Speech Circuit

Title

Speech Circuit

Description

Suppose that the opening of the circuit is in A's brain, where mental facts (concepts) are associated with representations of the linguistic sounds (sound-images) that are used for their expression. A given concept unlocks a corresponding sound-image in the brain this purely psychological phenomenon is followed in turn by a physiological process: the brain transmits an impulse corresponding to the image to the organs used in producing sounds. Then the sound waves travel from the mouth of A to the ear of B : a purely physical process. Next, the circuit continues in B, but the order is reversed: from the ear to the brain, the physiological transmission of the sound-image; in the brain, the psychological association of the image with the corresponding concept. If B then speaks, the new act will follow—from his brain to A's—exactly the same course as the first act and pass through the same successive phases.

Designer

de Saussure, Ferdinand

Date

1916

Bibliographic Citation

de Saussure, F. (1959). Course in General Linguistics. (W. Baskin, trans.). Bloomsbury. (Original work published 1916).

is depiction of attribute

Rectangle

is composed of

Circle

Arrows

has attribute

Arrow

Dash Line

Solid Line

use feature

Equal

depict things of type

Sequence or Process

Cyclical