---
title: "1 Language-play Quotes By David Crystal"
description: "1 Language-play quotes by David Crystal. Plus more from David Crystal and more Language-play sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/david-crystal-8647_humor_joke-exchanges-are-carried-on-in-deadly_2938738.png"
---

> [“Joke exchanges are carried on in deadly earnest, like a verbal duel-mouth-to-mouth combat. Bang, bang: you’re (linguistically) dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/joke-exchanges-are-carried-on-in-deadly-earnest-like-a-verbal-duel/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/david-crystal-8647_humor_joke-exchanges-are-carried-on-in-deadly_2938738.png)

## More by David Crystal

> [I don't have any particular desire to see words making a comeback. They are of their era, after all, and that is their identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/i-don-t-have-any-particular-desire-to-see-words-making-a-comeback/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [In effect we are, bending and breaking the rules of the language. And if someone were to ask why we do it, the answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/in-effect-we-are-bending-and-breaking-the-rules-of-the-language-and/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [There's an old little jingle: 'The chief use of slang is to show that you're one of the gang.' What that means is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/there-s-an-old-little-jingle-the-chief-use-of-slang-is-to-show-that/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [The death of a language. The word has the same kind of reluctant resonance as it has when we talk about the death of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/the-death-of-a-language-the-word-has-the-same-kind-of-reluctant/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [One of the places the full stop is really being revised in a really fundamental way is on the Internet. You look at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/one-of-the-places-the-full-stop-is-really-being-revised-in-a-really/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/language-itself-changes-slowly-but-the-internet-has-speeded-up-the/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [We are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/we-are-rearing-a-generation-of-kids-who-are-more-equitable-and-more/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [Sending a message on a mobile phone is not the most natural of ways to communicate. The keypad isn't linguistically sensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/sending-a-message-on-a-mobile-phone-is-not-the-most-natural-of-ways/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [It took three years to put Shakespeare's words together, there were a lot of words to be studied and a lot of words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/it-took-three-years-to-put-shakespeare-s-words-together-there-were-a/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [Likewise, there is no evidence that texting teaches people to spell badly: rather, research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/likewise-there-is-no-evidence-that-texting-teaches-people-to-spell/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [“Here are three elements we often see in town names: If a town ends in “-by”, it was originally a farmstead or a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/here-are-three-elements-we-often-see-in-town-names-if-a-town-ends-in/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [There's nothing unusual about a single language dying. But what's going on today is extraordinary when we compare the situation to what has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/there-s-nothing-unusual-about-a-single-language-dying-but-what-s/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [Enshrined in a language is the whole of a community's history and a large part of its cultural identity. The world is a mosaic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/enshrined-in-a-language-is-the-whole-of-a-community-s-history-and-a/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [You don't usually get a compound word where the first part is a slang thing and the second part is a rather ordinary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/you-don-t-usually-get-a-compound-word-where-the-first-part-is-a-slang/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

> [Swearing makes an excellent relief mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/swearing-makes-an-excellent-relief-mechanism/)

[David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/)

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