The Internet offers endangered languages a chance to have a public voice in a way that would not have been possible before.
David CrystalRead
Ever since the arrival of printing - thought to be the invention of the devil because it would put false opinions into people's minds - people have been arguing that new technology would have disastrous consequences for language.
Interpretation
What this quote means
New technologies often face skepticism and fear regarding their impact on language and thought.
David Crystal's quote highlights the historical apprehension surrounding new technologies, particularly printing, which was once regarded as potentially harmful to societal discourse. This fear reflects a recurring theme in which innovations provoke fears about the distortion of language and the proliferation of misleading ideas, suggesting a complex relationship between technology and communication.
Themes
TechnologyLanguageCommunicationInnovationPrinting
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate regarding the impact of social media on language, one might use this quote to illustrate historical fears of new communication forms.
More from David Crystal
All quotes →The main effect of the Internet on language has been to increase the expressive richness of language, providing the language with a new set of communicative dimensions that haven't existed in the past.
David CrystalRead
Bilingualism lets you have your cake and eat it. The new language opens the doors to the best jobs in society; the old language allows you to keep your sense of 'who you are.' It preserves your identity. With two languages, you have the best of both worlds.
David CrystalRead
Language has no independent existence apart from the people who use it. It is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end of understanding who you are and what society is like.
David CrystalRead
Enshrined in a language is the whole of a community's history and a large part of its cultural identity. The world is a mosaic of visions. To lose even one piece of this mosaic is a loss for all of us.
David CrystalRead
Every usage, no matter how bizarre or nonstandard, fascinates me, as it tells me something about the way language is evolving.
David CrystalRead
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