--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It wasn’t story (good or bad) that pulled…" description: "\"“It wasn’t story (good or bad) that pulled me in; it was English itself, the way it felt in my braces-caged mouth and rattled around my adolescent head..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/kory-stamper-11455_english_it-wasn-t-story-good-or-bad-that-pulled_513780.jpg" --- # It wasn’t story (good or bad) that pulled me in; it was… ![“It wasn’t story (good or bad) that pulled me in; it was English itself, the way it felt in my braces-caged mouth and rattled around my adolescent head.” quote by Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/kory-stamper-11455_english_it-wasn-t-story-good-or-bad-that-pulled_513780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/kory-stamper-11455_english_it-wasn-t-story-good-or-bad-that-pulled_513780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/kory-stamper-11455_english_it-wasn-t-story-good-or-bad-that-pulled_513780.jpg) > ““It wasn’t story (good or bad) that pulled me in; it was English itself, the way it felt in my braces-caged mouth and rattled around my adolescent head.”” [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker is drawn to the sound and physical sensation of English, not its narrative content. **In simple terms:** English captivates through its feel and rhythm. Key Takeaway Appreciate language's sensory impact. Themes language sensory experience learning identity Mood reflective introspective Type literary personal When to use this quote - language classes - public speaking - writing workshops - personal reflection Key Concepts phonetics embodiment cultural immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does the physical feel of language shape your identity? - Do you prioritize sound over story? A Different Perspective The focus on sound may overlook meaning and context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“I shot him a broad smile, a smile wide enough to present him with a good view of the wire braces that caged my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-shot-him-a-broad-smile-a-smile-wide-enough-to-present-him-with-a/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“This explains so much," she said, clucking her tongue in mother-hen fashion. "You're compensating for this withered appendage." Withered appendage? What the devil was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/this-explains-so-much-she-said-clucking-her-tongue-in-mother-hen/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [The word rattled in my head like rocks in an oatmeal box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/the-word-rattled-in-my-head-like-rocks-in-an-oatmeal-box/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“They rattled my cage to see if I’d bite. When they released me, they’d see that the answer was yes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-hodkin/they-rattled-my-cage-to-see-if-i-d-bite-when-they-released-me-they-d/) [Michelle Hodkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-hodkin/) > [I used to panic and get rattled when I was young, but as I've got older, I've started literally to live day to day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/i-used-to-panic-and-get-rattled-when-i-was-young-but-as-i-ve-got/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [“When she gets rattled, the South really comes out. Once when Daddy tried to cancel our country club membership because he said the dues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/when-she-gets-rattled-the-south-really-comes-out-once-when-daddy/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [“an Underground train roared and rattled, driving a ghost-wind along the platform, which scattered a copy of the tabloid Sun into its component pages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/an-underground-train-roared-and-rattled-driving-a-ghost-wind-along/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'm a very poised guy. I don't really get rattled easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-oubre-jr/i-m-a-very-poised-guy-i-don-t-really-get-rattled-easily/) [Kelly Oubre, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-oubre-jr/) > [I don't get rattled about the big things. I get rattled when I have to pick up my laundry, get gas in the car,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-stringfield/i-don-t-get-rattled-about-the-big-things-i-get-rattled-when-i-have-to/) [Sherry Stringfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-stringfield/) > [Every quarterback can be rattled. There's no guy who can't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-pierre-paul/every-quarterback-can-be-rattled-there-s-no-guy-who-can-t-be/) [Jason Pierre-Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-pierre-paul/) > [When you're too mad and too rattled to see straight, you're bound to make mistakes. You can't go on and on for years being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/when-you-re-too-mad-and-too-rattled-to-see-straight-you-re-bound-to/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [We were rattled. A team like Rutgers, they play in spurts, and they didn't have a large spurt. We certainly knew we had it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-staley/we-were-rattled-a-team-like-rutgers-they-play-in-spurts-and-they-didn/) [Dawn Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-staley/) > [To be silent. In hopes of not offending, in hopes of being accepted. But what happened to people who never spoke, never raised their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/to-be-silent-in-hopes-of-not-offending-in-hopes-of-being-accepted-but/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [“Something bashed against the submarine with such a tremendous force that the vessel rocked violently from side to side, throwing people back and forth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-f-wilson/something-bashed-against-the-submarine-with-such-a-tremendous-force/) [Dean F. