The Writing on the Wall: A Critical Look at Derrida’s Reading of Saussure
mene, mene, tekel, parsin Introduction Ferdinand de Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics establishes key distinctions and frameworks that continue to influence the field. By focusing on the linguistic structure ( la langue ) and differentiating it from the external elements of language, Saussure sought to provide a clear object of study for linguistics, one that would encompass the diverse and multifaceted nature of language while remaining coherent and structured. His decision to exclude “writing” from his analysis, viewing it as an external element, has been a significant point of contention, particularly for Jacques Derrida in his Of Grammatology . Derrida's critique questions whether Saussure’s methodology inadvertently reinforced a speech-writing hierarchy, deeply rooted in Western thought, or if Derrida himself misinterpreted or oversimplified Saussure’s theoretical framework. This articl...