Aside from mastery in the fine arts, success in learning anything is the result of genuine interest and amount of energy dedicated to it.

Solely in the world of languages is the amateur of value. Well-intentioned sentences full of mistakes can still build bridges between people.

He who knows other languages feels even closer to his own language.

I feel such a difference between a philologist/linguist and a linguaphile as, say, a choreographer and a ballerina.

Whenever I read statistical reports, I try to imagine my unfortunate contemporary, the Average Person, who, according to these reports, has 0.66 children, 0.032 cars, and 0.046 TVs.

Knowledge—like a nail—is made load-bearing by being driven in. If it's not driven deep enough, it will break when any weight is put upon it.

The beauty of a language is, generally judged by its soft or rigid, melodious or harsh, ring. Other aspects, such as the flexibility of derivation, play hardly any role in grading. Were it the case, Russian would certainly be placed on the winner’s stand. It would rank first in plasticity.