Quote

The story of English spelling is the story of thousands of people - some well-known, most totally unknown - who left a permanent linguistic fingerprint on our orthography.

David Crystal

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

David Crystal
Age: 83
Born: 1941
Born: July 6
Author
Linguist
Sociolinguist
Writer
Stories
Unknown
Wells
Thousands
Well
Permanent
Fingerprint
People
Totally
Linguists
English
Linguistics
Known
Linguistic
Story
Fingerprints
Left
Spelling

More quotes by David Crystal

Image
Vocabulary is a matter of word-building as well as word-using.
David Crystal
Image
At any one time language is a kaleidoscope of styles, genres and dialects.
David Crystal
Image
Although many texters enjoy breaking linguistic rules, they also know they need to be understood.
David Crystal
Image
Grammar is what gives sense to language .... sentences make words yield up their meaning. Sentences actively create sense in language. And the business of the study of sentences is grammar.
David Crystal
Image
Word books traditionally focus on unusual and quirky items. They tend to ignore the words that provide the skeleton of the language, without which it would fall apart, such as 'and' and 'what,' or words that provide structure to our conversation, such as 'hello.
David Crystal
Image
Research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely to be the most literate and the best spellers, because you have to know how to manipulate language.
David Crystal
Image
Swearing makes an excellent relief mechanism
David Crystal
Image
You don't talk to a linguist without having what you say taken down and used in evidence against you at some point in time.
David Crystal
Image
Spellings are made by people. Dictionaries - eventually - reflect popular choices.
David Crystal
Image
Sending a message on a mobile phone is not the most natural of ways to communicate. The keypad isn't linguistically sensible.
David Crystal
Image
Ever since the arrival of printing - thought to be the invention of the devil because it would put false opinions into people's minds - people have been arguing that new technology would have disastrous consequences for language.
David Crystal
Image
Texting has added a new dimension to language use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a disaster.
David Crystal
Image
Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.
David Crystal
Image
A feature of English that makes it different compared with all other languages is its global spread.
David Crystal
Image
As I get older and I get a few more years experience I become more like Dad, you know, King Lear.
David Crystal
Image
It took three years to put Shakespeare's words together, there were a lot of words to be studied and a lot of words to be sorted out, and it proved to be a major project.
David Crystal