--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though harsh in other respects, prison…" description: "\"“Though harsh in other respects, prison would be an excellent place to learn a foreign language - total immersion, and you'd have the new slang before ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png" --- # Though harsh in other respects, prison would be an… ![“Though harsh in other respects, prison would be an excellent place to learn a foreign language - total immersion, and you'd have the new slang before it even hit the streets.” quote by David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png) > ““Though harsh in other respects, prison would be an excellent place to learn a foreign language - total immersion, and you'd have the new slang before it even hit the streets.”” [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immersion in a restrictive environment forces rapid language acquisition, including informal slang, because daily necessity drives learning. **In simple terms:** Living in prison forces you to learn the language quickly, including slang. Key Takeaway Use immersion to accelerate language learning. Themes language learning immersion culture adaptation Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - study abroad - military deployment - relocation - intensive courses Key Concepts sociolinguistics cognitive adaptation Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape language acquisition? - What are ethical concerns of using prisons for education? A Different Perspective Immersion may cause stress or limited exposure to diverse contexts, reducing depth of understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foreign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Slang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slang/) ## Related quotes > [We played a festival in Ireland once, and in the middle of 'New Slang,' the Scissor Sisters kicked in across the field on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/we-played-a-festival-in-ireland-once-and-in-the-middle-of-new-slang/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [“We're headed for Aleph-7. Panty raid." New slang term for the type of operation whose main object was to gather Tauran artifacts, and prisoners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/we-re-headed-for-aleph-7-panty-raid-new-slang-term-for-the-type-of/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [“Are you okay? Did that dickwad do or say something out of pocket to you?” Her eyes slid open. “Dickwad?” she murmured. “Have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-wesley/are-you-okay-did-that-dickwad-do-or-say-something-out-of-pocket-to/) Jamie Wesley > [“The inability to correctly perceive reality is often responsible for humans' insane behavior. And every time they substitute an all-purpose, sloppy slang word for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-inability-to-correctly-perceive-reality-is-often-responsible-for/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“On the whole I try to keep Modesty and Willie in timeless settings, which is why I avoid all the latest slang and in-words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-donnell/on-the-whole-i-try-to-keep-modesty-and-willie-in-timeless-settings/) Peter O'Donnell > [Slang has different functions: many of the words we use are playful and a lot are tribal - we speak the same way as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/slang-has-different-functions-many-of-the-words-we-use-are-playful/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [If you use a colloquialism or a slang word or phrase, simply use it; do not draw attention to it by enclosing it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-use-a-colloquialism-or-a-slang-word-or-phrase-simply-use-it-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I use 'wicked' all the time! It's part of my slang! When something's really rad, I'm like, 'That's wicked.' It has many meanings but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-maxwell/i-use-wicked-all-the-time-it-s-part-of-my-slang-when-something-s/) [Stella Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-maxwell/) > [Such is life, my fellow-mummers-just like a poor player that bluffs and feints his hour upon the stage, and then cheapens down to mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/such-is-life-my-fellow-mummers-just-like-a-poor-player-that-bluffs/) Joseph Furphy > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [My life changed forever when I found out the word slang was actually slang for shortened language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/my-life-changed-forever-when-i-found-out-the-word-slang-was-actually/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [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/) > [I would rather have written Fables in Slang than be President.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-allen-white/i-would-rather-have-written-fables-in-slang-than-be-president/) [William Allen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-allen-white/) > [I have no desire to be hip to the latest black slang and do the stereotypical black thing. I was a Richard Pryor fan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklyn-ajaye/i-have-no-desire-to-be-hip-to-the-latest-black-slang-and-do-the/) [Franklyn Ajaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklyn-ajaye/) > [I was able to make up lots of portementos, literally hundreds and hundreds of words... See, I find that mine don't have any meanings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-fraser/i-was-able-to-make-up-lots-of-portementos-literally-hundreds-and/) [Elizabeth Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-fraser/) ## More by David Sedaris > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“never fall asleep in a Dumpster, never underestimate a bee, never drive a convertible behind a flatbed truck, never get old, never get drunk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/never-fall-asleep-in-a-dumpster-never-underestimate-a-bee-never-drive/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“It was a father, one hand resting teapot-style on his hip, and the other - what would be the spout - formed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/it-was-a-father-one-hand-resting-teapot-style-on-his-hip-and-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“A Japanese woman we’d met in Paris came to the apartment yesterday and spent several hours explaining our appliances. The microwave, the water kettle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/a-japanese-woman-we-d-met-in-paris-came-to-the-apartment-yesterday/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [One thing I like about the United States, and I kind of miss about the United States, is there's an election coming up here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/one-thing-i-like-about-the-united-states-and-i-kind-of-miss-about-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [When you read comic material and people aren't laughing how do you know they're listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/when-you-read-comic-material-and-people-aren-t-laughing-how-do-you/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“You have how many children in your family?" the