Language Barrier Quotes

“Overly literal translations, far from being faithful, actually distort meaning by obscuring sense.”
― Ken Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“The word for bank is the same, but the word for money changer is not, and while I have never learned the etymology behind this minor asymmetry I can imagine it represents centuries of cultural and ideological dissidence.”
― Lisa Halliday, Asymmetry

“When you want to help people, you don’t need no language – it’ll all be written on your face.”
― Tamuna Tsertsvadze

“Going to a country where you don't speak the language is like wading into the sea when you can't swim - it's intimidating at first, not impossible, and ultimately manageable.”
― Stewart Stafford

“To bring relevance to people, you have to be able to speak their language effectively”
― Sunday Adelaja

“Silence speaks in vibes, not sentences. So stop repeating yourself to those who continue to dis your warning signals.”
― T.F. Hodge

“My sincere thanks to friends and family, especially my mother, father, brother, and Mandy, who continue to love and support me despite my obsessions.”
― Jonathan Ball, Ex Machina

“I expect nothing from Psychoanalysis or therapy, whose rudimentary conclusions became clear to me a long time ago--- a domineering mother, a father whose submissiveness is shattered by a murderous gesture... To state "it's a childhood trauma" or "that day the idols were knocked off their pedestal" does nothing to explain a scene which could only be conveyed by the expression that came to me at the time: to breathe disaster. Here abstract speech fails to reach me.”
― Annie Ernaux, Shame

“I misunderstood the way you said, “I love you” for “Forever”. Must be a language barrier.”
― Lidia Longorio, Hey Humanity

“German is for learning while English is for entertainment only.”
― Laura Chouette

“A language is a freeway to a culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Karadeniz Chronicle: The Novel

“Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everyone in the world understands it.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

“If you wanna know about a culture, you can read about it in any language - but if you want to experience that culture like your own, you gotta do it as one of their own - through their own native language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“And he felt too old to learn English. Without that, he lived with the constancy of incomprehension. In the post office last month he had mimed and pointed to a square white box, the woman in her blue shirt repeating and repeating and he did not know and everyone in the post office knew and finally a man came to him and crossed his arms quickly toward the floor, saying, “Fini!” And so Abdikarim thought the post office was finished with him and he must go and he did go. Later he found out the post office was out of the boxes they had sitting on the shelf with price tags on them. Why did they show them if they did not have them to sell? Again, the incomprehension. He came to understand this had a danger altogether different from the dangers in the camp. Living in a world where constantly one turned and touched incomprehension—they did not comprehend, he did not comprehend—gave the air the lift of uncertainty and this seemed to wear away something in him, always he felt unsure of what he wanted, what he thought, even what he felt.”
― Elizabeth Strout, The Burgess Boys

“Animals have barriers of language, humans have the bridge of heart.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Karadeniz Chronicle: The Novel

“There are those who eagerly learn another language to be one with another culture, then there are those morons who insist on the exclusive glorification of their so-called native language. The world is beautified by the former, whereas the latter only sustain disharmony - the latter only act as a prehistoric impediment to the unification of humankind.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Gentalist: There's No Social Work, Only Family Work

“Would-be writers often ask me, do I ever get writer's block! I tell them, you get writer's block when you're imprisoned in one language and culture. Like the wind, I think, feel and live in numerous languages and cultures, which keeps me ever-ripe with more ideas than I could put down on pages.

Whether you are a writer or not, learn a language - it not only expands your head, it expands your heart, and makes you more humane. Porque, un idioma es una autopista a una cultura. A language is a freeway to a culture. Thus, learning a language is one of the tangible endeavors to help eliminate hate from the world.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Ingan Impossible: Handbook of Hatebusting

“Learning a language is one of the tangible endeavors to help eliminate hate from the world.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Ingan Impossible: Handbook of Hatebusting

“…This lack of morality is not limited to rank. In Alaba, for example, even the simplest social structures are ignored. Alabans claim that concepts of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ do not apply, and insist they have either five or six genders, depending on how they are counted, between which these heathens will move depending on their whims. As a tonal language, the same sound with different inflections carries different meanings, so a Naridan must be very careful to avoid misrepresenting himself: for example, ‘mè’ is ‘high masculine’, used by those in whom the fire of manhood burns strongly, while ‘mê’ is ‘low masculine’, for in Alaban society it is no great shame for a man to admit to womanly character. The largely uninflected ‘me’ is the gender-neutral formal, but ‘mé’ is ‘low feminine’, favoured by women who lack the qualities appropriate for their gender, and ‘mē’ is ‘high feminine’, the only appropriate usage for any Naridan lady of decency. Even stranger is ‘më’, used only by those who insist they have no gender, even in the most informal settings. Such immorality is hardly unsurprising in a land that has provided succour to exiled pretenders since the Splintering.
Needless to say, Naridans should resist these pernicious local customs and only use the ‘high’ forms for themselves when visiting this land, lest they cause themselves considerable embarrassment.”
― Mike Brooks, The Black Coast

“Spoken language is a dance of talking and listening involving air, lungs, tissue, cartridge, mouths, ears, vibration, history of ancestors, and evolution of bodies and mind. It’s a balance of anatomy and phonics that express our interpretation of the way the world is.”
― Eric overby

“Next time that you find yourself in a language barrier, take steps to cross over it and expand your lingual community. They will appreciate it, and you will gain a friend.”
― Eric Overby

“The best use of language is the one that helps you surpass language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“Every time my mother spoke Korean, the text sprawled out before me like a Mad Lib. Words that were so familiar mixed with long blanks I couldn't fill in.”
― Michelle Zauner, Crying in H Mart

“English is my second language,
My first language is love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“The best use of language is to surpass the language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Understanding the language is a quintessential part of understanding the culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“Even though English is the universal language of earth, due to its primitive colonial escapades, and indeed the most convenient, it is neither the most beautiful nor the most soulful language on earth.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“My mother can hold her own where foreign words are involved. The simple duo-syllable 'croissant' comes out variously as 'craw-sank', 'crass-ant', or 'crah-sint', the word seeming to have no business being in her mouth and getting spat out as quickly as possible like a bad oyster.”
― John Niven, O Brother

“If one had cigarettes, one could barter for food with the German farmers. If the Latvian did not speak German, then the exchange was primitive and went something like this: "Ich Zigarette, du Schwein." ("Me - cigarette, you - pig") The farmer understood, and the DP returned to camp with a hunk of smoked bacon.”
― Maruta Lietins Ray, Refugee Girl: A Memoir

“Even after speaking six languages, I say, the supreme language is love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat