Languages And Culture Quotes

“Chi non conosce le lingue straniere non conosce nulla della propria.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“The word for bank is the same, but the word for money changer is not, and while I have never learned the etymology behind this minor asymmetry I can imagine it represents centuries of cultural and ideological dissidence.”
― Lisa Halliday, Asymmetry

“In the absence of a formally agreed, worldwide dictionary definition of 'Quotography' (in 2016), here are my two cents worth: 'Quotography is the art of pairing unique quotations with complementary images in order to express thought-provoking ideas, challenging concepts, profound sentiments'.”
― Alex Morritt, Lines & Lenses

“The ion and dust tails seemed to be pointing away from the crackling fire of the sun. Looking more closely, one tail was gray mixed with yellow and white and the second was blue fading into teal. The color change was softer than melting wax. A bright green coma glowed around the center. I felt as though I was seeing magic for the first time as the warmth from our great star heated up the comet, causing it to spew dust and gasses into a giant glowing head larger than most planets.

The comet’s magnificence and grandeur stirred me, much like a transcendent piece of music that envelops one’s soul. “I’ve never seen a comet before,” I confessed, my voice filled with a mix of wonder and emotion.

I could feel a tear form in my eye. I blinked it away. Bello, pulchram, bela, hermoso, yafah, ómorfi, Meilì. I could express the concept of beauty in numerous languages, but none of them truly captured the essence of my feelings as I gazed at the comet. It was a sight of indescribable beauty, as if musical notes had been sketched across the canvas of the night sky. I would never forget the comet—similar to Xuan, exciting, rare, and stunning.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Xuan whispered.

I looked at Xuan, but instead of looking at the sky, Xuan was staring at me. He stood, his hands jammed into his pockets, as he quickly turned his gaze to wander over the peaceful metropolis.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“If you wanna know about a culture, you can read about it in any language - but if you want to experience that culture like your own, you gotta do it as one of their own - through their own native language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“Polyglots have more fun.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Hometown Human Sonnet

Everybody loves Rumi,
I learnt his tongue,
So I could pick up where he left off.
Better than basking in borrowed light,
Is to be an original light to the world.

Everybody yells, viva la libertad,
I learnt el idioma, so I could
humanize the paradigm of revolution.
Everybody loves Indus valley diversity,
Annitiki munde anni shaashtralu nerchkunnanu,
So I'm never out of spice for my humanitarianism.

Everybody loves boasting about their culture,
I spent years making all the cultures my own.
Thus my strength was amplified a thousand folds,
My sight expanded beyond all norms of vision known.

Polyglots have more fun - there is no question.
When science, poetry and polyglottery come together,
That's the beginning of a paradigm bending revolution.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“When science, poetry and polyglottery come together, that's the beginning of a paradigm bending revolution.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Our language reflects our world. We give the things we see - things that matter - names.”
― Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

“English is my second language,
My first language is love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“The best use of language is to surpass the language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“The ion and dust tails seemed to be pointing away from the crackling fire of the sun. Looking more closely, one tail was gray mixed with yellow and white and the second was blue fading into teal. The color change was softer than melting wax. A bright green coma glowed around the center. I felt as though I was seeing magic for the first time as the warmth from our great star heated up the comet, causing it to spew dust and gasses into a giant glowing head larger than most planets.
The comet’s magnificence and grandeur stirred me, much like a transcendent piece of music that envelops one’s soul. “I’ve never seen a comet before,” I confessed, my voice filled with a mix of wonder and emotion.
I could feel a tear form in my eye. I blinked it away. Bello, pulchram, bela, hermoso, yafah, ómorfi, Meilì. I could express the concept of beauty in numerous languages, but none of them truly captured the essence of my feelings as I gazed at the comet. It was a sight of indescribable beauty, as if musical notes had been sketched across the canvas of the night sky. I would never forget the comet—similar to Xuan, exciting, rare, and stunning.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Xuan whispered.
I looked at Xuan, but instead of looking at the sky, Xuan was staring at me. He stood, his hands jammed into his pockets, as he quickly turned his gaze to wander over the peaceful metropolis.”
― Kayla Cunningham

“AI can translate info, not inkling,
AI can translate facts, not poetry.
Till a tongue transcends lips to soul,
Translations are but soulless forgery.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“Each language leaves a distinct mental imprint,
Inaccessible by the fanciest of translator.
Translation gives a glimpse into the head,
Language is highway to the soul of a culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“AI can translate info, not inkling,
AI can translate facts, not poetry.
Till a tongue transcends lips to soul,
Translations are but soulless forgery.

