--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The very natural tendency to use terms…" description: "\"The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg" --- # The very natural tendency to use terms derived from… ![“The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.” quote by Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg) > “The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.” [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using traditional grammar terms for non‑Indo‑European languages can cause serious misunderstandings. **In simple terms:** Grammar terms may mislead language study. Key Takeaway Adopt culturally appropriate linguistic frameworks. Themes linguistics culture communication Mood analytical cautious Type academic critical When to use this quote - language teaching - translation - cross‑cultural research Key Concepts semantic relativity anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How can we respect linguistic diversity in analysis? - What alternatives exist to traditional grammar labels? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex language structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Passive voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passive-voice/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [“After all, the Indo-European word cunt was derived from the goddess Kunda or Cunti, and shares the same root as kin and country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/after-all-the-indo-european-word-cunt-was-derived-from-the-goddess/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [In fact, from then on scholars engaged in a kind of game of comparing different Indo-European languages with one another, and eventually they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-de-saussure/in-fact-from-then-on-scholars-engaged-in-a-kind-of-game-of-comparing/) [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-de-saussure/) > [In Paul Friedrich's book Proto-Indo-European Trees he identifies the "semantic primitives" of the Indo-European tribe of languages through a group of words that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/in-paul-friedrich-s-book-proto-indo-european-trees-he-identifies-the/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [“Containing several hundred languages, among them several world languages, the Indo-European language family is the language family with the most speakers world-wide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-eberhardt/containing-several-hundred-languages-among-them-several-world/) Sören Eberhardt > [“Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language that became the sacred tongue of Hindu ritual, and the Greek and Latin languages, as well as similarities between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sanskrit-an-ancient-indian-language-that-became-the-sacred-tongue-of/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the word “lead” has an Indo-European root that means “to go forth, die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-linsky/the-word-lead-has-an-indo-european-root-that-means-to-go-forth-die/) [Martin Linsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-linsky/) > [“All Indo-European languages have the capacity to form compounds. Indeed, German and Dutch do it, one might say, to excess. But English does it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/all-indo-european-languages-have-the-capacity-to-form-compounds/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/never-use-a-metaphor-simile-or-other-figure-of-speech-which-you-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“As you listen to political speech, notice those occasions when politicians and other leaders use the passive voice to avoid responsibility for problems and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-peter-clark/as-you-listen-to-political-speech-notice-those-occasions-when/) [Roy Peter Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-peter-clark/) > [“The spelling in the honors essays was mostly correct, and the diction was clear (although my cautious college-bound don’t-take-a-chancers had an irritating tendency to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-spelling-in-the-honors-essays-was-mostly-correct-and-the-diction/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Strunk and White don’t speculate as to why so many writers are attracted to passive verbs, but I’m willing to; I think timid writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/strunk-and-white-don-t-speculate-as-to-why-so-many-writers-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The first sign that you've evolved as a writer is when MS WORD fails to make you feel guilty by putting a green line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaurav-sharma/the-first-sign-that-you-ve-evolved-as-a-writer-is-when-ms-word-fails/) [Gaurav Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaurav-sharma/) > [“...passive voice is better than writing out a humongous number and taking the risk that your readers' brains will be numb by the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-fogarty/passive-voice-is-better-than-writing-out-a-humongous-number-and/) Mignon Fogarty > ['TIME's spell-check always admonishes me whenever I compose a sentence in the passive voice, a warning that is often ignored by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/time-s-spell-check-always-admonishes-me-whenever-i-compose-a-sentence/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [“Except in stock locutions, such as "You were paid yesterday," "The Germans were defeated," or "The project was abandoned," the passive voice is virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/except-in-stock-locutions-such-as-you-were-paid-yesterday-the-germans/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## More by Benjamin Lee Whorf > [We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/we-cut-nature-up-organize-it-into-concepts-and-ascribe-significances/) [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) > [Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/language-shapes-the-way-we-think-and-determines-what-we-can-think/) [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) > [A change in language can transform our appreciation of the cosmos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/a-change-in-language-can-transform-our-appreciation-of-the-cosmos/) [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) > [Language is not simply a reporting device for experience but a defining framework for it. So if, from perhaps some unhealthy desire for sympathetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/language-is-not-simply-a-reporting-device-for-experience-but-a-2/) [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) > [Speech is the best show a man puts on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/speech-is-the-best-show-a-man-puts-on/) [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) > [The world that is coming toward us out of time is going to be very much richer in a mental sense because (among other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/the-world-that-is-coming-toward-us-out-of-time-is-going-to-be-very/) [Benjamin Lee Whorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) [Explore all 7 Benjamin Lee Whorf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/) ## More Adjectives quotes > [To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words… Whoever writes English is involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-write-or-even-speak-english-is-not-a-science-but-an-art-there-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [In the history of the concept of number has been adjective (three cows, three monads) and noun (three, pure and simple), and now ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mazur/in-the-history-of-the-concept-of-number-has-been-adjective-three-cows/) [Barry Mazur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mazur/) > [In my opinion, using different kinds of epithets and adjectives in connection with the word democracy is a sign of mere hypocrisy, to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/in-my-opinion-using-different-kinds-of-epithets-and-adjectives-in/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [But what is memory if not the language of feeling, a dictionary of faces and days and smells which repeat themselves like the verbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/but-what-is-memory-if-not-the-language-of-feeling-a-dictionary-of/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [Eschew all those beastly adjectives...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/eschew-all-those-beastly-adjectives/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [I will give you my definition of a nation, and you can add the adjective 'Jewish.' A Nation is, in my mind, an historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-herzl/i-will-give-you-my-definition-of-a-nation-and-you-can-add-the/) [Theodor Herzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-herzl/) > [The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceived of magic that would make heavy things light and able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-mind-that-thought-of-light-heavy-grey-yellow-still-swift-also/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [Whatever you want to say, there is only one word to express it, only one verb to give it movement, only one adjective to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/whatever-you-want-to-say-there-is-only-one-word-to-express-it-only/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English―it is the modern way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-notice-that-you-use-plain-simple-language-short-words-and-brief/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Purity of action guided Janis's behavior. If she was going to be good, she was very, very good. If she was going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/purity-of-action-guided-janis-s-behavior-if-she-was-going-to-be-good/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [I have been called 'Bongshell' the day I stepped into showbiz. So, any adjective coming my way, I take it positively. Sometimes it's also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bipasha-basu/i-have-been-called-bongshell-the-day-i-stepped-into-showbiz-so-any/) [Bipasha Basu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bipasha-basu/) > [I like that 'Mad Men' is now an adjective I use to describe clothing when I'm shopping: 'I like this top. It's very 'Mad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-brie/i-like-that-mad-men-is-now-an-adjective-i-use-to-describe-clothing/) [Alison Brie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-brie/) > [anything being perceived as being superior takes the noun. And everything that isn't, that's judged to be inferior, requires an adjective. So there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/anything-being-perceived-as-being-superior-takes-the-noun-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The only sort of descriptive adjective or catch phrase for my music would be 'eclectic.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/the-only-sort-of-descriptive-adjective-or-catch-phrase-for-my-music/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) Browse all 239 Adjectives quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Lee Whorf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-derived-from-traditional/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adjectives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-derived-from-traditional/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/benjamin-lee-whorf-51396_adjectives_the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-d_2183325.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive…” — Benjamin Lee Whorf", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Benjamin Lee Whorf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-lee-whorf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The very natural tendency to use...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-derived-from-traditional/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-lee-whorf/the-very-natural-tendency-to-use-terms-derived-from-traditional/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```