Otto Jespersen
Danish linguist
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
A written word is mummified until someone imparts life to it by transposing it mentally into the corresponding spoken word.
—Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist, The Philosophy of Grammar, 1924
Posted on July 2, 1998 at 11:23 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
The individual in his use of the language has constantly to improvise.
—Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist, Mankind, Nation, and Individual, 1946
Posted on July 27, 1998 at 10:36 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Slang is a linguistic luxury, it is a sport, and like any other sport, something that belongs essentially to the young.
—Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist, Mankind, Nation, and Individual, 1946
Posted on April 21, 1999 at 8:04 PM
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