Language, Saussure and Wittgenstein: How to Play Games with Words (Routledge History of Linguistic Thought)

Saussure as a linguist and Wittgenstein as a philosopher of language are arguably the two most important figures in the development of twentieth-century linguistic thought. By pointing out what their ideas have in common, in spite of emanating from very different intellectual sources, this study breaks new ground. Saussure as a linguist and Wittgenstein as a philosopher of language are arguably the two most important figures in the development of twentieth-century linguistic thought. This book points out what their ideas have in common, in spite of emanating from different intellectual sources, this study breaks new ground. It also raises challenging questions about the radical break which the work of Saussure and Wittgenstein provoked with traditional assumptions about the role of language in human affairs. It is a book which will be of interest to linguists, philosophers, historians, social anthropologists and students of literature An attempt to interrelate and compare the linguistics of Saussure and Wittgenstein's philosophy of language - both of whom had influence beyond their field. It also raises questions about the radical break with assumptions about the role of language that their work provoked. Saussure owed no intellectual debts to Wittgenstein, and Wittgenstein owed none to Saussure.