Abstract
The book is a monographic study of the life and work of Émile Benveniste (1902-1977) through the concept of meaning (sens). Using the methodology of K.
Kœrner, it examines the theoretical foundations of Benveniste's thought in the schools of Paris (A. Meillet and M.
Bréal), Prague (R. Jakobson and V.
Skalička) and Copenhagen (texts around 1939). It treats Benveniste's concept of the linguistics of discours, together with the concepts of "semiotics and semantics"/"the semiotical and the semantical" (le/la sémiotique, sémantique), "enunciation" (énonciation), "appropriation" (appropriation) and "hierarchy of systems", as the place where the meaning is born.
Two meanings of "meaning" are distinguished, and the problems that arise from their confusion are highlighted. Manuscript and archive sources are used to show the influence of L.
Hjelmslev, R. Jakobson, J.L.
Austin, Ch. S.
Peirce and V. Skalička on Benveniste.
The reflection of identity in time in French thought is the point of departure for a study of the affinities between Émile Benveniste and Jacques Derrida during the 1960s, especially concerning the concept of écriture. A short study of Benveniste's importance for the "structural analysis of the narration" (namely, R.
Barthes and T. Todorov) is used to underline the importance of Émile Benveniste in the history of French structuralism.