O “fator tempo” como eixo da teorização saussuriana sobre a língua

Abstract

The reflection on the “Time factor” is constant in Saussure's theorizing. At various points in his theoretical career, the Genevan linguist insists on the fact that Time alters language and asks himself about the implications of this incontestable fact for linguistics. Such elaborations can be found both in the Course of General Linguistics, a posthumous work published in 1916, and in the manuscript sources. These manuscripts, in particular, reveal that the concern of the Genevan linguist/professor in relation to the “Time factor” arises long before the three courses in general linguistics taught by Saussure in Geneva in the period 1907-1911, courses which, as it is too much. known, gave rise to the book that was published in their name. The consequences of this reflection are also well known: the formulation of the conceptual pair synchrony/diachrony and the consequent bifurcation of linguistics into synchronic and diachronic. These concepts, together with those of language and speech, established themselves as guiding principles of linguistics, causing a theoretical-methodological revolution in the area. However, due to a vulgarization of Saussurean thought, it is common to have a reductionism of Saussurean notions of synchrony and diachrony, sometimes understood only as a necessary methodological choice. Based on this assumption, the main objective of this thesis is to investigate the theoretical consequences of the incidence of the “Time factor” on Saussurean theorizing about language. We start from the hypothesis that the "Time factor" operates as the axis of this theorization: by constantly questioning himself about the nature of language, Saussure summons Time as an "absolute principle" that acts not Only for the delimitation of langue, but also for the establishment of theoretical and methodological principles in which it is possible to elect it as the linguistic object. From this perspective, we assume with Chiss (1978) that, by naming the concepts of synchrony and diachrony, Saussure establishes more than a methodological operation; it is above all a fundamental epistemological operation for linguistic science. In order to fulfill our objective, we sought to approach Saussure's classes in Geneva, as we understand that teaching event was crucial for his theoretical elaboration about the relationship between the “Time factor” and language. How this teaching was interpreted and materialized later in the CLG is also an importante question, as it bears witness to the repercussions and theoretical potential of Saussure's last lessons. For this reason, the corpus of this research is composed of two unique moments of his performance: the preparatory notes for the series of three Lectures given by the Genevan at the University of Geneva (1891), which mark his return to his homeland and inaugurate his teaching at this institution, and by Constantin's notebooks relating to the III Course (1910- 1911) in comparison with Saussure's preparatory notes for this course and with the CLG (1916), that is, his final classes on general linguistics.