Quotessence
Home / Authors / Arika Okrent
Arika Okrent

Arika Okrent Quotes

Poet

Filter quotes by topic

AllLanguageWorldHumansKindLooksSocialAnything GoesBefore You Judge MeBehaveBenefitsBikinisBiologistBrainBreathtakingCasesColorConventionsCreationDogEducated

Famous Arika Okrent Quotes

“All this fighting stems from the illusion that people choose to learn a language for rational reasons, that they are looking for the language that has the most useful features, the best agenda. But no one is out there comparison shopping for an artificial language. They find what they like, and there's no accounting for taste.”

LanguageLearningTaste
Book:In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language
Create image

“Before you judge me as some kind of 'anything goes' language heathen, let me just say that I'm not against usage standards. I don't violate them when I want to sound like an educated person, for the same reason I don't wear a bikini to a funeral when I want to look like a respectful person. There are social conventions for the way we do lots of things, and it is to everyone's benefit to be familiar with them. But logic ain't got nothin' to do with it.”

WayWantLooksKindPersonsReasonLanguageSocialSoundJudgingBenefitsStandardsLogicLet MeFamiliarEducatedFuneralConventionsRespectfulUsageBikinisHeathenJudge MeAnything GoesEducated PersonBefore You Judge Me
Author:Arika Okrent
Create image

“The variety of shape, pattern, and color found in the languages of the world is a testament to the wonder of nature, to the breathtaking array of possibilities that can emerge, tangled and wild, from the fertile human endowments of brain and larynx, intelligence and social skills.”

WorldHumansFoundLanguageSocialBrainWonderPossibilityColorShapesSkillsPatternsVarietyTestamentFertileTangledEndowmentBreathtakingSocial SkillsWonder Of Nature
Book:In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language
Create image