Language-Quotes

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Slide 1:On Language

If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world. :If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about. :Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about. Benjamin Whorf

One does not inhabit a country; one inhabits a language. That is our country, our fatherland --and no other. :One does not inhabit a country; one inhabits a language. That is our country, our fatherland --and no other. E.M. Cioran

I do not mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is an language I do not understand. :I do not mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is an language I do not understand. Sir Edward Appleton

All official institutions of language are repeating machines: school, sports, advertising, popular songs, news, all continually repeat the same structure, the same meaning, often the same words: the stereotype is a political fact, the major figure of ideology. :All official institutions of language are repeating machines: school, sports, advertising, popular songs, news, all continually repeat the same structure, the same meaning, often the same words: the stereotype is a political fact, the major figure of ideology. Roland Barthes

Because language is the carrier of ideas, it is easy to believe that it should be very little else than such a carrier. :Because language is the carrier of ideas, it is easy to believe that it should be very little else than such a carrier. Louise Bogan

There is no such thing as an ugly language. Today I hear every language as if it were the only one, and when I hear of one that is dying, it overwhelms me as though it were the death of the earth. :There is no such thing as an ugly language. Today I hear every language as if it were the only one, and when I hear of one that is dying, it overwhelms me as though it were the death of the earth. Elias Canetti

Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation. :Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation. Noam Chomsky

It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion. :It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion. Rene Daumal

The living language is like a cowpath: it is the creation of the cows themselves, who, having created it, follow it or depart from it according to their whims or their needs. From daily use, the path undergoes change. A cow is under no obligation to stay. :The living language is like a cowpath: it is the creation of the cows themselves, who, having created it, follow it or depart from it according to their whims or their needs. From daily use, the path undergoes change. A cow is under no obligation to stay. E.B. White

A mind enclosed in language is in prison. :A mind enclosed in language is in prison. Simone Weil

Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. :Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. Lily Tomlin

Language can only deal meaningfully with a special, restricted segment of reality. The rest, and it is presumably the much larger part, is silence. :Language can only deal meaningfully with a special, restricted segment of reality. The rest, and it is presumably the much larger part, is silence. George Steiner

A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas. :A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas. Ferdinand De Sausurre

Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers. :Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers. George Orwell

There is in every child a painstaking teacher, so skilful that he obtains identical results in all children in all parts of the world. The only language men ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in babyhood, when no one can teach them anything! :There is in every child a painstaking teacher, so skilful that he obtains identical results in all children in all parts of the world. The only language men ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in babyhood, when no one can teach them anything! Maria Montessori

An art whose medium is language will always show a high degree of critical creativeness, for speech is itself a critique of life: it names, it characterizes, it passes judgment, in that it creates. :An art whose medium is language will always show a high degree of critical creativeness, for speech is itself a critique of life: it names, it characterizes, it passes judgment, in that it creates. Thomas Mann

No literature is complete until the language it was written in is dead. :No literature is complete until the language it was written in is dead. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Language is a form of human reason, which has its internal logic of which man knows nothing. :Language is a form of human reason, which has its internal logic of which man knows nothing. Claude Levi Strauss

The eyes have one language everywhere. :The eyes have one language everywhere. George Herbert

Those who know nothing of foreign languages, knows nothing of their own. :Those who know nothing of foreign languages, knows nothing of their own. Wolfgang Johann Goethe

Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone. :Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone. Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is the fear, common to all English-only speakers, that the chief purpose of foreign languages is to make fun of us. Otherwise, you know, why not just come out and say it? :There is the fear, common to all English-only speakers, that the chief purpose of foreign languages is to make fun of us. Otherwise, you know, why not just come out and say it? Barbara Ehrenreich

A special kind of beauty exists which is born in language, of language, and for language. :A special kind of beauty exists which is born in language, of language, and for language. Gaston Bachelard

Everything can change, but not the language that we carry inside us, like a world more exclusive and final than one's mother's womb. :Everything can change, but not the language that we carry inside us, like a world more exclusive and final than one's mother's womb. Italo Calvino

To a teacher of languages there comes a time when the world is but a place of many words and man appears a mere talking animal not much more wonderful than a parrot. :To a teacher of languages there comes a time when the world is but a place of many words and man appears a mere talking animal not much more wonderful than a parrot. Joseph Conrad

