The Internet offers endangered languages a chance to have a public voice in a way that would not have been possible before.
David CrystalRead
Language has no independent existence apart from the people who use it. It is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end of understanding who you are and what society is like.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Language is shaped by its users and serves as a tool for understanding ourselves and our society.
In this quote, David Crystal emphasizes the dynamic relationship between language and the people who communicate with it. He suggests that language is not merely a collection of words or rules, but rather a living medium that reflects the identities and social contexts of its speakers. Through language, we seek to connect with others, express our individuality, and gain insight into the nature of our communities, indicating that understanding ourselves and our society is achieved through the use of language.
Themes
LanguageCommunicationUnderstandingIdentitySociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on communication skills, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of understanding language.
More from David Crystal
All quotes →The main effect of the Internet on language has been to increase the expressive richness of language, providing the language with a new set of communicative dimensions that haven't existed in the past.
David CrystalRead
Bilingualism lets you have your cake and eat it. The new language opens the doors to the best jobs in society; the old language allows you to keep your sense of 'who you are.' It preserves your identity. With two languages, you have the best of both worlds.
David CrystalRead
Enshrined in a language is the whole of a community's history and a large part of its cultural identity. The world is a mosaic of visions. To lose even one piece of this mosaic is a loss for all of us.
David CrystalRead
Every usage, no matter how bizarre or nonstandard, fascinates me, as it tells me something about the way language is evolving.
David CrystalRead
Likewise, there is no evidence that texting teaches people to spell badly: rather, research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely to be the most literate and the best spellers, because you have to know how to manipulate language.
David CrystalRead
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