The present, third edition is published in a significantly expanded form. Both the first and especially the second parts are expanded. The first part additionally includes the work of V. Humboldt, first translated into Russian, "On the Comparative Study of Languages ​ ​ in Relation to Different Eras of Their Development," which allows a more complete presentation of the philosophy of language of the founder of general linguistics; extraction from the works of one of the most prominent representatives of the psychological trend in linguistics - Wilhelm Wundt; a number of new sections from F. de Saussure's book "The Course of General Linguistics," as a result of which it is presented in all its most significant aspects; article by E. Benveniste, which allows you to trace the evolution of theoretical principles of sociological direction.