Form and Substance in Language: A Linguistic Analysis

Form and Substance in Language

Saussure’s Theory

Ferdinand de Saussure argued that language is a form, not a substance. The substance, or matter, is the medium that supports the form. All forms must be distinct to establish their own structure and fulfill a specific purpose, or function. This function is intrinsically linked to the form: every function requires a form, and every form serves a function. In language, we encounter these three aspects: substance (or matter), form, and function.

Hjelmslev’s Glossematics

The concepts of form and substance were further developed by Louis Hjelmslev, the Danish linguist who founded glossematics. This school of linguistics posits that both the content and the expression of language have substance. Language is the human capacity to communicate through a system of signs produced by the vocal apparatus and perceived by the ear, mediating between the external world and the brain—the center of language processing.

Language as a System of Signs

Language is a complex mechanism, and one of its components is the system of signs. This system is intricately connected to other elements involved in communication, yet distinct from them. It’s a network of relationships linking two different substances: the world of concepts, feelings, sensations, and the world of sounds. Every sign unites these two worlds, possessing two faces: the content (or meaning) and the expression (or signifier).

Example: “Today is very cold”

The word “cold” can be analyzed in terms of its form and substance. A dictionary defines “cold” by its meaning, relating it to low temperature. However, grammar focuses on the form and function of words. In the sentence “Today is very cold,” the word “cold” functions as an adjective. The commutation test, which involves substituting words within a sentence, reveals the grammatical function of “cold.” We can replace “cold” with other adjectives like “hot” or “long,” demonstrating its role in the sentence.

Phrases and Syntagmatic Relations

A phrase is a sequence of units with content and expression. The order of these units is determined by syntagmatic relations—rules of order, agreement, and arrangement. These positions are not interchangeable; each place can only be occupied by a unit belonging to a group with the same formal and functional properties. The presence of one unit excludes others from the same group. For example, “cold” excludes “hot” and “shame” in the given sentence, but all belong to a set of words that combine with “very” and agree in gender and number.

Paradigms and Morphemes

The words that can substitute for “cold” in different contexts (“hot,” “warm,” “cool,” etc.) form a paradigm. Words outside this paradigm, like “sleepy,” cannot be used in the same way. In the phrase “cold cellar,” the word “cold” agrees with the noun “cellar.” Changing the noun to “milk” requires changing “cold” to “cold,” illustrating the agreement between adjective and noun.

The word “cold” can be further analyzed into smaller units called morphemes. Grammatical morphemes express grammatical relations (like gender), while lexical morphemes (or lexemes) carry meaning. The words “cold” in the examples have different forms and functions but share the same substance (the concept of low temperature). This highlights Saussure’s point: a word is defined not by its substance, but by its form and function.

In summary, language is a complex system of forms, functions, and substances. Analyzing these elements helps us understand how meaning is created and conveyed through language.