ABSTRACT
Saussure calls into question the distinction that traditional grammarians have made between morphology, syntax and lexis. In Saussure's conception, the study of morphology, syntax and lexis are not separate studies; instead, they refer to different levels of organization and their corresponding units and structures in one unified object of study: viz. the grammatical system of a given language. This is more than simply an argument against a fragmented study of language form and function. It follows logically from Saussure's social-semiological conception of the linguistic sign. Morphemes, words, phrases, sentences and so on are constitutive units and levels in the grammar of some types of languages. They are all signs, or sign types, of varying size and complexity.
