This document discusses the history and relationship between structural linguistics, formal semantics, and the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure. It summarizes that structural linguistics began with de Saussure's work but his followers developed it in ways that diverged from his original rigorous scientific approach. Chomsky introduced formal grammars that increased linguistic rigor and facilitated computer applications. Montague then formalized semantics based on formal logic and possible worlds, treating meanings as sets rather than just truth values. This formal approach resolved issues with previous semantic theories.