Quotes About Language

Apricity (n.) the warmth of the sun in winter. A strange a lovely word. The OED does not give any citation for its use except for Henry Cockeram's 1623 "English Dictionarie". Not to be confused with "apricate" (to bask in the sun), although both come from the Latin "apricus", meaning exposed to the sun.

We all care about language, some of us more than others, but the degree to which one is willing to humiliate or upbraid others should not stand as an indication of how much one cares.

Except when it didn't, as in the case of names that already end in an s, such as Jones' book (a practice that is now out of style).

This almost never happens, outside of the realm of scientific terminology (which is obviously a domain populated by sadists with no regard for language).

It indicates possession for plural nouns, between the end of the plural word and the s that follows, as in children's. Except when the word ends in an s, in which case it should come at the end of the word, with no additional s added ("the books' covers").

Yepsen (n.) The amount that can be held in two hands cupped together; also, the two cupped hands themselves. A measurement that has never really caught on like the teaspoon, the yepsen also falls firmly within the category of things for which you never thought there was a word—at least, not until some interfering busybody like me came along and told you what it was. Yesterneve

The Verbalist, 1894

Among people who might be described as having at least a passing regard for the English language, there are few instances of usage that evoke a desire to mutilate more than the perceived misuse of literally.

Or we reference Winston Churchill, who was famously reported to have written "This is the kind of tedious/arrant nonsense up with which I will not put," in response to an overweening staffer having removed a preposition from some of his writing. (However, as with many quotes that are purported to have originated with the former prime minister of Great Britain, the author was someone other than Churchill).*

No one is yet using figuratively to mean literally; the confusion, such as it is, is all in one direction.

The OED, more so than any other dictionary, encompasses the entire history of the modern English language. By so doing it also encompasses all of English's glories and foibles, the grand concepts and whimsical conceits that make our language what it is today.

The whole of reality was just a vain attempt to imitate the world of words.

There is no such thing as a straight line, the sun does not go down, and it is time we updated our language. A more mesmerizing discourse I have never heard.

The other day I was playing Scrabble. I saw that I could close the space in D-E- -Y. I had an N and an F. Which do you think I chose? What was the word I made?

dangly bits,

Hammer", I finished lamely, as he waited patiently for my thoughts to find their voice, "we have got to find better words for the things we have in our hearts." "Words seem to be weak things," he murmured into my hair, and I could only hope our hearts would prove stronger.

Kimmy's got a mouth like a sailor fucking a trucker,

All books are either dreams or swords, You can cut, or you can drug, with words.

Words often outlive the people who create them.

Did he have Ruscha so he could pronounce "Ruscha"?

There is little reason to argue over who has the correct reading here. Isaiah's words will mean, and should mean, different things to different people over time. Moreover, different translations necessarily give rise to different interpretations, and translation itself is an act of interpretation.

The name Zechariah comes from the Hebrew root z-k-r, which means "remember"; the "yah" at the end is the marker for YHWH, so the name means "God remembers.

Independente de qualquer crença religiosa, o simples fato de vivermos numa nação que faz parte do Ocidente judaico-cristão já nos torna herdeiros da linguagem bíblica. Estamos impregnados de suas historias e seus ensinamentos.

Ella vio en ese nuevo enamoramiento la oportunidad de escapar de su realidad e inventarse otra. Cuando cambias de pais y de idioma, todo tiene otro sentido.