A common allegiance to form of expression that is identified with no single national unit is likely to prove one of the most potent symbols of the freedom of the human spirit that the world has yet known.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
A second type of direct evidence is formed by statements, whether as formal legends or personal information, regarding the age or relative sequence of events in tribal history made by the natives themselves.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
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.
quote by Edward Sapir
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
