A Study on the Relationship between Linguistic and Social Structures in Émile Benveniste's Study of Indo-European Languages

This study examined the semiotic relationship between language and society in Émile Benveniste's study of Indo-European languages and attempted to determine its meaning. For this purpose, the study examined the nature of the theoretical relationship between language and society as proposed by Benveniste from the perspective of general linguistics. It then analyzed the relationship between linguistic structures and social structures as observed in Benveniste's study of vocabulary related to Indo-European society and institutions, especially his etymological analysis of "gift." By doing so, this study explored a unique argument set forth by Benveniste's linguistics, that is, his theoretical position that language is the "interpretant" of society and that it encompasses society. Moreover, this study demonstrated that the two main branches of Benveniste's studies, namely historical and comparative linguistics and general linguistics, are not separate from each other in his theoretical discussions but are rather closely connected and complementary to each other in his view on language.