Quotes About Language

Good style in prose is always hostage to the precision, speed, and laconic intensity of poetic diction.

It doesn't take a language long to disappear once the spirit to continue with it leaves its community. In fact, the speed of the decline has been one of the main findings of recent linguistic research.

One of the drawbacks of English is you can't spell things by hearing them.

No one has to learn to spell to talk, right? You see a little kid holding a conversation with an adult. He probably doesn't know the words he's saying, but he knows where to fit them to make what he's thinking logical to what you're saying.

I had one of those farcical bar mitzvahs where they spell out the words phonetically on index cards, and you don't even know what you're saying.

How do you spell the name of the Irish prime minister? It sounds like 'teeshuck', but we spell it 'taoiseach.' We respect foreign spellings these days - a sign of our more egalitarian times, perhaps.

Sometimes, reading a blog, which I do infrequently, I see that generations of Americans have been wilfully crippled, and can no longer spell or write a sentence.

A lot of people use the dictionary to find out how to spell words.

But with Interleaf I don't even have a spell program.

I knew Chelsea had made some offers while I was at Shakhtar so when I eventually arrived here, after a short spell with Anzhi Makhachkala, it was amazing. Having David Luiz, Oscar and Ramires here when I joined was very important for me because they helped me a lot with the language and inside the club, so it was very helpful.

When every high school graduate can spell the word, 'inauguration,' let's put lampshades on our heads and listen to his speeches until Obama's voice gives out.

I've learned that I need to spell out, even in cases seemingly so blatant, that in fact I am not taking this at face value and am being 'sarcastic.'

I still can't spell anything, but I can bust out two-dollar words.

Poetry, just because it is poetry, doesn't mean it is some kind of magic spell.

I'm not sure we could spell 'shale' in 2008.

I made myself memorize how to spell antidisestablishmentarianism in under 3 seconds when I was 6 years old because my sister told me it was the longest word she knew.

Spell check exists for a reason.

I still like complete sentences that are grammatically correct without spelling errors. I don't always achieve this, and it is irksome to read a message I have sent and discover errors. I know I often leave out words in e-mail, not by choice, but because of the way my brain works.

Spellings are made by people. Dictionaries eventually reflect popular choices. And the Internet is allowing more people to influence spelling than ever before.

I was the fastest typist in my school, and I had an obsession with spelling and memorizing.

I have horrible handwriting, horrible spelling and horrible grammar.

I really like grammar. And spelling. I was a spelling-bee kid. I'm hard-core about grammar.

I always loved reading. I always was the spelling bee champion. I always loved words. I always wanted to know what they meant, why you used them, who first said them. I was always interested in that.

'Spell it Out' rose to be number 4 on the best-selling Amazon chart - ahead of 'Fifty Shades of Grey!' Who ever would have thought that spelling would one day beat sex - even if it was for only a few hours!