Saussure Chapter IV

• He broke down the "formula" of language: a combination of both idea+sound and signifier+signified
  • signifier - what we see/hear
  • signified - the meaning or connection to the idea

> EXAMPLE: Water and air are 2 separate things, but are connected through language

• Language is not a "thing," but a relation
• This idea (idea/sound = signifier/signified) is a system of relations
• You only know what something is based on its relation to other things
  • the thing itself means nothing

> EXAMPLE: You know a nickel is a nickel bc it is neither a quarter nor a penny, etc

• We add value to objects through connotation

> EXAMPLE: A red rose brings forth ideas of passion and romance

• Connotations can change though!

> Example: The value of a nickel has changed dramatically from when Hanley was a child. Nowadays you can't buy anything at the supermarket with only a nickel

• Language can only signify if we share a "code" (in other words, we can't communicate if we don't share this same "code," or system)
• Language requires a system of "differences without positive terms"

> EXAMPLE: A nickel is a nickel bc it is not a quarter, not a penny, not a dime, etc

The Road Not Taken

• Based on what we've discussed so far, we can gather that this poem will be about the road that is taken
• The 2 paths are exactly the same, so his choice of which road to take is "all the difference" between them
• By determining the difference, he is attempting to gain control of his decision (by placing meaning to it)