Linguistic Refinement Quotes

Exactness is first obtained, and afterwards elegance. But diction, merely vocal, is always in its childhood. As no man leaves his eloquence behind him, the new generations have all to learn. There may possibly be books without a polished language, but there can be no polished language without books.

An English tongue, if refined to a certain standard, might perhaps be fixed forever.

The English language has been carefully culled to find words feeble in their nature or doubtful in their meaning.

When I'm being interviewed, presumably it's because people want to know how I feel about something or what my motivation is, not because they want to hear what I sound like in English. I wouldn't be true to the task if I responded in my unrefined English.

People sometimes have to correct my English. I knew I had a problem when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it.

I have a cultured manner of speaking.

The language denotes the man. A coarse or refined character finds its expression naturally in a coarse or refined phraseology.

A footman may swear; but he cannot swear like a lord. He can swear as often: but can he swear with equal delicacy, propriety, and judgment?

A great many people think that polysyllables are a sign of intelligence and refinement so they think they will impress others with their command of obscure words.

The Canadian voice is still too rustic.

Such is the never-failing beauty and accuracy of language, the most perfect art in the world; the chisel of a thousand years retouches it.