Written forms obscure our view of language. They are not so much a garment as a disguise.

Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth.

In general, the philological movement opened up countless sources relevant to linguistic issues, treating them in quite a different spirit from traditional grammar; for instance, the study of inscriptions and their language. But not yet in the spirit of linguistics.

In the lives of individuals and societies, language is a factor of greater importance than any other. For the study of language to remain solely the business of a handful of specialists would be a quite unacceptable state of affairs.

Speech has both an individual and a social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other.

Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.

Of all social institutions language is least amenable to initiative. It blends with the life of society, and the latter, inert by nature, is a prime conservative force.