ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Moscow linguistic circle

Alright kiddo, let's talk about the Moscow Linguistic Circle. It was a fancy group of people who really loved studying language and how people use it. They used big words like "semiotics" and "functionalism" but don't worry, we'll explain it all!

Imagine you and your friends are playing with blocks. Each of you has a different block and you all say what it is. One person has a blue square, another has a red triangle, and someone else has a green circle.

The Moscow Linguistic Circle studied how we use words to understand each other. They tried to understand how different words and signs create meaning. Like, how do you know a blue square is different from a green circle? It all has to do with how we understand and use signs.

The Moscow Linguistic Circle believed that language is not just a bunch of words, but a system of symbols that we use to communicate. They thought that every word had a meaning that was connected to the other words around it. They studied how people used language to interact with each other because they believed this was a key to understanding how people think and understand the world.

To sum it up, the Moscow Linguistic Circle were a group of smart people who studied how we use language to communicate and understand each other. They believed that language is more than just words but a system of symbols that we use to connect with each other.