Each language leaves a distinct mental imprint,
Inaccessible by the fanciest of translator.
Translation gives a glimpse into the head,
Language is highway to the soul of a culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“Understanding the language is a quintessential part of understanding the culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“When I wanna pen something extremely personal, without actually revealing anything, I just write it in spanish or turkish. If you wanna study the mountain, study the mainstream work - but if you wanna learn about the person, study the turkish and spanish portion of my work.

That's why most of the titles of my works are in turkish or spanish - because I can't write a single word unless I feel the title boiling in my blood - and although English is unofficially the first language of earth, because of its savage imperialist history, it is neither the profoundest nor the most beautiful language on earth.

Does that mean, we should wipe out english from the world altogether? Of course not - that would be yet another boneheaded exercise in bigotry and intolerance. Instead, what's really needed is a genuine humane intention to create a truly magnificent
multilingual society - towards a multicultural world. Learn to look beyond the puny confines of one petty language, because the world is too grand to be wasted in the gutter of one language and one culture. Every culture is my culture, every country is mine - defiant descendants of divided ancestors, hand in hand we shall fly.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“Art of Linguistics (Sonnet 1223)

No language speaks of freedom better than spanish,
No language speaks of love better than turkish,
No language speaks of oneness better than sanskrit,
No language interprets better than our good ol' english.

No language speaks to computers better than code,
No language speaks of matter better than physics.
No language speaks of mind better than neurology,
No language speaks pattern better than mathematics.

No language speaks of thought better than philosophy,
No language speaks of emotion better than poetry.
No language speaks of justice better than sociology,
No language speaks of behavior better than psychology.

Purpose of language is communication not argumentation,
If it doesn't bridge the cliffs it all brings but extinction.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“My favorite language in the world is Turkish,
Because its culture electrifies my scars.
My favorite language in the East is Telugu,
Because its music emboldens my nerves.
My favorite language in the West is Spanish,
Because it teaches me the worth of freedom.
Favorite ancient tongues are Arabic 'n Sanskrit,
For one embodies peace, another assimilation.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“For many thousands of years, humans used pictures to communicate their deepest emotions/fears/values. During the prehistoric era, they painted on the walls of caves. In later years, they framed their paintings and hung them in museums. They used pictures to tell stories, to entertain, to educate, to advertise. Eventually, humans discovered their most effective method of communicating through pictures: The emoji.”
― Lee Bacon, The Last Human: A Novel

“Languages we speak give us different personas. Some languages can make us sound angry and aggressive, while some others can make us sound friendly and polite.”
― Shon Mehta, Lair Of The Monster

“My mother can hold her own where foreign words are involved. The simple duo-syllable 'croissant' comes out variously as 'craw-sank', 'crass-ant', or 'crah-sint', the word seeming to have no business being in her mouth and getting spat out as quickly as possible like a bad oyster.”
― John Niven, O Brother

“I don't need to write in all these languages of the world - those who care, will find a way. I write in more than one language because I want to. I want to leave at least something extremely personal for every culture in the world - that is, for as many cultures as I humanly can.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“Broken polyglots are potent polyglots.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“Plenticultural (Sonnet 1434)

When I get mad, I revert to English,
because English is my first language.
When I feel romantic, I revert to Turkish,
because Turkish is my love language.

When I feel passionate, I revert to Spanish,
because Spanish is my passion language.
When I feel electric, I revert to Telugu,
because Telugu is my power language.

When nothing works, I revert to Korean,
because Korean is my backup language.
And you wonder why I never run empty,
why the natural spring is ever abundant!

Language is the gateway to culture,
Culture is the gateway to life.
I am no person who speaks many tongues,
I am the proof of plenticultural life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Language is the gateway to culture,
Culture is the gateway to life.
I am no person who speaks many tongues,
I am the proof of plenticultural life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Language is the gateway to culture, culture is the gateway to life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“If English is a thick novel, then Toki Pona is a haiku.”
― jan Sonja

“Languages are but echoes of each other, Based on the environment each feels unique. No language is superior, no language is inferior, All are born of human mind to meet at heart's peak.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“Even after speaking six languages, I say, the supreme language is love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat