--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: although culture is a creation of speech…" description: "\"“although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication—from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to televi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg" --- # although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated… ![“although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication—from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to television. Each medium, like language itself, makes possible a unique mode of discourse by providing a new orientation for thought, for expression, for…” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg) > ““although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication—from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to television. Each medium, like language itself, makes possible a unique mode of discourse by providing a new orientation for thought, for expression, for sensibility.”” [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues each communication medium reshapes culture, offering new ways to think and express. **In simple terms:** Every medium creates its own cultural style. Key Takeaway Adapt thinking to new media. Themes media theory culture communication technology Mood reflective critical Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - advertising - social media - education - journalism Key Concepts semiotics cognitive shift media ecology Questions to Reflect On - How does social media change public debate? - What are the trade‑offs of visual versus textual media? A Different Perspective New media can limit depth of discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [The dialectical or ecological approach asserts that creating the world is involved in our every act. It is impossible for us to operate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/the-dialectical-or-ecological-approach-asserts-that-creating-the/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [“The real reason that language so often carries magic is because humans have trouble not ascribing special power to it. Language makes so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/the-real-reason-that-language-so-often-carries-magic-is-because/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [“Thus it is that the Internet, once heralded as an exciting new medium of communication, is now little more than a vast mail-order catalogue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/thus-it-is-that-the-internet-once-heralded-as-an-exciting-new-medium/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [This is the problem with language, and this is what makes silent movies fun, because the connection with them, me or the audience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-hazanavicius/this-is-the-problem-with-language-and-this-is-what-makes-silent/) [Michel Hazanavicius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-hazanavicius/) > [I do not pretend to know precisely what is on foot there; but I think it pretty evident that there is a very free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-f-wade/i-do-not-pretend-to-know-precisely-what-is-on-foot-there-but-i-think/) [Benjamin F. Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-f-wade/) > [I think the written word is probably the best medium of communication because you have time to reflect, you have time to choose your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the-best-medium-of-communication/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We are tied down to a language which makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-are-tied-down-to-a-language-which-makes-up-in-obscurity-what-it/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Language is material to shape and mold, not only a transparent or invisible medium for communication, business contracts, or telling stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/language-is-material-to-shape-and-mold-not-only-a-transparent-or/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [Language makes culture, and we make a rotten culture when we abuse words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/language-makes-culture-and-we-make-a-rotten-culture-when-we-abuse/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I think that cinema is medium of communication. It's as valid as novels or fine art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/i-think-that-cinema-is-medium-of-communication-it-s-as-valid-as/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [English is the medium of communication for people all over India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aparna-sen/english-is-the-medium-of-communication-for-people-all-over-india/) [Aparna Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aparna-sen/) > [The managerial class has forced on us a public language that makes no sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-watson/the-managerial-class-has-forced-on-us-a-public-language-that-makes-no/) [Don Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-watson/) > [That kind of language is what makes us laugh. Like, "Well, just eFax that to me, and I'll take a look at it."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-heidecker/that-kind-of-language-is-what-makes-us-laugh-like-well-just-efax-that/) [Tim Heidecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-heidecker/) > [“Daisuke was of course equipped with conversation that, even if they went further, would allow him to retreat as if nothing had happened. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsume-s-seki/daisuke-was-of-course-equipped-with-conversation-that-even-if-they/) [Natsume Sōseki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsume-s-seki/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) ## More by Neil Postman > [“to whom will the technology give greater power and freedom? And whose power and freedom will be reduced by it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/to-whom-will-the-technology-give-greater-power-and-freedom-and-whose/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Textbooks, it seems to me, are enemies of education, instruments for promoting dogmatism and trivial learning. They may save the teacher some trouble, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/textbooks-it-seems-to-me-are-enemies-of-education-instruments-for/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [The whole problem with news on television comes down to this: all the words uttered in an hour of news coverage could be printed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-whole-problem-with-news-on-television-comes-down-to-this-all-the/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“There being no international copyright laws, “pirated” editions abounded, with no complaint from the public, or much from authors, who were lionized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/there-being-no-international-copyright-laws-pirated-editions-abounded/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The television commercial is not at all about the character of products to be consumed. It is about the character of the consumers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-television-commercial-is-not-at-all-about-the-character-of/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Many decisions about the form and content of news programs are made on the basis of information about the viewer, the purpose of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/many-decisions-about-the-form-and-content-of-news-programs-are-made/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“the world we live in is very nearly incomprehensible to most of us. There is almost no fact, whether actual or imagined, that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-world-we-live-in-is-very-nearly-incomprehensible-to-most-of-us/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Tüketici psikodramalarla yatıştırılan bir hastadır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/t-ketici-psikodramalarla-yat-t-r-lan-bir-hastad-r/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The written word is assumed to have been reflected upon and revised by its author,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-written-word-is-assumed-to-have-been-reflected-upon-and-revised/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-do-not-measure-a-culture-by-its-output-of-undisguised-trivialities/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“In America, the least amusing people are its professional entertainers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/in-america-the-least-amusing-people-are-its-professional-entertainers/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the-year-came-and-the-prophecy/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The question is not, Does or doesn't public schooling create a public? The question is, What kind of public does it create? A conglomerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-question-is-not-does-or-doesn-t-public-schooling-create-a-public/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) [Explore all 220 Neil Postman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication—from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to television. Each medium, like language itself, makes possible a unique mode of discourse by providing a new orientation for thought, for expression, for sensibility.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Postman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech-it-is-recreated-anew-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech-it-is-recreated-anew-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/neil-postman-1598_communication_although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech_2947456.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication—from…” — Neil Postman", "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": "Neil Postman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“although culture is a creation of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech-it-is-recreated-anew-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech-it-is-recreated-anew-by/#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 } } ] } ```