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  Introduction Some scholars believe there is a common thread running through the entire Western philosophical tradition, enabling them to group together under the heading "The Concept of the Sign" terms as disparate as the Aristotelian σύμβολον (symbol) or σημείον (sign), the Augustinian signum, and the Saussurean signe (Derrida, 1997; Derrida 1981). This assumption may not hold water, but even if we acknowledge some commonalities among these three concepts that could justify their categorization together, we must ask: How central is 'the concept of the sign' to Saussurean linguistics? If the concept of the sign is not central or differs from the tradition, should we still include it in the epoch of the logos?" With these questions in mind, we now turn our attention to surviving materials associated with each thinker to explore the theoretical underpinnings and historical implications of the concept of the sign within their respective philosophical or ling...

Introduction In "Of Grammatology," Jacques Derrida highlights Ferdinand de Saussure's preference for phonetic writing over systems like pictographic writing. Derrida finds this problematic as it implies a prioritization of speech over writing. This observation prompts a deeper exploration of Saussure's interest in phonetic writing, particularly regarding the ancient Greek alphabet. One reason for his interest could be its efficiency. Phonetic writing systems use a small set of characters (around 26 in English) to represent language sounds. This allows for easier learning and more efficient communication and literacy, as these symbols can be combined in various ways to represent a vast vocabulary. In contrast, pictographic systems require a unique symbol for each word or concept, resulting in a large number of symbols that must be memorized, making literacy more complex and time-consuming. Another rationale is found in Saussure's synchronic approach to languag...