Quotes About Language

What Shakespeare was able to do in English he would certainly not have done in French.

French is a language that makes those who speak it both calm and dynamic.

French was my first language.

Even if I think in English, it's more a language of acting than French.

I am a Moroccan writer of French expression.

I sometimes think I should go back to school to learn French and music, but who would have me?

When I got to college I simply decided that I could speak French, because I just could not spend any more time in French classes. I went ahead and took courses on French literature, some of them even taught in French.

Some words, you know, it's amazing but some words would come only in French, and when I speak French, it would only come in English. And so the adjustment is very difficult sometimes.

I do almost all my movies in French. I dub them.

I speak French, and I grew up with French, so my English is Franglais.

'Entrepreneur' is a French word.

It is a curious fact that the word 'essayist' showed up in English before it existed in French.

I am attached to the French language. I will defend the ubiquitous use of French.

Words are not too old, only people are too old if they use the same words too frequently.

I have been told I say 'shucks' quite frequently... Shucks, I'll have to work on that.

I loved saying 'swab' in my 2014 fringe show. In an otherwise very mumbly performance, there wasn't a day that I didn't absolutely chuck myself at it.

Some people think fashion is frivolous but it's not... it's just that some ideas come and go quickly, and that's the nature of the language of fashion.

There is a terrible garrulousness in most American writing, legacy of the old Frontier.

I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk. I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not get the words out, so I would just scream.

As an actor, your whole body needs to be expressive, and unless you know the language, your expressions will not match the character you are playing. So, I am learning Tamil to the fullest.

If a nation allows its literary culture to die, it's a sign that it doesn't fundamentally care.

I get a different pronunciation at least every week. I think the worst one, or the funniest one I got, somebody called me, 'Oh-gooz-man.'

Very" is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen. For example, would you rather hear the mincing shallowness of "I love you very much" or the heart-slamming intensity of "I love you"?

Nothing is more frustrating than sitting in an office amid typewriters and mimeographers when you know what deus ex machina means.