Language Etiquette Quotes

When one is polite in German, one lies.

Eloquence is a republican art, as conversation is an aristocratic one.

One can be inclined to just say, "F this political correctness! I don't have time for that!"

Conversations I have had with school principals and students lead me to the same conclusion-that...there is an evil and growing habit of profanity and the use of foul and filthy language.

I'm not against profanity. It's an important part of the language when used properly.

We ought always to conform to the manners of the greater number, and so behave as not to draw attention to ourselves. Excess either way shocks, and every man truly wise ought to attend to this in his dress as well as language, never to be affected in anything and follow without being in too great haste the changes of fashion.

Correct English is the slang of prigs.

Some guy came up to me with his kids, ages probably 10 and 12, and said that the reason he likes me is because he sat through an hour and twenty-minute show, and I didn't cuss one time. So it just really depends.

Never use curse words, foul language, or racial slurs, or say anything about a person's appearance. Just work with being smart-mouthed.

"Children, don't speak so coarsely," said Mr Webster, who had a vague notion that some supervision should be exercised over his daughters' speech, and that a line should be drawn, but never knew quite when to draw it. He had allowed his daughters to use his library without restraint, and nothing is more fatal to maidenly delicacy of speech than the run of a good library.

Sloppy language and sloppy ways go together. Those who are truly educated have learned more than the sciences, the humanities, law, engineering, and the arts. They carry with them a certain polish that marks them as loving the better qualities of life, a culture that adds luster to the mundane world of which they are apart, a patina that puts a quiet glow on what otherwise might be base metal.

Texting is very loose in its structure. No one thinks about capital letters or punctuation when one texts, but then again, do you think about those things when you talk?

The day when a Frenchman switches from the formality of vous to the familiarity of tu is a day to be taken seriously. It is an unmistakable signal that he has decided - after weeks or months or sometimes years - that he likes you. It would be chulish and unfriendly of you not to return the compliment. And so, just when you are at last feeling comfortable with vous and all the plurals that go with it, you are thrust headlong in to the singular world of tu.

Faire language grates not the tongue.

It's not like I want to put myself on a high horse, but I just don't curse a lot.

Never say "Au revoir" unless you have been talking French, or are speaking to a French person.