---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you look at the historical record, you…"
description: "\"“If you look at the historical record, you will find that language has always been in decline. Which means, really, and it never has.”\" — Robert Lane G..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg"
---

#  If you look at the historical record, you will find that…

![“If you look at the historical record, you will find that language has always been in decline. Which means, really, and it never has.” quote by Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg)

> ““If you look at the historical record, you will find that language has always been in decline. Which means, really, and it never has.””

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

History shows language constantly evolves, contradicting the belief that it is in decline; language never truly declines.

**In simple terms:** Language always changes, never truly declines.

Key Takeaway

Accept language’s continual evolution.

Themes

language history change

Mood

analytical curious

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

- education
- media
- technology
- globalization

Key Concepts

linguistics culture communication

Questions to Reflect On

- How does language change affect communication today?
- What evidence shows language is not declining?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex linguistic trends.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Decline Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline-means-4565551/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Historical Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-record-1241008/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-decline-1528187/) [Record Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-language-4565552/)

## Related quotes

> [Language is in decline. Not only has eloquence departed but simple, direct speech as well, though pomposity and banality have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-newman/language-is-in-decline-not-only-has-eloquence-departed-but-simple/)

[Edwin Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-newman/)

> [This 'historical record' will exist, flawed as it is, in hundreds of years. What will that tell the future? How accurate are we reporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/this-historical-record-will-exist-flawed-as-it-is-in-hundreds-of/)

[Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/)

> [The reporters are needed to validate the historical record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-walczak/the-reporters-are-needed-to-validate-the-historical-record/)

[Witold Walczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-walczak/)

> [“historical record.3 Such a death, some people say, hurts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rinku-sen/historical-record-3-such-a-death-some-people-say-hurts/)

[Rinku Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rinku-sen/)

> [The historical record suggests that the transition to to a new hegemon has always been attended by what I have elsewhere called hegemonic war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/the-historical-record-suggests-that-the-transition-to-to-a-new/)

[Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/)

> [“As an American historian, I am required to keep an accurate and truthful historical record.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/as-an-american-historian-i-am-required-to-keep-an-accurate-and/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/)

[Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/)

> [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/)

[Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/)

> [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/)

[Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/)

> [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [In my humble opinion, the PC as we have known it is in a continuous decline and being relegated to a utility device for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-ruiz/in-my-humble-opinion-the-pc-as-we-have-known-it-is-in-a-continuous/)

[Hector Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-ruiz/)

> [The challenge is either to build an economy that is sustainable or to stay with our unsustainable economy until it declines. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/the-challenge-is-either-to-build-an-economy-that-is-sustainable-or-to/)

[Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/)

> [Low levels of vitamin D in the population as a whole suggest that most people need to take a vitamin D supplement. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-in-the-population-as-a-whole-suggest-that/)

[Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/)

> [When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-martin/when-a-man-imagines-even-after-years-of-striving-that-he-has-attained/)

[Theodore Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-martin/)

> [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/)

[Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/)

## More by Robert Lane Greene

> [“Peeves are like that: my peeves are law, yours are unhealthy obsessions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/peeves-are-like-that-my-peeves-are-law-yours-are-unhealthy-obsessions/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Only 8000 different words appear in the Hebrew Bible, compared to the 20,000 or more that the average adult needs to know in most languages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/only-8000-different-words-appear-in-the-hebrew-bible-compared-to-the/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“to form such harsh unharmonious Sounds, that none but a Northern Ear could endure: They”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/to-form-such-harsh-unharmonious-sounds-that-none-but-a-northern-ear/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Arguments about language are usually arguments about politics, disguised and channeled through one of our most distinctive markers of identity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/arguments-about-language-are-usually-arguments-about-politics/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Afrikaans was the language of the white minority in South Africa, and the forced learning of it created resentment among blacks. Even so, Nelson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/afrikaans-was-the-language-of-the-white-minority-in-south-africa-and/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“I think flexibility, humility, and multilingualism should take the place of sticklerism, arrogance, and nationalism when we think about language. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/i-think-flexibility-humility-and-multilingualism-should-take-the/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Virtually anything can be translated—“X cannot be translated” usually means nothing more exciting than “We have a word, X, that you need three or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/virtually-anything-can-be-translated-x-cannot-be-translated-usually/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“America’s short-lived experiment with language planning is so obscure to modern memory that while the Klingon language has a 3,000-word entry on Wikipedia, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/america-s-short-lived-experiment-with-language-planning-is-so-obscure/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“I'd start to explain with the outward sheepish and inner pride of the nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/i-d-start-to-explain-with-the-outward-sheepish-and-inner-pride-of-the/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Knowing the difference between “infer” and “imply” is no more likely to create a skeptical, bullshit-detecting citizen than knowing the atomic weight of uranium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/knowing-the-difference-between-infer-and-imply-is-no-more-likely-to/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“It is possible to communicate beautifully or boringly, in every language on Earth. But people don't like to believe this. They make self-aggrandizing myths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/it-is-possible-to-communicate-beautifully-or-boringly-in-every/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Language is not law; it is in fact a lot like music. Speech is jazz – first you learn the basic rules, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/language-is-not-law-it-is-in-fact-a-lot-like-music-speech-is-jazz/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Other “no-word-for” and “can’t-be-translated” myths include the stories that the Irish have no word for “sex” or even “yes” (how, one wonders, is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/other-no-word-for-and-can-t-be-translated-myths-include-the-stories/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Bryson says we have no word for the Danish hygge, then goes on to tell us exactly what it means: “instantly satisfying and cozy”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/bryson-says-we-have-no-word-for-the-danish-hygge-then-goes-on-to-tell/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

> [“Though it's true that (dictionary-maker Samuel) Johnson sometimes seem to feel that the language was in decline, he didn't rail against it with (Jonathan)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/though-it-s-true-that-dictionary-maker-samuel-johnson-sometimes-seem/)

[Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

[Explore all 36 Robert Lane Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/)

## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“If you look at the historical record, you will find that language has always been in decline. Which means, really, and it never has.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Lane Greene"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you-will-find-that-language-has/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you-will-find-that-language-has/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/robert-lane-greene-17719_communication_if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you_547630.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you look at the historical record, you will find that language has always been in decline. Which means…” — Robert Lane Greene",
                "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": "Robert Lane Greene",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“If you look at the historical...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you-will-find-that-language-has/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/if-you-look-at-the-historical-record-you-will-find-that-language-has/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
