This has been one of the most difficult papers for me to write to date. There are a lot of moving parts in it, and I’m still not confident I succeeded in connecting them all. Beyond that, particularly with Saussure’s work, there is a lot of controversy and drama around it, in particular with accusations that the French original was not translated well across the Channel into English. I hope that people, nonetheless, find it readable and interesting.

I gave this paper to The Wednesday Group on 28th May 2025, and it appeared in Issue 203 of The Wednesday.