Human language appears to be a unique phenomenon, without significant analogue in the animal world.

When I looked at the third base coach, he turned his back on me.

I have owed you this letter for a very long time-but my fingers have avoided the pencil as though it were an old and poisoned tool.

I’m not always going to say things the perfect way, the right way. But I’m going to say how I feel.

Language is an intrinsic part of who we are and what has, for good or evil, happened to us.

I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.

Every aspect of human technology has a dark side, including the bow and arrow.

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.

I don’t like typing messages on my phone. Some people get used to it.

No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.

It’s a very strange thing being recognized or looked upon as someone special.

I once did a three-hour interview with Radio Oxford only to be told the microphone hadn’t picked me up.

I find only freedom in the realms of eccentricity.

The first time you say something, it’s heard. The second time, it’s recognized, and the third time it’s learned.

Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.

The writing is important, but the way you say the line and the pause you give it, the facial expression – all of that is very important.

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

An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.

He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.

I didn’t want to just be another girl singer. I wanted there to be something that set me apart.

I’ve studied authoritarianism for a very long time – for 40 years – and they’re started by people’s attempts to control the ideological and linguistic territory.

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.

We’re the only animal that wakes up and doesn’t stretch.

Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.

Basketball is my passion, I love it. But my family and friends mean everything to me. That’s what’s important. I need my phone so I can keep in contact with them at all times.

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

When we launched a new company, I reviewed the ads and marketing materials and asked those presenting the campaign to read everything aloud to test the phrasing and concept. If I could grasp it quickly, then it passed with muster. We would get our message across only if it was understandable at first glance.

Prayer is such a basic foundation of a Christian’s relationship with God. It’s how we communicate and fellowship with Him. But a surprising number of people, young and old, new and even long-time Christians, say they’re not satisfied with their prayer life.

I am an introvert; privately I am very shy, and I don’t speak unless I have to.

I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.

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.

The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.

Those who cannot understand how to put their thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of debate.

I can simply tell you that since I was a kid, I didn’t like to look like anyone else.

I’m trying to make God more relevant in our society. And I think talking in everyday terms and making sure people can understand it – I think that’s important.

I write all my sermons.

I don’t hate women – they just sometimes make me mad.

I have an urge to communicate. I think I’m a change from what it would be like dating a normal guy who doesn’t talk too much.

There are many times when a woman will ask another girl friend how she likes her new hat. She will reply, ‚Fine,‘ but slap her hand to her forehead the minute the girl leaves to yipe, ‚What a horror!‘

Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.

Anybody can be specific and obvious. That’s always been the easy way. It’s not that it’s so difficult to be unspecific and less obvious; it’s just that there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, to be specific and obvious about.

The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world… to see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion all in one.

Letters are something from you. It’s a different kind of intention than writing an e-mail.

What women need to understand is that men don’t communicate. It’s not intentional or on purpose. We’re just not as emotional. You ladies feel like you have to express yourselves.

One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.

Please don’t ask me to do that which I’ve just said I’m not going to do, because you’re burning up time. The meter is running through the sand on you, and I am now filibustering.

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

Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.

Before I look stupid and not know what a word means or how to pronounce it, I’ll stop the whole production: ‚Hey, real quick, guys. Define this word for me. Somebody.‘

Arguments are to be avoided: they are always vulgar and often convincing.

An inability to handle language is not the same thing as stupidity.

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

Happy is the hearing man; unhappy the speaking man.

Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he has remained silent.

‚No comment‘ is a splendid expression. I am using it again and again.

The more you are talked about the less powerful you are.

Frank and explicit – that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your own mind and confuse the minds of others.

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.

Language is one component of the human cognitive capacity which happens to be fairly amenable to enquiry. So we know a good deal about that.