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-f-wilson/) > [“That rattled Lindsey. At home a teacher who used that dirty word would be suspended. One who repeated it could be fired. and besides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackey-chandler/that-rattled-lindsey-at-home-a-teacher-who-used-that-dirty-word-would/) [Mackey Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackey-chandler/) ## More by Kory Stamper > [“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/) > [“Then Eric talked for half an hour about the Albanian word for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/then-eric-talked-for-half-an-hour-about-the-albanian-word-for/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“Like many things that are claimed as Western inventions, grammar was first practiced in the East. According to scholars, there is a rich tradition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/like-many-things-that-are-claimed-as-western-inventions-grammar-was/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [Whenever you try and simplify how people speak, it's just hard to squish them into a simple rule. Language doesn't work that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/whenever-you-try-and-simplify-how-people-speak-it-s-just-hard-to/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/we-think-of-english-as-a-fortress-to-be-defended-but-a-better-analogy/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“It is best, in fact, to assume that every verbal illustration you write will offend someone, somewhere, at some point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/it-is-best-in-fact-to-assume-that-every-verbal-illustration-you-write/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“Removing racial slurs from the dictionary will not eliminate racism; removing “injustice” from the dictionary will not bring about justice. If it were really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/removing-racial-slurs-from-the-dictionary-will-not-eliminate-racism/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [What makes autocorrect really interesting for a lexicographer is we read in a very weird way. A lot of times we'll catch things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/what-makes-autocorrect-really-interesting-for-a-lexicographer-is-we/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [I make the case in the book that Standard English, that language we all aspire to live and move and have our being within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/i-make-the-case-in-the-book-that-standard-english-that-language-we/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“bor·bo·ryg·mus \\ˌbȯr-bə-ˈrig-məs\\ n, pl bor·bo·ryg·mi \\-ˌmī\\ : intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas (MWC11)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/bor-bo-ryg-mus-bo-r-b-rig-m-s-n-pl-bor-bo-ryg-mi-m-intestinal/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“Person, Place, Thing (Noun); Describes Action (Verb); Modifies Nouns (Adjective); Answers the W Questions (Adverb); Joins Words Together (Conjunction); Things We Say When We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/person-place-thing-noun-describes-action-verb-modifies-nouns/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [A lot of people thought oh, we caught the dictionary in racism, or all it takes is a whole bunch of people saying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/a-lot-of-people-thought-oh-we-caught-the-dictionary-in-racism-or-all/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [Words have always been political, and that means that, in many people's minds, dictionaries are political. Because that's what dictionaries do: they do words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/words-have-always-been-political-and-that-means-that-in-many-people-s/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“It’s not all “molly” and “asshat.” The etymologies of some words are, for the lexicographer and average joe alike, boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/it-s-not-all-molly-and-asshat-the-etymologies-of-some-words-are-for/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [The history of English is full of that, lots of things done with good intentions that 200 years down the road have resulted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/the-history-of-english-is-full-of-that-lots-of-things-done-with-good/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) [Explore all 60 Kory Stamper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) ## More English quotes > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not very good at standard English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-m-not-very-good-at-standard-english/) [James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/) > [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. The old Soviet Union turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/while-we-like-to-think-queueing-is-unique-to-british-culture-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [I was brought up by the English side of my family, who are very repressed and working class. Absolutely lovely, but very English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/i-was-brought-up-by-the-english-side-of-my-family-who-are-very/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [No, I didn't forget Samoan - I understand it when you talk to me but, you know, to put phrases together I sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-seau/no-i-didn-t-forget-samoan-i-understand-it-when-you-talk-to-me-but-you/) [Junior Seau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-seau/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“New Englanders could be so brusque.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/new-englanders-could-be-so-brusque/) [Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/) > [Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. 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