Quotes About Language

As Emerson observes, "The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture. Language is fossil poetry."4

parallelism may be the only poetic device that can be fully translated from one language to another.? Thus the Bible, translated into hundreds of languages, maintains its original poetic form and effects in every tongue, a linguistic curiosity that is clearly God's design.

The word obscene can be thought of as meaning "out of the scene" or "offstage."7

In order to speak clearly, you need to be able to think clearly. And to think clearly, you usually need to be able to write it clearly.

The only problem is that it's difficult to imagine something entirely new. We use the words and definitions of the past to shape our ideas. Something that is genuinely the next evolutionary step is unlikely to resemble anything we can imagine. Even the best books on the subject are limited." She'd

What were the requirements for using the Language? That the Librarian using it should be able to name and describe what they wanted to happen, and that the Librarian should have the strength to compel reality to change itself. And that the universe could hear her words.

The word, Irene, is stealing." "Oh, semantics. 'I acquire, 'you borrow,' 'she steals,' 'they invade and loot . . .

Shit,' he said succinctly.

There were three basic reasons why Librarians were sent out to alternates to find specific books: because the book was important to a senior Librarian, because the book would have an effect on the Language, or because the book was specific and unique to that alternate world. In this last case, the Library's ownership of it would reinforce the Library's links to the world from which the book originated.

Irene realized she was on the point of shouting. Worse, of being ungrammatical. She took a deep breath.

Maybe if Irene uses the Language—how did you get here? We're down in the far end of chaos.

All her life she had been taught that the Language allowed its users to shape reality.

There were three basic reasons why Librarians were sent out to alternates to find specific books: because the book was important to a senior Librarian, because the book would have an effect on the Language, or because the book was specific and unique to that alternate world.

She'd been trying to improve her written Korean from appalling to merely bad.

He was swearing in what Irene assumed were words well-brought-up dragons used when they didn't want to shock lesser creatures.

Emoticon" is] one of the worst words ever--it deserves to die horribly in a head-on crash with infotainment .

What's the difference between a cat and a comma? One has claws at the end of its paws, and one is a pause at the end of a clause.

McNamara leaned over to the microphone and tried to say "Vietnam muôn n?m," but, because he wasn't aware of the tonal difference, the crowd practically disintegrated on the cobblestones. What he was saying was something like "The little duck, he wants to lie down.

Soun ys noght but eyr ybroken,And every speche that ys spoken,Lowd or pryvee, foul or fair,In his substaunce ys but air.

And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn,Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn.

This may wel be rym dogerel.

Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,To make his Englissh sweete upon his tonge.

Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne,Entuned in hir nose ful semely;And Frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly,After the scole of Stratford atte BoweFor Frenssh of Parys was to hir unknowe.

Geoffrey Chaucer