Saussure, 9/11

Sign. 

Blog.

Value.

Phonic. 

Relative.

Impossible. 

The random words above have no purpose. Right? They're just words. Words without support. Kind of like a guy (or girl) who broke his/her leg and has no crutches. A bad situation, in other words. 

Saussure discusses words and thoughts in similar terms. He speaks in terms of value. He puts value into the creation of language in a way that is not generally thought of. Maybe you think about it that way, but I don't analyze the linking of thoughts into a process and that process into words and those words into a language only a daily basis or every time I speak. Not even once a day. Because really, in today's age, do we stop and think of the value and purpose of words? Or do we butcher them into slang? Then again, can we say butchering? Don't words and languages evolve with every generation and over time?

Saussure refers to language as an art form. He mentions the way "their combination produces a form, not a substance." (Easthope and McGowan, 6) Language is the way we communicate, the essential factor to human life that would otherwise be vague and listless. Language is the spice of life in a way. 

So in today's world, through the development of the English language into what he have now, from 'proper' English to the slang that we use on a daily basis, can we really consider slang as butchered language? What would Saussure have to say about that? 

He hints at language and its development with ideas of modernity. There is a constant schizophrenic back and forth that occurs in thoughts which are then miraculously translated into language through the human brain. This language is understandable, but as humans, sometimes we have issues getting our thoughts across. Thus, Saussure describes it as an art. It's an ongoing process that changes and develops over time while hanging onto the foundation of what it has been developed upon. Sound familiar? (Marx and Nietzsche think so too.) 

Language seems to be rooted in ideas of modernity. It is a development of ideas that has changed and progressed (or regressed depending on who you're talking to) into what we have at this current, modern moment. Somewhat like paint being smeared onto a canvas in different ways. 

Simply put, that means I'm an artist. You're an artist. We're all artists. So next time you open your mouth to say something or write it down, think about it. You're illustrating an ever-changing art to the world even if you simply say: "Hey, how are you?"