Because of the wide range of ‘structuralisms’, it would be erroneous to refer to a single structuralist tradition in linguistics, and in order to be properly understood, both the European and American structuralist traditions in linguistics have partly to be assessed historically (cf. Christmann 1958-1961; Albrecht 2000; Matthews 2001). After outlining the general principles of structuralism as originally conceived in Europe, this essay focuses on its immediate source, Saussure’s CLG, the general principles of European structuralism being chiefly related to various interpretations of this work. It further discusses some of the most important European and American traditions in structural linguistics. Elaborating on this discussion, the central claims of structuralism in relation to four linguistic sub-disciplines are reviewed. Finally, the essay focuses, by way of example, on the attempts of two major figures of modern structural linguistics – R. Jakobson and E. Coseriu – to overcome the limits of structuralism while still subscribing to some of its tenets.