And human language uses this amazing trick described by Ferdinand de Saussure, the great linguist, as "The arbitrariness of the sign."

人类语言使用这些,被语言学家费迪南德·德·索绪尔,称之为"符号任意性"的神奇把戏

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The signs are both arbitrary and differential.

符号具有任意性和差异性。

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And what this means is we can use --take any arbitrary idea in the world, the idea of a chair or a story or a country, and make a sound or a sign to connect to it.

符号任意性是指,我们可以拿来世间任何想法,比如椅子,故事,或是国家,再发明一种声音或符号来与之相联系

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