【正确答案】Saussure was the first to notice the complexities of language. He believed that language is a system of signs. To communicate ideas, signs must be part of a system of signs, called conventions. He held that the sign is the union of a form (signifier) and an idea (signified), and it is the central fact of language.
By providing answers to questions concerning many aspects of language, Saussure made clear the object of study for linguistics as a science. His ideas on the arbitrary nature of sign, on the relational nature of linguistic units, on the distinction of langue and parole and of synchronic and diachronic linguistics, etc. pushed linguistics into a brand new stage.

【答案解析】[解析] 此题考查的是对现代语言学之父——索绪尔的了解。我们之所以把索绪尔看作现代语言学之父，是因为他是第一个注意到语言的复杂性的语言学家。他认为语言是一个符号系统。为了交流思想，符号必须是整个符号系统的一部分，即“惯例”。他指出符号是形式(能指)和意义(所指)的结合，是语言的核心事实。通过回答与语言多方面相关的文体，索绪尔明确了语言作为一门科学所要研究的对象。他关于符号的任意性和语言单位的相关性的思想，以及对“语言”和“言语”、“历时”和“共时”的区分等等，把语言学推进到一个崭新的阶段。