Portal:Linguistics/Featured biography/December 2008

Ferdinand de Saussure (French pronunciation: [fɛʁdinɑ̃ soˈsyːʁ]) (November 26, 1857 – February 22, 1913) was a Geneva-born Swiss linguist whose ideas laid the foundation for many of the significant developments in linguistics in the 20th century. He is widely considered the 'father' of 20th-century linguistics.