Behave Quote by Hal Whitehead

“Linguists have long debated the links between language, culture, and cognition. The theory of linguistic relativity posits that language itself—the specific tongue that we…

— Emily Anthes

Human language appears to be a unique phenomenon, without significant analogue in the animal world.

— Noam Chomsky

It's perfectly obvious that there is some genetic factor that distinguishes humans from other animals and that it is language-specific. The theory of that…

— Noam Chomsky

Human language is mythological and metaphorical by nature.

— W. H. Auden

Language as a real thing is not imitation either of sounds or colors or emotions it is an intellectual recreation and there is nopossible…

— Gertrude Stein

Language is possible due to a number of cognitive and physical characteristics that are unique to humans but none of which that are unique…

— Daniel Everett

I think when we engage in language we are engaging in something that is specifically and primally human.

— ZZ Packer

The gift of language is the single human trait that marks us all genetically, setting us apart from the rest of life.

— Lewis Thomas

“The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached ... We see and hear…

— Edward Sapir

Language is something that springs from the biological matrix, and the neurological matrix, within us.

— Terence McKenna

Language surely does affect our thoughts, rather than just labeling them for the sake of labeling them. Most obviously, language is the conduit through…

— Steven Pinker

Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.

— Benjamin Lee Whorf