teacher would ask. "I'm guessing you must be Catholic, am I right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-have-how-many-children-in-your-family-the-teacher-would-ask-i-m/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“Like most seasoned phonies, I roundly suspect that everyone is as disingenuous as I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/like-most-seasoned-phonies-i-roundly-suspect-that-everyone-is-as/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [As a child I assumed that when I reached adulthood, I would have grown-up thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/as-a-child-i-assumed-that-when-i-reached-adulthood-i-would-have-grown/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“You just take and take don´t you? Out there with your thumb in the air—not a care in the world, just grabbing whatever you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-just-take-and-take-don-t-you-out-there-with-your-thumb-in-the-air/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [In other parts of the country people tried to stay together for the sake of the children. In New York they tried to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/in-other-parts-of-the-country-people-tried-to-stay-together-for-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [My boyfriend got me a computer three years ago. I'll admit it does make things a lot easier. When I was working on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/my-boyfriend-got-me-a-computer-three-years-ago-i-ll-admit-it-does/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I spent months searching for some secret code before I realized that common sense has nothing to do with it. Hysteria, psychosis, torture, depression:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-spent-months-searching-for-some-secret-code-before-i-realized-that/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I hated leaving a hole in the smoking world, and so I recruited someone to take my place. People have given me a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-hated-leaving-a-hole-in-the-smoking-world-and-so-i-recruited/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [Write relentlessly, until you find your voice. Then, use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/write-relentlessly-until-you-find-your-voice-then-use-it/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) [Explore all 667 David Sedaris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More Foreign language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Hear me now or regret it later: Everything you write must be read aloud. Once all the context items are in place, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiro-adachi/hear-me-now-or-regret-it-later-everything-you-write-must-be-read/) Jiro Adachi > [Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiss nichts von seiner eigenen.He who is ignorant of foreign languages, knows not his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/wer-fremde-sprachen-nicht-kennt-weiss-nichts-von-seiner-eigenen-he/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The immense value of becoming acquainted with a foreign language is that we are thereby led into a new world of tradition and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/the-immense-value-of-becoming-acquainted-with-a-foreign-language-is/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [As the president of Kosovo, I am more concerned about the current situation with the employment standing at around 70 % of the population,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-rugova/as-the-president-of-kosovo-i-am-more-concerned-about-the-current/) [Ibrahim Rugova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-rugova/) > [I have a one-question language test that people who have lived abroad do better on than those who studied in a classroom. Try my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/i-have-a-one-question-language-test-that-people-who-have-lived-abroad/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [“Under ordinary circumstances, we learn to speak before we learn to read, and anyone who has tried to learn a foreign language knows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/under-ordinary-circumstances-we-learn-to-speak-before-we-learn-to/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“The Actor, noticing a closed bookshop, dismounted from the horse which he tied to a street lamp. He woke up the bookseller and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-limbour/the-actor-noticing-a-closed-bookshop-dismounted-from-the-horse-which/) [Georges Limbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-limbour/) > [One of the things I like about my job is that it draws on the entire person: not just your knowledge of grammar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-my-job-is-that-it-draws-on-the-entire/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Modern man is educated to understand foreign languages and misunderstand foreigners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/modern-man-is-educated-to-understand-foreign-languages-and/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I think most Israelis prefer not to know. So for them, texts about the occupation are like something that's been written in a foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amira-hass/i-think-most-israelis-prefer-not-to-know-so-for-them-texts-about-the/) [Amira Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amira-hass/) > [“You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-are-so-young-so-much-before-all-beginning-and-i-would-like-to-beg/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [The language skill in the U.S. for the most part has been awful. Many Americans don't learn any foreign language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-schwarzman/the-language-skill-in-the-u-s-for-the-most-part-has-been-awful-many/) [Stephen A. Schwarzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-schwarzman/) [Browse all 281 Foreign language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Though harsh in other respects, prison would be an excellent place to learn a foreign language - total immersion, and you'd have the new slang before it even hit the streets.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Sedaris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-would-be-an-excellent-place-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Foreign language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-would-be-an-excellent-place-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/david-sedaris-333_foreign-language_though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-wo_1123574.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Though harsh in other respects, prison would be an excellent place to learn a foreign language - total…” — David Sedaris", "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": "David Sedaris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Though harsh in other respects, prison...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-would-be-an-excellent-place-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/though-harsh-in-other-respects-prison-would-be-an-excellent-place-to/#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 } } ] } ```