A friend of mine tells that I talk in shorthand and then smudge it.

Woman begins by resisting a man’s advances and ends by blocking his retreat.

People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people – and that social norm is just something that has evolved over time.

I’m blessed to have such a tight-knit family that we can talk about anything. Whether we talk frequently or not, since we’re on separate ends of the country, there are a lot of moving parts, and we always stay tight and find that center ground that keeps us together.

But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

We’ve fallen into a trap of ever-widening orbits of contact, and there is a total disregard for the present moment.

Among the letters my readers write me, there is a certain category which is continuously growing, and which I see as a symptom of the increasing intellectualization of the relationship between readers and literature.

Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.

Never speak to an invalid from behind, nor from the door, nor from any distance from him, nor when he is doing anything. The official politeness of servants in these things is so grateful to invalids, that many prefer, without knowing why, having none but servants about them.

I had to resign myself, many years ago, that I’m not too articulate when it comes to explaining how I feel about things. But my music does it for me, it really does.

We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans – because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings. That’s why we paint, that’s why we dare to love someone – because we have the impulse to explain who we are.

Never find fault with the absent.

Disagreement is something normal.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another when the best fruit is.

The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.

If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?

A yawn is a silent shout.

The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren’t in a very good mood.

We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another – until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.

Talking, it seemed to me, was the point of adult existence.

I’m a people pleaser. I hold a lot of things in. I’m always making sure everybody is okay. I usually don’t rage; I usually don’t curse.

Luckily for me, people don’t scream at me that much in my everyday life.

To use the same words is not a sufficient guarantee of understanding; one must use the same words for the same genus of inward experience; ultimately one must have one’s experiences in common.

What is uttered from the heart alone, Will win the hearts of others to your own.

These technologies can make life easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These things can profoundly influence life. I’m not downplaying that.

Occasionally I’ve seen children become heavy-handed and insensitive when dealing with their aging parents, and it only caused resentment and hard feelings.

Dance music is no longer a simple Donna Summer beat. It’s become a whole language that I find fascinating and exciting. Eventually, it will lose the dance tag and join the fore of rock.

I can express myself.

If one plays good music, people don’t listen and if one plays bad music people don’t talk.

All our words from loose using have lost their edge.

When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out.

As soon as I arrived in the Indies, in the first island which I found, I took some of the natives by force, in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts. And so it was that they soon understood us, and we them, either by speech or by signs, and they have been very serviceable.

As Bromberger observed, rules are understood to be elements of the computational systems that determine the sound and meaning of the infinite array of expressions of a language; the information so derived is accessed by other systems in language use.

I try to speak in a way that people can understand.

My name can’t be that tough to pronounce!

Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it.

The major advances in speed of communication and ability to interact took place more than a century ago. The shift from sailing ships to telegraph was far more radical than that from telephone to email!

My favorite book is anything by Kurt Vonnegut – he’s my literary hero. I got to meet him several times, which was a great thrill for me. I don’t really remember what we talked about.

Counsel with your parents is a privilege at any age.

Sometimes I’ve been to a party where no one spoke to me for a whole evening. The men, frightened by their wives or sweeties, would give me a wide berth. And the ladies would gang up in a corner to discuss my dangerous character.

The issues a president faces are not black and white, and cannot be boiled down into 140 characters. Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military at your command, you can’t make snap decisions. You can’t have a thin skin or the tendency to lash out.

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.

I do love email. Wherever possible I try to communicate asynchronously. I’m really good at email.

Often, I can scarcely hear any one speaking to me; the tones yes, but not the actual words; yet as soon as any one shouts, it is unbearable. What will come of all this, heaven only knows!

If we go on your iPhone and go to the dictionary and look up ‚humble,‘ 80 per cent of the definition is negative. It’s a controlling word. It’s a way to control the masses and to control the sheep.

It’s a fact that more people watch television and get their information that way than read books. I find new technology and new ways of communication very exciting and would like to do more in this field.

I don’t have any oratory skills. But I would not use them if I had.

It is in this power of saying everything, and yet saying nothing too plainly, that the perfection of art consists.

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.

As long as somebody finances you, can make a film and get it seen any place and in any language; then, hopefully, it’s a success.

It may happen sometimes that a long debate becomes the cause of a longer friendship. Commonly, those who dispute with one another at last agree.

The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most.

I used to tell my husband that, if he could make me ‚understand‘ something, it would be clear to all the other people in the country.

The language of all the interpretations, the translations, of the Judaic Bible and the Christian Bible, is musical, just wonderful. I read the Bible to myself; I’ll take any translation, any edition, and read it aloud, just to hear the language, hear the rhythm, and remind myself how beautiful English is.

When you really don’t like a guy, they’re all over you, and as soon as you act like you like them, they’re no longer interested.

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.

I did my utmost to ensure that everyone below me in the chain of command felt comfortable approaching me with concerns, ideas, thoughts, and even disagreements.

The educated Southerner has no use for an ‚r‘, except at the beginning of a word.

Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation.