substance (n.)

A term used in LINGUISTICS to refer to the undifferentiated raw material out of which LANGUAGE is constructed – the sound waves of speech (PHONIC SUBSTANCE), the marks of writing (GRAPHIC SUBSTANCE). ‘Substance’ is here opposed to FORM – the abstract pattern of relationships imposed on this substance by a language. In SAUSSUREAN theory, MEANING too is conceived as having substance, namely, the conceptual store of thoughts, feelings, etc., which exist independently of language. In modern linguistics, however, the term tends to be restricted to the PHONETIC and GRAPHETIC media (as in HALLIDAYAN theory, where ‘substance’ is recognized as a separate LEVEL).