If I remember my undergrad Linguistics courses correctly, and it’s been a while, Ferdinand de Saussure wasn’t the originator of defining the arbitrary linguistic relationship between the sign/signified in the West. It was Augustine, most likely via his exposure to Stoic philosophy.

Not many of Saussure’s original theories play much of a role in modern linguistics and its various branches today.

Sounds like you’re digging Nietzsche though. Curious to know how deep is your background in Cognitive Linguistics?