The further off from England the nearer is to France-_x000D_ _x000D_ Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Lewis CarrollRead
I said it in Hebrew—I said it in Dutch— I said it in German and Greek; But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much) That English is what you speak!
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously reflects on the frustration of forgetting the language of the listener despite knowing multiple languages.
Lewis Carroll's quote captures the humorous dilemma of a speaker who has prepared to express themselves in various languages, only to forget the one that is actually spoken by their audience. It highlights the absurdity of communication barriers and the importance of connecting with others in a language they understand.
Themes
LanguageCommunicationHumorFrustrationConnection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used at a multilingual event to lighten the mood when addressing language barriers.
More from Lewis Carroll
All quotes →To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said 'I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head. Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me.
Lewis CarrollRead
So she was considering in her own mind...whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up & picking the daisies.
Lewis CarrollRead
Once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people.
Lewis CarrollRead
Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.
Lewis CarrollRead
Crawling at your feet,' said the Gnat (Alice drew her feet back in some alarm), `you may observe a Bread-and-Butterfly. Its wings are thin slices of Bread-and-butter, its body is a crust, and its head is a lump of sugar.' And what does IT live on?' Weak tea with cream in it.' A new difficulty came into Alice's head. `Supposing it couldn't find any?' she suggested. Then it would die, of course.' But that must happen very often,' Alice remarked thoughtfully. It always happens,' said the Gnat.
Lewis CarrollRead
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