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The structural properties of the language are many and complex, but at least they are finite and fairly easy to identify: there are only so many sounds, letters, and grammatical constructions, and although there is a huge vocabulary, at least the units are determinate and manageable.

— David Crystal

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More quotes by David Crystal

The only languages that do not change are dead ones.

There is little scientific data on the point, but evidently people do speak to themselves.

The main metaphor that is used to explain the historical relationship is that of the language family or family tree.

Fluency [is] smooth, rapid, effortless use of language.

Pragmatics studies the factors that govern our choice of language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on others.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: David Crystal (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.