Course in General Linguistics (Open Court Classics),   ISBN:9780812690231

Customer Rating: 

What is there to say about Ferdinand de Saussure's most important work that I could possibly say in a short Amazon review? This is a foundational work of incredible importance. If you're looking at this listing, I probably don't need to sell you on the book itself.

My comments strictly pertain to this particular edition (ISBN 978-1443253352 - Philosophical Library publishing) because I found it very disappointing. I assumed that because the publishing date was later, there had been some improvement to the translation, a new critical introduction, or some other such feature. There are no such features to be found. You get Saussure's text and that's it.

The real outrage is in the incredibly poor printing. Much of the book looks like it's actually a photo-copy. In fact, a number of pages have blemishes on the text, as if there was a hair between the page and Xerox machine. It literally looks like this edition was photo-copied from a previous edition. I've never seen anything like it.

My advice is to avoid this edition and buy one of the earlier, more inexpensive ones. You're certainly not getting any additional quality for the increased price. This will be the last title I purchase from Philosophical Library Publishers.

Fredinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics - FIVE Stars
This edition - ZERO Stars

Customer Rating: 

Ferdinand de Saussure's work in linguistics was a conceptual breakthrough in that he broke with the comparative approach of traditional philology. Saussure argues against the study of mere semantics and phonology and locates the object of linguistic study as the structure of sign and signification. Although there is a failure to truly resolve the problem of the linguistic unit, Saussure still makes brilliant conceptual breakthroughs regarding the synchronic-diachronic distinction. Although much of the content of this course is no longer accepted my contemporary linguists, this text is still a landmark in that it would later prove to be crucially important to the achievements of structural anthropology, philosophy, and literary theory.

Customer Rating: 

Fundamental text in Linguistics and semiotic theory. Good edition - cheap and easy to read.

Customer Rating: 

It's a classic and every teacher needs one. I was very glad to get this very nice copy quickly and cheaply. Thank you.

Customer Rating: 

This text marks the beginnings of modern linguistics, and is a must for any linguistic bookshelf. This text is, surprisingly, somewhat difficult to find in bookstores, so I was happy to find this affordable copy at Amazon. I recommend this book, along with Bloomfield's Language, to anyone interested in the structuralist foundations of contemporary linguistics.