in the twenties and thirties; After the war, in the fifties and sixties, the London School, the Paris School, the Neo-Moscow School appeared. They are all based on Saussure's linguistic thought, which develops Saussure's thought and expands Saussure's theory in the specific six departments of linguistics or linguistic analysis methods.

Therefore, later generations called Saussure the originator of structuralism.

The people you know only have a sense of significance to you when you are still conscious.

It doesn't matter to you if you die, but for society, it will have a subtle impact because you are a member of society. All the reinforced concrete of the building, if you knock out a brick, it will definitely make the house vibrate subtly, and the bricks around it before you knock the hole have a very important meaning to this brick, as follows, without it, the brick will not fall?

Therefore, all things have a connected and withered system.

When it comes to argumentation, I still like to give examples to find out the truth, and some philosophers or ancients or celebrities say famous sentences that are not necessarily true. You say not?