Saussure & Chomsky

The two most influential linguists of the 20th Century have been Ferdinand Saussure, who established the principles of a non-historical scientific approach to language called Structuralism, which eventually led to Semiotics, and Noam Chomsky, who conceived of Transformational Grammar, a view of grammar as a "generative" process instead of a set of external handbook rules. These links are brief biographies and introductions to their work.

Saussure (University of Colorado: Boulder) 

Semiotics for Beginners 

Noam Chomsky and Chomsky's Grammar: Encyclopedia Britannica articles (requires subscription).

Chomsky for Philosophers - Debate concerning this famous and seminal American linguist. Covers the Innateness hypothesis, government and binding theory, differences with Wittgenstein, and other topics.