Saussurean semiotics

Saussurean semiotics is the study of how signs and meanings function in language. It explains that language is made up of signs, each consisting of a 'signifier' (the sound or written form) and a 'signified' (the concept or meaning). These signs are interconnected through social conventions, meaning that words don’t have inherent meanings but derive significance from their differences and relationships within a language system. Essentially, Saussure viewed language as a network of signs where meaning is created through differences, not by referencing an external reality.