A distinction between linguistic entities and units

implications for the method in Linguistics

Abstract

This article discusses the conceptual distinction between linguistic entities and language units, having as a starting point the Cours de Linguistique Générale, by Ferdinand de Saussure. Although this distinction may seem irrelevant, it is not; on the contrary, it can contribute to change some discourses supported by Linguistics on this topic. It is important to redefine them not to take them as synonyms. Besides, rethinking misinterpretations about this book will possibly reinforce the very fact that Saussure does not expurgate the speaking subject from his reflections. Thus, making the distinction between linguistic entities and language units allows us to show that language units exist and are necessarily related to the production of speech. It is up to the subject to delimit such language units in the process of signification. In order to show the distinction between the two concepts, we analyze some manifestations of language, such as advertising, jokes, news and sayings. This analysis makes it clear how the subject delimits a concrete entity into a linguistic unit in order to demonstrate that this distinction is on the base of a linguistic method.