Quotessence
Home / Topics / Word Choice Quotes

Word Choice Quotes

Browse 30 quotes about Word Choice.

Related topics

ChoicesWriting

Word Choice Quotes

“People also tend to refer to nonhuman animals as “it” or sometimes “he,” regardless of the individual’s sex. This one-sex-fits-all approach objectifies and denies individuality. In fact, nonhuman animals who are exploited for food industries are usually females. Such unfortunate nonhumans are not only exploited for their flesh, but also for their nursing milk, reproductive eggs, and ability to produce young. When guessing the gender of a nonhuman animal forced through slaughterhouse gates, we would greatly increase odds of being correct if we referred to such unfortunate individuals as 'she'.”

LanguageGenderAnimalsVeganismDairyFactory FarmingPronounsHuman Animal RelationshipsWord ChoiceHuman Animal Studies
Book:Sister Species: Women, Animals and Social Justice
Create image

“Well,' said Can o' Beans, a bit hesitantly,' imprecise speech is one of the major causes of mental illness in human beings.' Huh?' Quite so. The inability to correctly perceive reality is often responsible for humans' insane behavior. And every time they substitute an all-purpose, sloppy slang word for the words that would accurately describe an emotion or a situation, it lowers their reality orientations, pushes them farther from shore, out onto the foggy waters of alienation and confusion.' The manner in which the other were regarding him/her made Can O' Beans feel compelled to continue. 'The word neat, for example, has precise connotations. Neat means tidy, orderly, well-groomed. It's a valuable tool for describing the appearance of a room, a hairdo, or a manuscript. When it's generically and inappropriately applied, though, as it is in the slang aspect, it only obscures the true nature of the thing or feeling that it's supposed to be representing. It's turned into a sponge word. You can wring meanings out of it by the bucketful--and never know which one is right. When a person says a movie is 'neat,' does he mean that it's funny or tragic or thrilling or romantic, does he mean that the cinematography is beautiful, the acting heartfelt, the script intelligent, the direction deft, or the leading lady has cleavage to die for? Slang possesses an economy, an immediacy that's attractive, all right, but it devalues experience by standardizing and fuzzing it. It hangs between humanity and the real world like a . . . a veil. Slang just makes people more stupid, that's all, and stupidity eventually makes them crazy. I'd hate to ever see that kind of craziness rub off onto objects.”

HumansLanguageMental IllnessSlangWord Choice
Book:Skinny Legs and All
Create image

“The choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”

ChoicesResponsibilityBeing YourselfAbout YourselfBe YouLong RunsTaking ResponsibilityPersonal ResponsibilityBeing ResponsibleLife ChoicesOur ChoicesMaking ChoicesPower Of ChoiceLynchingIndividual ResponsibilityGoals And ObjectivesSelf ResponsibilityResponsibility For Your LifeChoices MadeLove And ResponsibilityWord ChoiceTrailblazingAverage MindsResponsibilities In LifeResponsible PersonPersonal AccountabilityDaily ChoicesResponsibility Of Leadership
Book:You learn by living
Create image