Le sentiment linguistique chez Saussure éd. par Gilles Siouffi (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Le sentiment linguistique chez Saussure éd. par Gilles Siouffi Amanda Dalola Siouffi, Gilles, éd. Le sentiment linguistique chez Saussure. ENS, 2021. ISBN: 979-10-362-0328-2. Pp. 190. Considered to be a key publication in French-language language sciences in 2021, Le sentiment linguistique chez Saussure focuses on Ferdinand de Saussure’s neglected ideas on linguistic feeling. The book’s aim is to revisit the centrality of—or epilinguistic concerns in—Saussure’s thought by providing conceptual, terminological, genealogical, and contextual clarifications of the issue and reassessing its place and significance in his œuvre. The volume’s six chapters discuss the Saussurean concept of linguistic feeling from various perspectives. Siouffi’s intention as an editor is not only to revisit Saussure’s developments on linguistic feeling from a philological and historical point of view but also to envision their theoretical and methodological implications for current language science research. Chapter 1 (Siouffi) aims to trace the meaning of the terms “sentiment linguistique” (linguistic feeling) and “sentiment de la langue” (feeling for language) as first introduced by de Saussure, which he does by examining the usage of “sentiment de la langue” and the German “Sprachgefühl.” He closes by explaining how Saussure’s approach to linguistic analysis renewed the use of these expressions, especially with regard to synchronic analysis. Chapter 2 (Nyckees) delves into Saussure’s concept of linguistic feeling by noting that Saussure does not provide a strict definition of the concept, but instead equates it relatively with language and the speaking subject. Nyckees emphasizes the quasi-objective and involuntary nature of Saussure’s linguistic feeling, a perception of largely mechanical and unconscious relationships. Chapter 3 (Courbon) questions whether it is possible to conceptualize linguistic feeling based on the limited terms that Saussure provided. He argues that accepting the subjective nature of language and the speaking subject is necessary. Courbon suggests that the figure of the “linguistic subject” should be interrogated to integrate the social dimension of language, leading to the position of an “être-en-langue” (being-in-language). Chapter 4 (Fadda) takes a less strictly linguistic approach to the notion of linguistic sentiment, instead exploring its normative and moral dimensions from a philosophical and anthropological perspective. Examining linguistic sentiment’s historical and social roots, Fadda argues that the disposition that governs the speaker’s relationship to language cannot be fully understood without reference to will. Chapter 5 (Depecker) revisits Saussure’s question of how to approach the conscious or unconscious will behind linguistic facts by examining the material from the course that was not written by Saussure. He explores the relation between the sign and the idea, which leads to a deeper examination of Saussure’s semiotics, specifically its “real” and “concrete” aspects. Chapter 6 (Monneret) differentiates between the “sentiment linguistique” and the “sentiment de la langue,” and concludes by questioning whether the goal should be to develop the concept of the linguistic [End Page 266] sentiment or whether the intermediate stage of the “sentiment linguistique” reveals the most potential. The cohesion of this volume is both resounding and effective, with individual contributions providing a consistent whole that offers an encompassing overview of the issue at stake. As such, this title will delight formalists, sociolinguists, diachronists, and linguists of all stripes. [End Page 267] Amanda Dalola University of Minnesota Copyright © 2023 American Association of Teachers of French