English language/Quotes

"English isn't a language, it's three languages stacked on top of each other wearing a trenchcoat."

- "des-zimbits", on Tumblr

""I said it in Hebrew -- I said it in Dutch -- I said it in German and Greek: But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much) That English is all that you speak!""

"English is a language in which double negatives are a no-no."

- Anonymous

"Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages, it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and goes through their pockets. -- Eddy Peters Not only that, instead of the money, it escapes with the pocket lint. -- Don Roberts"

"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

"Unlike French -- credited with a mere 100,000 words, each authorized and sanctified by the Academie Francaise gatekeepers -- English gathers new words with the gusto of a bag lady."

- Graeme McRanor, Canadian journalist, 24 Hours Vancouver, February 20, 2006

"English is not a killer language, but the greatest language of them all -- because it welcomes new words with all the hospitality of the bouncer in a cheap brothel."

- Ruaridh Nicoll, Scottish novelist, The Observer, February 25, 2007