Edward Sapir Quotes About Language
-
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.
→ -
Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations.
→ -
It would, of course, be hopeless to attempt to crowd into an international language all those local overtones of meaning which are so dear to the heart of the nationalist.
→ -
The fact of the matter is that the 'real world' is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group.
→ -
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.
→ -
So far as the advocates of a constructed international language are concerned, it is rather to be wondered at how much in common their proposals actually have, both in vocabulary and in general spirit of procedure.
→ -
No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality.
→ -
Both French and Latin are involved with nationalistic and religious implications which could not be entirely shaken off, and so, while they seemed for a long time to have solved the international language problem up to a certain point, they did not really do so in spirit.
→ -
A common creation demands a common sacrifice, and perhaps not the least potent argument in favour of a constructed international language is the fact that it is equally foreign, or apparently so, to the traditions of all nationalities.
→ -
The psychology of a language which, in one way or another, is imposed upon one because of factors beyond one's control, is very different from the psychology of a language which one accepts of one's free will.
→ -
English, once accepted as an international language, is no more secure than French has proved to be as the one and only accepted language of diplomacy or as Latin has proved to be as the international language of science.
→ -
A standard international language should not only be simple, regular, and logical, but also rich and creative.
→ -
It is no secret that the fruits of language study are in no sort of relation to the labour spent on teaching and learning them.
→ -
Language is an anonymous, collective and unconscious art; the result of the creativity of thousands of generations.
→ -
The spirit of logical analysis should in practice blend with the practical pressure for the adoption of some form of international language, but it should not allow itself to be stampeded by it.
→ -
The attitude of independence toward a constructed language which all national speakers must adopt is really a great advantage, because it tends to make man see himself as the master of language instead of its obedient servant.
→ -
Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.
→ -
In a sense, every form of expression is imposed upon one by social factors, one's own language above all.
→ -
Were a language ever completely "grammatical" it would be a perfect engine of conceptual expression. Unfortunately, or luckily, no language is tyrannically consistent. All grammars leak.
→ -
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.
→ -
National languages are all huge systems of vested interests which sullenly resist critical inquiry.
→ -
It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection.
→ -
It would be naïve to imagine that any analysis of experience is dependent on pattern expressed in language. Any concept, whether or not it forms part of the system of grammatical categories, can be conveyed in any language. If a notion is lacking in a given series, it implies a different configuration and not a lack of expressive power.
→ -
We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation.
→
Related Authors
-
Alfred L. Kroeber Anthropologist -
-
-
-
Roman Jakobson Linguist -
Emile Durkheim Sociologist -
Immanuel Kant Philosopher -
Bronislaw Malinowski Anthropologist -
Margaret Mead Cultural Anthropologist -
Kenneth Lee Pike Anthropologist -
-
Noam Chomsky Linguist -
Clifford Geertz Anthropologist -
Franz Boas Anthropologist -
Johann Gottfried Herder Philosopher -
Edward Burnett Tylor Anthropologist -
Ruth Benedict Anthropologist -
Steven Pinker Psychologist -
Wilhelm von Humboldt Philosopher -
Alexander von Humboldt Naturalist