Quotes About Language

Words,words filled the night like the fragrance of invisible flowers.

The written word is a powerful thing, you have to be careful with it. - Silvertongue

How fast the ears learned to tell what sounds meant, much faster than it took the eyes to decipher written words.

Breath the words and they will come to life; as of words of magic

Isn't there at lest a bloody light switch somewhere in this hole? Oh, to hell with it, I feel as if I've fallen into some far-fetched adventure story where the villians wear black eye patches and throw knives. Damn, damn, damn! Meggie had already noticed that Elinor swore a lot, and the more upset she was the worse her language became.

She had thought the chewing and digesting were meant literally and wondered, horrified, why Mo had hung on his workshop door the words of someone who vandalized books.

You cannot fully read a book without being alone. But through this very solitude you become intimately involved with people whom you might never have met otherwise, either because they have been dead for centuries or because they spoke languages you cannot understand. And nonetheless, they have become your closest friends, your wisest advisors, the wizards that hypnotize you, the lovers you have always dreamed of. Antonio Muñoz Molinas, "The Power of the Pen

The written word is a powerful thing, you have to be careful with it.

You cannot fully read a book without being alone. But through this very solitude you become intimately involved with people whom you might never have met otherwise, either because they have been dead for centuries or because they spoke languages you cannot understand. And nonetheless, they have become your closest friends, your wisest advisors, the wizards that hypnotize you, the lovers you have always dreamed of. Antonio Muñoz Molinas, "The Power of the

Goblins burrowed in the earth, elves sang songs in the trees: those were the obvious wonders of reading, but behind them lay the fundamental marvel that, in stories, words could command things to be. Francis Spufford, The Child That Books Built

Words are immortal – until someone comes along and burns them.

Meggie fand, dass dieses erste Flüstern bei jedem Buch etwas anders klang, je nachdem, ob sie schon wusste, was es ihr erzählen würde, oder nicht.

But we'd need words for that, exactly the right words, because only the right words unlock the doors between worlds.

All words are written in the same ink, 'flower' and 'power', say, are much the same, and though I might write 'blood, blood, blood' all over the page the paper would not be stained nor would I bleed. Philippe Jacottet, 'Chant d'en bas

The wrong words. They were true a hundred times over, yet they sounded like a lie. Hadn't he always known it? Words were useless. At times they might sound wonderful, but they let you down the moment you really needed them. You could never find the right words, never, and where would you look for them? The heart is as silent as a fish, however much the tongue tries to give it a voice.

If anyone would ever bring back the words, he supposed it would be the children.

Dude, estoy aqui por loco, no por pendejo, which was the punch line to the funniest Spanish joke I knew. Okay, the only one. Google it.

Books are like dragons....if we do not believe in them, and read them, they will cease to exist. How, then, will we learn the language and understand the stories of the dear dead ghosts of the past? Save the Dragons. Speak Dragonese. Read a book.

I was thinking,' said Crusher dreamily [...] 'about LANGUAGE and how in English two negatives make a positive, but in spriteish, a double negative is still a negative. However there is NO language in which two positives make a negative ...' 'Yeah right, like THAT'S the problem,' said Xar, sarcastically. 'I hadn't thought of that!' said Crusher in gentle surprise [...]. 'You're correct, Car. Yeah, right IS a statement in English where two positives make a negative...

She ponders the transmigrations from southern latitudes. the millions moving north. What happens to their languages? The warm burial grounds they leave behind? What of their passions lying stiff and untranslated in their breasts?

How quickly we damn ourselves when we start to talk, how small and inglorious we always sound.

I accidentally knew all the words.

get more stupider.

Really, we did not share a vocabulary that would allow for such a conversation; it was far too late to tell her anything.