Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.
Anthony BurgessRead
There is a satisfactory boniness about grammar which the flesh of sheer vocabulary requires before it can become a vertebrate and walk the earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Grammar provides the necessary structure for vocabulary to function effectively in communication.
In this quote, Anthony Burgess illustrates the importance of grammar as a foundational framework for language. He compares grammar to a skeleton that gives shape and support to vocabulary, suggesting that without proper grammatical structure, words alone are insufficient to convey meaning and achieve clarity in communication.
Themes
GrammarVocabularyLanguageCommunicationStructure
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, during a discussion about the importance of sentence structure, this quote could be used to emphasize the role of grammar.
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Only in England is the perversion of language regarded as a victory for democracy.
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You needn't take it any further, sir. You've proved to me that all this ultraviolence and killing is wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong. I've learned me lesson, sir. I've seen now what I've never seen before. I'm cured! Praise Bog! I'm cured!
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Anthony BurgessRead
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