"Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.“


-Edward Sapir

posted in alone


Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.

Other Quotes You Might Like

Discover more inspiring quotes from our collection

"The modern mind tends to be more and more critical and analytical in spirit, hence it must devise for itself an engine of expression which is logically defensible at every point and which tends to correspond to the rigorous spirit of modern science."

-Edward Sapir

scienceView Quote
"English, once accepted as an international language, is no more secure than French has proved to be as the one and only accepted language of diplomacy or as Latin has proved to be as the international language of science."

-Edward Sapir

scienceView Quote
"Cultural anthropology is more and more rapidly getting to realize itself as a strictly historical science."

-Edward Sapir

scienceView Quote
"A firm, for instance, that does business in many countries of the world is driven to spend an enormous amount of time, labour, and money in providing for translation services."

-Edward Sapir

moneyView Quote
"It is no secret that the fruits of language study are in no sort of relation to the labour spent on teaching and learning them."

-Edward Sapir

learningView Quote
"It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection."

-Edward Sapir

communicationView Quote

More Quotes About alone

Explore other inspiring quotes in this category

"But the wicked passions of men's hearts alone seem strong enough to leave pictures that persist the good are ever too luke-warm."

-Algernon H. Blackwood

aloneView Quote
"Your thoughts and emotions are yours alone."

-John Buchanan Robinson

aloneView Quote
"I think the idea that you can go this alone is - was a huge mistake. And unfortunately, there was a price paid in terms of suffering and pain for people in New Orleans."

-Michael Chertoff

aloneView Quote
"You are forever alone."

-John Buchanan Robinson

aloneView Quote
"I have two ideas for novels at the moment, neither of them all that conventional, but I'm not ready to choose between them yet, let alone settle down to the process of writing."

-Jonathan Coe

aloneView Quote
"For each one of us stands alone in the midst of a universe."

-John Buchanan Robinson

aloneView Quote