There is no such thing as an ugly language. Today I hear every language as if it were the only one, and when I hear of one that is dying, it overwhelms me as though it were the death of the earth.

  • -- Elias Canetti 伊莱亚斯卡内蒂

没有丑陋的语言这种东西。今天,我听到每一种语言,仿佛它是唯一的一种;当我听到一种即将消亡的语言时,它使我不知所措,仿佛它是地球的死亡。

相关名言

You must love the crust of the earth on which you dwell more than the sweet crust of any bread or cake. You must be able to extract nutriment out of a sand-heap. You must have so good an appetite as this, else you will live in vain.

你必须爱你所居住的土地的外壳,胜过任何面包或蛋糕的甜美外壳。你必须能从沙堆里提取营养。你必须有这么好的胃口,否则你将白活。

As a matter of fact, a national language which spreads beyond its own confines very quickly loses much of its original richness of content and is in no better case than a constructed language.

事实上,一种超越其自身范围的民族语言,很快就会失去其原有的丰富内容,其效果并不比一种建构的语言好。

Language achieves soul only when it's applied as a tool, used by those who imbue it with what they have had the courage and honesty to perceive and feel.

只有当语言被用作一种工具,被那些有勇气和诚实去感知和感受它的人所使用时,语言才能达到灵魂的境界。

Here is a test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.

如果你还活着,那么你在地球上的使命就没有完成。