Saussure, Bakhtine: L'histoire D'une évolution

Abstract

Saussure, Bakhtine: The story of an evolution is a contribution by which we pay tribute to Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 1913) on the occasion of the centenary of the publication of the Cours de linguistique générale (1916) and his reception by the Russian philosopher and linguist MikhailBakhtine (1895-1975). In this sense, we first attempt to trace the contribution of Saussure to the advent of linguistics through some of the founding theoretical elements presented in theCourse. In a second step, we mention the reception of this work by one of the thinkers most reluctant to accept some ideas from the Swiss linguist: Mikhail Bakhtine. Indeed, this philosopher, linguist, literary theorist and artesthete tackles some of the key concepts of the saussurian linguistics. This "virulent" critique is a prelude to Bakhtine’s theory (and his Circle), in which he will breathe new life into the disciplineby providing a new direction for linguistic reflection. Retracing the journey of these two linguists will allow us to tell the history of the evolution of this science and show through a conciliatory look the role that Bakhtine then plays as links in the chain of evolution of linguistics and language sciences.