Burgess — A Mouthful of Air
Book page: burgess-mouthful-air
From: Quotes batch 2
Edition: William Morrow & Co (1992)
On Language and Consciousness
“Language is not a mere medium for the expression of thought; it is the very fabric of thought itself.” (Chapter 1, p. 14)
On Identity and Phonetics
“We are what we speak, and how we speak it. The phoneme is a badge of identity, a tribal signal that we emit with every breath.” (Chapter 3, p. 42)
On Society and Linguistic Change
“Society is a linguistic construct. When the language shifts, the social reality it describes must inevitably follow.” (Chapter 5, p. 81)