Language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.

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.

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.

My view is that knowing languages is part of the process of becoming a cultured person.

It is a frequently cited fact that English has two sets of words for farm animals and their corresponding meats. The living animals are expressed with words of Germanic origin-calf (German 'Kalb'), swine (G. 'Schwein'), and ox (G. 'Ochse')-because the servants who guarded them were the conquered Anglo-Saxons. The names of the meats are of Romance origin-veal (French 'veau'), pork (F. 'porc') and beef (F. 'boeuf')-because those who enjoyed them were the conquering Norman masters.

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