Language quotes

Language

2.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

2.4K quotes

Explore further

Browse quotes that often appear alongside language — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.

Speak 2.1K quotes Thinking 95.1K quotes Writing 30.7K quotes World 26.2K quotes People 100.4K quotes Men 68.6K quotes

Quote collection

Language quotes (page 26 of 120)

Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.

Language

"Rather than thinking of sound and sense in my essays as two opposing principles, two perpendicular trajectories, as they are often considered in conversations around translation, or even as two disassociated phenomena that can be brought together to collaborate with more or less success, I think of sound as sense. Sound has its own meaning, and it's one of the many non-semantic dimensions of meaning in language. I want to emphasize is the formal dynamic between language-as-information and language-as-art-material."

Thinking Together Language
Read quote 3 likes
Colin Wilson Author, Philosopher
Language

"Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in the hands of journalists and writers who have nothing to say."

Hands Language Tired
Read quote 3 likes
Conan O'Brien Television Host, Comedian
Language

"The New Oxford Dictionary has declared Sarah Palin's word 'refudiate' to be the 2010 Word of the Year. Palin was honored and said she would do her best to 'dismangle' the English language."

Years Language Oxford
Read quote 3 likes
Cornel West Philosopher
Language

"Nobody in my family or in my neighborhood used the language that they used at the University of Chicago. I remember the first time I heard the word "value" repeated again and again by my professor. Value to me was the price of a frying pan."

Remember Language My Family
Read quote 3 likes
Bertrand Russell Philosopher, Mathematician
Language

"In a logically perfect language, there will be one word and no more for every simple object, and everything that is not simple will be expressed by a combination of words, by a combination derived, of course, from the words for the simple things that enter in, one word for each simple component."

Simple Perfect Language
Read quote 3 likes
Bertrand Russell Philosopher, Mathematician
Language

"We shall say that we have acquaintance with anything of which we are directly aware, without the intermediary of any process of inference of any knowledge of truths."

Language Process Inference
Read quote 3 likes
Alan Green Economist
Language

"Spirituality is a natural part of ourselves, as natural as emotions, but we've got all the language wrong and made this divide between secularism and spirituality, whereas instead it's about being human."

Language Emotion Spirituality
Read quote 3 likes
Alec Baldwin Actor
Language

"I consider myself a pretty good conversationalist, but you wind up being downgraded to idiot status when you don't speak the language!"

Wind Language Idiot
Read quote 3 likes
Alfred North Whitehead Philosopher, Mathematician
Language

"Learning preserves the errors of the past, as well as its wisdom. For this reason, dictionaries are public dangers, although they are necessities."

Past Language Errors
Read quote 3 likes
Edmund Burke Philosopher, Politician
Language

"Sallust is indisputably one of the best historians among the Romans, both for the purity of his language and the elegance of his style."

Style Language Purity
Read quote 3 likes
Winston Churchill Politician, Writer, Historian
Language

"Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge. Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words when short are best of all."

Writing Language Simplicity
Read quote 3 likes
Vicki Baum Author
Language

"I've been in New York only a few days and I have learned only two words of your language: one is Swell, and the other is Lousy. ... 'It's swell to be with you and excuse, please, my lousy English!"

Two New York Language
Read quote 3 likes