Linguistics: Substance and Form

Linguistics studies the nature of various languages and puts forward many theories that are based on various factors and levels. For convenience linguists divided or categorized the language into different categories.

In a language, we both have two terms "Substance and Form." These two are also the qualities of languages. All the distinguished sounds produced by human speech and organs and the scripts that were produced by humans to communicate are called Substance. It has been categorized into two parts: oral and the second is written or graphic. It is with these Substances we form languages and grammar and lexis help to organise these substances in a particular way.

On the content level substance means the whole mass of thoughts, emotions, feelings, ideas, and concepts that are different in languages or languages people use.

The Form gives a particular shape or order that becomes meaningful. It means an abstract structure or relationship that particular languages impose on that underlying Substance.

"Substance and Form" are two qualities of languages. "Substance" which is a sound or word is the only 'signifier' in Saussure's term and a "Form" which gives meaning to the substance after arranging it in a particular order is termed as 'signified.'


"Substance and Form" have a distinction between the system and actual data, between theory and the actual occurrence. By Form, we mean the various components of languages such as phonology, grammar, morphology, and syntax. And, Substance means components of the elements such as phonemes, graphemes, morphemes, etc.

More explicitly with an example:-
/p/, /t/, /k/ are Substance.
'get', 'up', and 'boy' is Form.

In other words, units of language are "Substance" and systems of language are "Form."