National languages are all huge systems of vested interests which sullenly resist critical inquiry. Edward Sapir Read Quote
Cultural anthropology is more and more rapidly getting to realize itself as a strictly historical science. Edward Sapir Read Quote
As a matter of fact, a national language which spreads beyond its own confines very quickly loses much of its original richness of content and is in no better case than a constructed language. Edward Sapir Read Quote
The psychology of a language which, in one way or another, is imposed upon one because of factors beyond one’s control, is very different from the psychology of a language which one accepts of one’s free will. Edward Sapir Read Quote
More and more, unsolicited gifts from without are likely to be received with unconscious resentment. Edward Sapir Read Quote
Impatience translates itself into a desire to have something immediate done about it all, and, as is generally the case with impatience, resolves itself in the easiest way that lies ready to hand. Edward Sapir Read Quote
French and German illustrate the misleading character of apparent grammatical simplicity just as well. Edward Sapir Read Quote
Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. Edward Sapir Read Quote
In a sense, every form of expression is imposed upon one by social factors, one’s own language above all. Edward Sapir Read Quote
It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection. Edward Sapir Read Quote
