【正确答案】正确答案：Saussure believes that language is a system of signs. By saying the sentence, he means that the meaning or value of a sign depends upon its context; what precedes it, what succeeds it, and the situation in which it is read or decoded—who reads it, how they read it, when they read it, and why they read it.(2 points)In Saussure"s opinion, in order to communicate, sounds must be part of a system of conventions and part of a system of signs, which are the union of a form and an idea, which Saussure called the Signifier and the Signified. The value of a sound can only be determined by its context.(2 points)For example, the sound and the sign "pen" only refer to something you write with in the English language. In other languages, it has different meanings. That explains why signs function through their relative positions.(2 points)

【答案解析】解析：考查索绪尔关于语言符号的理论。索绪尔认为，语言是一个符号系统，这个符号是形式和思想的结合，索绪尔称之为“能指”和“所指”。他认为符号是语言的核心事实，必须放在具体的语境中才有意义。符号的功能必须要通过与其他相应的符号联系在一起才有意义。