We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native language. Language is not simply a reporting device for experience but a defining framework for it. :We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native language. Language is not simply a reporting device for experience but a defining framework for it. Benjamin Whorf

The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself. :The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself. Derek Walcott

Man, even man debased by the neocapitalism and pseudo socialism of our time, is a marvelous being because he sometimes speaks. Language is the mark, the sign, not of his fall but of his original innocence. Through the Word we may regain the lost kingdom and recover powers we possessed in the far-distant past. :Man, even man debased by the neocapitalism and pseudo socialism of our time, is a marvelous being because he sometimes speaks. Language is the mark, the sign, not of his fall but of his original innocence. Through the Word we may regain the lost kingdom and recover powers we possessed in the far-distant past. Octavio Paz

To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words. Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up even for a sentence. He is struggling against vagueness, against obscurity, against the lure of the decorative adjective, against the encroachment of Latin and Greek, and, above all, against the worn-out phrases and dead metaphors with which the language is cluttered up. :To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words. Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up even for a sentence. He is struggling against vagueness, against obscurity, against the lure of the decorative adjective, against the encroachment of Latin and Greek, and, above all, against the worn-out phrases and dead metaphors with which the language is cluttered up. George Orwell

Curiously enough, it seems to be only in describing a mode of language which does not mean what it says that one can actually say what one means. :Curiously enough, it seems to be only in describing a mode of language which does not mean what it says that one can actually say what one means. Paul De Man

Language is an archeological vehicle... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history. :Language is an archeological vehicle... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history. Russell Hoban

It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs. :It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs. Thomas Hardy

Drawing on my fine command of the language, I said nothing. :Drawing on my fine command of the language, I said nothing. Robert Benchley

To have another language is to possess a second soul. :To have another language is to possess a second soul. Charlemagne

Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking. :Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking. Sir Humphrey Davey

There is no such thing as the Queen's English. The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares! :There is no such thing as the Queen's English. The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares! Samuel Clements

I wish life was not so short, he thought. Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about. :I wish life was not so short, he thought. Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about. J.R. Tolkein

A man of genius has a right to any mode of expression. :A man of genius has a right to any mode of expression. Ezra Pound

Language is the only instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas. :Language is the only instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas. Samuel Johnson

I speak two languages. Body and English :I speak two languages. Body and English Mae West

Syllables govern the world. :Syllables govern the world. John Seldon

There was speech in their dumbness, language in their very gesture. :There was speech in their dumbness, language in their very gesture. William Shakespeare

It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English - up to fifty words used in correct context - no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese. :It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English - up to fifty words used in correct context - no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese. Carl Sagan

Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons. :Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons. Aldous Huxley

Language tethers us to the world; without it we spin like atoms. :Language tethers us to the world; without it we spin like atoms. Penelope Lively

For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it. :For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it. Ambrose Bierce

Language is a mixture of statement and evocation. :Language is a mixture of statement and evocation. Elizabeth Bowen

We are getting into semantics again. If we use words, there is a very grave danger they will be misinterpreted. :We are getting into semantics again. If we use words, there is a very grave danger they will be misinterpreted. H.R. Halderman

in every language even deafanddumbthy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorryby jing by gee by gosh by gum :in every language even deafanddumbthy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorryby jing by gee by gosh by gum e.e. cummings

And me happiest when I compose poems:Love, power, the huzza of battleare something, are much:yet a poem includes them like a poolwater and reflection. :And me happiest when I compose poems:Love, power, the huzza of battleare something, are much:yet a poem includes them like a poolwater and reflection. Irving Layton

Language is energy made visible. :Language is energy made visible. D. Deubelbeiss

If language hadn’t been possible, we’d of found another way. Nature is of necessity and knows no nos. :If language hadn’t been possible, we’d of found another way. Nature is of necessity and knows no nos. D. Deubelbeiss

Babble is one way communication. A closed bubble. :Babble is one way communication. A closed bubble. D. Deubelbeiss

In the beginning was “The Word”. Nobody knew what it meant so we decided to talk about it. :In the beginning was “The Word”. Nobody knew what it meant so we decided to talk about it. D. Deubelbeiss

Language is as much what is left out and what is left in. And in that way it is right. :Language is as much what is left out and what is left in. And in that way it is right. D. Deubelbeiss

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