Quotes for All
One of my favorite literary theorists, Mikhail Bakhtin, wrote that the defining characteristic of the novel is its unprecedented level of \”heteroglossia\” – the way it brings together so many different registers of language. He doesn’t mean national languages, but rather the sublanguages we all navigate between every day: high language, low language, everything. I … Read more
These examples of the lack of simplicity in English and French, all appearances to the contrary, could be multiplied almost without limit and apply to all national languages. Edward Sapir
National languages are all huge systems of vested interests which sullenly resist critical inquiry. Edward Sapir
No important national language, at least in the Occidental world, has complete regularity of grammatical structure, nor is there a single logical category which is adequately and consistently handled in terms of linguistic symbolism. Edward Sapir
As a matter of fact, a national language which spreads beyond its own confines very quickly loses much of its original richness of content and is in no better case than a constructed language. Edward Sapir