Languages Quotes

“There's no such thing as dead languages, only dormant minds.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

“Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maxims and Reflections

“Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to speak French.”
― P.G. Wodehouse, The Luck of the Bodkins

“There are countries out there where people speak English. But not like us - we have our own languages hidden in our carry-on luggage, in our cosmetics bags, only ever using English when we travel, and then only in foreign countries, to foreign people. It's hard to imagine, but English is the real language! Oftentimes their only language. They don't have anything to fall back on or to turn to in moments of doubt. How lost they must feel in the world, where all instructions, all the lurics of all the stupidest possible songs, all the menus, all the excruciating pamphlets and brochures - even the buttons in the lift! - are in their private language. They may be understood by anuone at any moment, whenever they open their mouths. They must have to write things down in special codes. Wherever they are, people have unlimited access to them - they are accessible to everyone and everything! I heard there are plans in the works to get them some little language of their own, one of those dead ones no one else is using anyway, just so that for once they can have something just for them.”
― Olga Tokarczuk, Flights

“The dictionary is based on the hypothesis -- obviously an unproven one -- that languages are made up of equivalent synonyms.”
― Jorge Luis Borges

“Philosophers call this state of isolation and disconnection “species loneliness” —a deep, unnamed sadness stemming from estrangement from the rest of Creation, from the loss of relationship. As our human dominance of the world has grown, we have become more isolated, more lonely when we can no longer call out to our neighbors. It’s no wonder that naming was the first job the Creator gave Nanabozho.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

“Since there is no real silence,
Silence will contain all the sounds,
All the words, all the languages,
All knowledge, all memory.”
― Dejan Stojanovic

“BELLADONNA, n. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.”
― Ambrose Bierce, The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

“England and America are two countries separated by the same language.”
― George Bernard Shaw

“The conquest of learning is achieved through the knowledge of languages.”
― Roger Bacon, The Opus Majus of Roger Bacon: Volume 1

“The language of light can only be decoded by the heart.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“To God I speak Spanish, to women Italian, to men French, and to my horse - German.”
― Emperor Charles V

“Before getting translated, a poem already gets shrunk or expanded within the ‘sphere of intellect’ of the translator in the original language, and it again gets shrunk or expanded within the ‘sphere of intellect’ of the translator in the target language.”
― Suman Pokhrel

“You can learn any programming language, just as you learn any human language, but learning the culture itself... well! that's a different story.”
― Maher Asaad Baker

“Which natural gift would you most like to possess?The ability to master other languages (which would have hugely enhanced the scope of these answers).
How would you like to die?Fully conscious, and either fighting or reciting (or fooling around).
What do you most dislike about your appearance?The way in which it makes former admirers search for neutral words.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch 22: A Memoir

“When you learn a language, you don't just learn to speak and write a new language. You also learn to be open-minded, liberal, tolerant, kind and considerate towards all mankind.”
― Mouloud Benzadi

“Each letter of the Alpha bet is a steadfast loyal soldier in a great army of words, sentences, paragraphs, and stories. One letter falls, and the entire language falters.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

“Anyone that doesn't know foreign languages knows nothing of his own.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maxims and Reflections

“Languages connect us and break down barriers when we unite to nurture the best in us and help each other succeed. Happy International Mother Language Day!”
― Widad Akreyi

“Pojąłem, że każdy świat ma własną tajemnicę i że dostęp do niej jest tylko na drodze poznania języka. <...> Rozumiałem, że im więcej będę znał słów, tym bogatszy, pełniejszy i bardziej różnorodny świat otworzy się przede mną.”
― Ryszard Kapuściński, Travels with Herodotus

“Different languages, the same thoughts; servant to thoughts and their masters.”
― Dejan Stojanovic, The Sun Watches the Sun

“But I can't translate it the right way, that's why I always use so many languages around you, because there're some things that simply can't translate, that are beautiful when you read them the original way.”
― DarknessAndLight, I Sold Myself To The Devil For Vinyls... Pitiful I Know

“In the absence of a formally agreed, worldwide dictionary definition of 'Quotography' (in 2016), here are my two cents worth: 'Quotography is the art of pairing unique quotations with complementary images in order to express thought-provoking ideas, challenging concepts, profound sentiments'.”
― Alex Morritt, Lines & Lenses

“Vin paused." And you have all of these religions memorized? "
"As much as is possible," Sazed said. "Their prayers, their beliefs, their mythologies. Many are very similar -- break-offs or sects of one another."
"Even still, how can you remember all of that?"
"I have...methods," Sazed said.
"But, what's the point?"
Sazed frowned. "The answer should be obvious, I think. People are valuable, Mistress Vin, and so--therefore--are their beliefs.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Final Empire

“Über die deutsche Sprache: „Sie halten sich für tief, weil ihre Sprache unklar ist, ihr fehlt die clarté der französischen Sprache, sie sagt nie exakt das, was sie sollte, so dass kein Deutscher jemals weiß, was er sagen wollte – und dann verwechselt er diese Undeutlichkeit mit Tiefe. Es ist mit Deutschen wie mit Frauen, man gelangt bei ihnen nie auf den Grund”
― Umberto Eco, Il cimitero di Praga

“Do you wish to speak in Provençal, French, or Latin? They are all I can manage, I'm afraid."

"Any will do," the rabbi replied in Provençal.

"Splendid. Latin it is," said Pope Clement.”
― Iain Pears, The Dream of Scipio

“Typical white man behavior, Ms. Mori said. Have you ever noticed how a white man can learn a few words of some Asian language and we just eat it up? He could ask for a glass of water and we’d treat him like Einstein. Sonny smiled and wrote that down, too. You’ve been here longer than we have, Ms. Mori, he said with some admiration. Have you noticed that when we Asians speak English, it better be nearly perfect or someone’s going to make fun of our accent? It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here, Ms. Mori said. White people will always think we’re foreigners. But isn’t there another side to that? I said, my words a little slurred from the cognac in my bloodstream. If we speak perfect English, then Americans trust us. It makes it easier for them to think we’re one of them.”
― Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer

“English words made only from twenty-six characters? Are English a bit lazy or what? We have fifty thousand characters in Chinese.”
― Xiaolu Guo, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers

“If English is a thick novel, then Toki Pona is a haiku.”
― Sonja Lang, Toki Pona: The Language of Good

“Languages are but echoes of each other, Based on the environment each feels unique. No language is superior, no language is inferior, All are born of human mind to meet at heart's peak.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect