It is no secret that the fruits of language study are in no sort of relation to the labour spent on teaching… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
It would, of course, be hopeless to attempt to crowd into an international language all those local overtones of meaning which are… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
As a matter of fact, a national language which spreads beyond its own confines very quickly loses much of its original richness… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Language is an anonymous, collective and unconscious art; the result of the creativity of thousands of generations. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
The fact of the matter is that the 'real world' is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A logical analysis of reflexive usages in French shows, however, that this simplicity is an illusion and that, so far from helping… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A common creation demands a common sacrifice, and perhaps not the least potent argument in favour of a constructed international language is… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
So far as the advocates of a constructed international language are concerned, it is rather to be wondered at how much in… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
The attitude of independence toward a constructed language which all national speakers must adopt is really a great advantage, because it tends… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
The psychology of a language which, in one way or another, is imposed upon one because of factors beyond one's control, is… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A standard international language should not only be simple, regular, and logical, but also rich and creative. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
French and German illustrate the misleading character of apparent grammatical simplicity just as well. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
One of the glories of English simplicity is the possibility of using the same word as noun and verb. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
In a sense, every form of expression is imposed upon one by social factors, one's own language above all. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
The spirit of logical analysis should in practice blend with the practical pressure for the adoption of some form of international language,… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Were a language ever completely "grammatical" it would be a perfect engine of conceptual expression. Unfortunately, or luckily, no language is tyrannically… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
The supposed inferiority of a constructed language to a national one on the score of richness of connotation is, of course, no… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
National languages are all huge systems of vested interests which sullenly resist critical inquiry. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
It would be naïve to imagine that any analysis of experience is dependent on pattern expressed in language. Any concept, whether or… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
English, once accepted as an international language, is no more secure than French has proved to be as the one and only… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
No important national language, at least in the Occidental world, has complete regularity of grammatical structure, nor is there a single logical… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
“The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached ... We see… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Both French and Latin are involved with nationalistic and religious implications which could not be entirely shaken off, and so, while they… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Human beings do not wish to be modest; they want to be as expressive - that is, as immodest - as fear allows; fashion… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A common allegiance to form of expression that is identified with no single national unit is likely to prove one of the most potent… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A standard international language should not only be simple, regular, and logical, but also rich and creative. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
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… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
French and German illustrate the misleading character of apparent grammatical simplicity just as well. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A common creation demands a common sacrifice, and perhaps not the least potent argument in favour of a constructed international language is the fact… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
A second type of direct evidence is formed by statements, whether as formal legends or personal information, regarding the age or relative sequence of… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
One of the glories of English simplicity is the possibility of using the same word as noun and verb. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Comparison of statements made at different periods frequently enable us to give maximal and minimal dates to the appearance of a cultural element or… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
It is no secret that the fruits of language study are in no sort of relation to the labour spent on teaching and learning… — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
Cultural anthropology is not valuable because it uncovers the archaic in the psychological sense. It is valuable because it is constantly rediscovering the normal. — Edward Sapir Copy Share Image
