There is a certain age at which a child looks at you in all earnestness and delivers a long, pleased speech in all the true inflections of spoken English, but with not one recognizable syllable. There is no way you can tell the child that if language had been a melody, he had mastered it and done well, but that since it was in fact a sense, he had botched it utterly. ~Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Related SMS:
- Language forces us to perceive the world
Language forces us to perceive the world as man presents it to us. ~Julia Penelope...
- English is a funny language that explains
English is a funny language; that explains why we park our car on the driveway......
- Lymph v to walk with a lisp
Lymph, v.: to walk with a lisp. ~From a Washington Post reader submission word contest...
- One mans frankness is another vulgarity kevin
One man’s frankness is another man’s vulgarity. ~Kevin Smith...
- Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne
Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne. ~Quentin Crisp...
- Its a strange world of language in
It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you......
- At no time is freedom of speech
At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his......
- Language is the blood of soul into
Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which......
- Man is a creature who lives not
Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but primarily by catchwords. ~Robert......
- Our major obligation is not to mistake
Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions. ~Edward R. Murrow...
- Sometimes its just a short swim from
Sometimes it’s just a short swim from the shipwreck of your life to the island......
- Dictionaries are like watches the worst is
Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be......
- The english language is nobodys special property
The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination: it......
- Thanks to words we have been able
Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to......
- Any noun can be verbed variation of
Any noun can be verbed ~Variation of a saying by Alan J. Perlis (see below)...
- Verbing weirds language bill watterson calvin and
Verbing weirds language. ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and HobbesTPV...
- br /
“Seize the day” drains dignity from “Carpe diem.” ~Willis
“Seize the day” drains dignity from “Carpe diem.” ~Willis Goth Regier, Quotology, p.17, about translation...
- Theres always something that you cant pin
There’s always something that you can’t pin down with words. Words fall flat all the......
- Be not the slave of words thomas
Be not the slave of Words. ~Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, Book I, chapter 8BMC...
- The great enemy of clear language is
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s......
- Any man who does not make himself
Any man who does not make himself proficient in at least two languages other than......
- Language ought to be the joint creation
Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers. ~George Orwell...
- A definition is the enclosing a wilderness
A definition is the enclosing a wilderness of idea within a wall of words. ~Samuel......
- Our language is funny a fat
Our language is funny – a fat chance and slim chance are the same thing. ......
- Sarcasm i now see to be in
Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the Devil; for which......
- For i am a bear of very
For I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me. ~Winnie......
- Words like nature half reveal and conceal
Words, like Nature, half reveal And half conceal the Soul within. ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Im......
- Learning preserves the errors of past as
Learning preserves the errors of the past, as well as its wisdom. For this reason,......
- Swearing was invented as a compromise between
Swearing was invented as a compromise between running away and fighting. ~Peter Finley Dunne, Mr.......
- W double u has of all the
W (double U) has, of all the letters in our alphabet, the only cumbrous name,......
- The existing phrasebooks are inadequate they well
The existing phrasebooks are inadequate. They are well enough as far as they go, but......
- Lets not become so worried about offending
Let’s not become so worried about not offending anybody that we lose the ability to......
- The ancient mariner would not have taken
The Ancient Mariner would not have taken so well if it had been called The......
- If a language is corruptible then constitution
If a language is corruptible, then a constitution written in that language is corruptible. ~Robert......
- When a german dives into sentence you
When a German dives into a sentence, you won’t see him again until he emerges......
- Learn a new language and get soul
Learn a new language and get a new soul. ~Czech Proverb...