1. Fedinand de Saussure
Structural linguistics in Europe was initiated with the publication of Cours de Linguistique Générale of the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857- 1913). The book was edited and published by his students in 1916. It presents a series of lectures that Saussure gave in Geneva. It was a novelty in linguistic thinking during the 1920s and 1930s. Despite being originally a comparative philologist himself, Ferdinand de Saussure is considered the founder of structuralism. Saussure’s work was principally non-historical and descriptive. This linguist is well distinguished for his view of language and for his dual concepts presented in the form of dichotomies, which have become a tradition when discussing Saussure’s theory.