---
title: "3 English language Quotes By Robert Burchfield"
description: "3 English language quotes by Robert Burchfield. Plus more from Robert Burchfield and more English language sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/robert-burchfield-39223_america_in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except_1381668.jpg"
---

> [In 1776, at the point of severance, except for an infusion of words from east coast Indian languages, the English language of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except-for-an-infusion-of-words/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/robert-burchfield-39223_america_in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except_1381668.jpg)

> [ At all periods of the \[English\] language it is difficult to assign a beginning date to most new words and meanings. They… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-it-is-difficult-to-assign-a/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/robert-burchfield-39223_difficult_at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-i_1733512.jpg)

> [The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible ad lib.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-monster-accordion-stretchable/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/robert-burchfield-39223_accordions_the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-mo_2134987.jpg)

## Other authors on English language

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-mahatma-gandhi-62675.jpg) Mahatma Gandhi 54 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/mahatma-gandhi/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-stephen-fry-87000.jpg) Stephen Fry 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/stephen-fry/)

## More by Robert Burchfield

> [ I believe it is imperative to see modern English grammar as a rich and diverse linguistic system deposited on our \[England's\] shores 1,500 years… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/i-believe-it-is-imperative-to-see-modern-english-grammar-as-a-rich/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [I am sure that the two main forms of English, American English and British English, separated geographically from the beginning and severed politically since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/i-am-sure-that-the-two-main-forms-of-english-american-english-and/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [Vulgarity finds its antidote; old crudities become softened with time. Distinctions, both those that are useful and those that are burdensome, flourish and die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/vulgarity-finds-its-antidote-old-crudities-become-softened-with-time/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [In 1776, at the point of severance, except for an infusion of words from east coast Indian languages, the English language of North America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except-for-an-infusion-of-words/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [ At all periods of the \[English\] language it is difficult to assign a beginning date to most new words and meanings. They tend to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-it-is-difficult-to-assign-a/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [American English is the greatest influence of English everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/american-english-is-the-greatest-influence-of-english-everywhere/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [The language of Doctor Johnson and Mrs Hester Lynch Thrale, and that of their adult contemporaries, was the stately language of the time, polished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/the-language-of-doctor-johnson-and-mrs-hester-lynch-thrale-and-that/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [Computer users soon learn that the miraculous powers of personal computers are based on avoidance of error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/computer-users-soon-learn-that-the-miraculous-powers-of-personal/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible ad lib.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-monster-accordion-stretchable/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [To finish is both a relief and a release from an extraordinarily pleasant prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/to-finish-is-both-a-relief-and-a-release-from-an-extraordinarily/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

> [Lexicography is a chastening as well as an illuminating and fascinating art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/lexicography-is-a-chastening-as-well-as-an-illuminating-and/)

[Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/#itemlist",
            "name": "3 English language Quotes By Robert Burchfield",
            "numberOfItems": 3,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "In 1776, at the point of severance, except for an infusion of words from east coast Indian languages, the English language of North America was not in any radical way dissimilar from that of what the American settlers called the mother country.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Robert Burchfield"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except-for-an-infusion-of-words/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/robert-burchfield-39223_america_in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except_1381668.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/robert-burchfield-39223_america_in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except_1381668.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/robert-burchfield-39223_america_in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except_1381668.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“In 1776, at the point of severance, except for an infusion of words from east coast Indian languages, the…” — Robert Burchfield",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "At all periods of the [English] language it is difficult to assign a beginning date to most new words and meanings. They tend to slip into the language silently, and are placed in date order only when scholars subsequently get to work.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Robert Burchfield"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-it-is-difficult-to-assign-a/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/robert-burchfield-39223_difficult_at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-i_1733512.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/robert-burchfield-39223_difficult_at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-i_1733512.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/robert-burchfield-39223_difficult_at-all-periods-of-the-english-language-i_1733512.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“At all periods of the [English] language it is difficult to assign a beginning date to most new words and…” — Robert Burchfield",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible ad lib.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Robert Burchfield"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-monster-accordion-stretchable/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/robert-burchfield-39223_accordions_the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-mo_2134987.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/robert-burchfield-39223_accordions_the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-mo_2134987.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/robert-burchfield-39223_accordions_the-english-language-is-rather-like-a-mo_2134987.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible…” — Robert Burchfield",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/",
            "name": "English language Quotes by Robert Burchfield",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/robert-burchfield-39223_america_in-1776-at-the-point-of-severance-except_1381668.jpg"
            },
            "description": "3 English language quotes by Robert Burchfield. Plus more from Robert Burchfield and more English language sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "English Language",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Robert Burchfield",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/robert-burchfield/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```