WIST Quotations

Macaulay, Thomas Babington -- “John Dryden,” Edinburgh Review (Jan 1828)

Dave — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 20:31:38 +0000

The English Bible, a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) English writer and politician
“John Dryden,” Edinburgh Review (Jan 1828)
(Source)

Review of John Dryden, The Political Works of John Dryden (1826)

Lively, Penelope -- Moon Tiger, ch. 4 (1987)

Dave — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 00:56:31 +0000

We open our mouths and out flow words whose ancestries we do not even know. We are walking lexicons. In a single sentence of idle chatter we preserve Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse: we carry a museum inside our heads, each day we commemorate peoples of whom we have never heard. More than that, we speak volumes — our language is the language of everything we have not read. Shakespeare and the Authorised Version surface in supermarkets, on buses, chatter on radio and television. I find this miraculous. I never cease to wonder at it. That words are more durable than anything, that they blow with the wind, hibernate and reawaken, shelter parasitic on the most unlikely hosts, survive and survive and survive.

Penelope Lively (b. 1933) British writer
Moon Tiger, ch. 4 (1987)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-04), “Politics and the English Language,” Horizon Magazine

Dave — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:31:23 +0000

A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-04), “Politics and the English Language,” Horizon Magazine
(Source)

Verne, Jules -- A Floating City, ch. 8 (1871)

Dave — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 01:21:37 +0000

Everything is possible for an eccentric, especially when he is English.

Jules Verne (1828-1905) French novelist, poet, playwright
A Floating City, ch. 8 (1871)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 19:57:26 +0000

England and America are two countries separated by the same language.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
(Attributed)

Variants:

"England and America are two peoples separated by a common language."
"England and America are two countries separated by one language."
"The British and the Americans are two great peoples divided by a common tongue."

Possibly a misattribution from Oscar Wilde in 1887: "We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language."

One of the first attributions to Shaw, without source, was in Reader's Digest (Nov 1942). It also shows up in other articles at the time, referenced as a remark by Shaw but without any actual citation. The phrase is not found in Shaw's published writing.

For further discussion of the quote's origins: Britain and America Are Two Nations Divided by a Common Language – Quote Investigator.

Wilde, Oscar -- The Canterville Ghost (1887)

Dave — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:54:24 +0000

Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Canterville Ghost (1887)

See Shaw.

Nicoll, James -- “The King’s English,” rec.arts.sf-lovers (15 May 1990)

Dave — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 14:30:38 +0000

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary.

James Nicoll (b. 1961) Canadian reviewer, editor
“The King’s English,” rec.arts.sf-lovers (15 May 1990)
(Source)

Nicoll later corrected the final verb to "rifle."

Aaronovitch, Ben -- Moon Over Soho (2011)

Dave — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 13:57:13 +0000

For a terrifying moment I thought he was going to hug me, but fortunately we both remembered we were English just in time. Still, it was a close call.

Ben Aaronovitch (b. 1964) British author
Moon Over Soho (2011)

Johnson, Samuel -- Essay (1758-06-24), The Idler, No. 11

Dave — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:06:08 +0000

It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-06-24), The Idler, No. 11
(Source)

Johnson, Samuel -- A Dictionary of the English Language, Preface (1755)

Dave — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:06:30 +0000

Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
A Dictionary of the English Language, Preface (1755)
(Source)

On use of quotations in his dictionary to illustrate and explore the meanings of words.

Pratchett, Terry -- Post, alt.fan.pratchett

Dave — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:23:42 +0000

Mind you, the Elizabethans had so many words for the female genitals that it is quite hard to speak a sentence of modern English without inadvertently mentioning at least three of them.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Post, alt.fan.pratchett

Johnson, Samuel -- A Dictionary of the English Language, Preface (1755)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has been yet granted to very few.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
A Dictionary of the English Language, Preface (1755)
(Source)