Were a language ever completely "grammatical," it would be a perfect engine of conceptual expression. Unfortunately, or luckily, no language is tyrannically consistent. All grammars leak.

Edward Sapir

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Topic

Language

Author

Edward Sapir

Language

English

Time

1921 1920s 20th century

Occupation

Anthropologist Linguist

From

United States

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Sapir, Edward. Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech. Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1921, ch. 2.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Edward Sapir about language: “Were a language ever completely "grammatical," it would be a perfect engine…”
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A quote by Edward Sapir about language: “Were a language ever completely "grammatical," it would be a perfect engine…”
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A quote by Edward Sapir about language: “Were a language ever completely "grammatical," it would be a perfect engine…”
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Another quote from the 1920s

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.

W.B. Yeats

The Second Coming

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Read The Second Coming at Poetry Foundation
More information about this quote
Topic
Dissolution Decline of civilization Societal collapse Political polarization Politics

Author

W.B. Yeats
Source
The Second Coming
Medium
Poem
Language
English
Time
1920 1920s 20th century
Authentication Score 0
Original Citation

Yeats, William Butler. "The Second Coming." The Dial, Nov. 1920.

Current Citation

Yeats, William Butler. "The Second Coming." W. B. Yeats: The Major Works, edited by Edward Larrissy. Oxford University Press, 2008.