A Quote by Noam Chomsky
I think a very important aspect of language has to do with the establishment of social relations and interactions. Often, this is described as communication. But that is very misleading, I think.
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I think the use of language is a very important means by which this species, because of its biological nature, creates a kind of social space, to place itself in interactions with other people. It doesn't have much to do with communication in a narrow sense; that is, it doesn't involve transmission of information. There is much information transmitted but it is not the content of what is said that is transmitted.
I write a lot of children's verse and I think it delights in the language. It pleases people. It's very musical. It's very lyrical and that's certainly a very important aspect of poetry. But I think that a lot of it is verse. I write well-wrought verse.
There is a narrow class of uses of language where you intend to communicate. Communication refers to an effort to get people to understand what one means. And that, certainly, is one use of language and a social use of it. But I don't think it is the only social use of language. Nor are social uses the only uses of language.
We think of the romance novel as a lesser form of literature, but I don't think that's true. Love is a very important aspect of human life and worth exploring.
It is an absolute privilege to be able to speak another language and have it be something you grew up with. I think it's a very important thing and I think that everywhere else in the world people speak more than one language.
I think we certainly benefit from social institutions which encourage us towards moral behavior. It's very important to have law. It's very important to have a moral education.
I think various places in this country are ready to explode. I think [race relations] are very tense. I think that [Barack] Obama has divided the country as far as race relations are concerned, and I think that you have certain sections, and you have lots of different locations within this country that potentially are powder kegs.
I think 'Mrs. Brown's Boys' in particular is very good, though I do find that perhaps the language is a bit strong for a family, but it is very popular, and I think it's very funny.
I think always having somebody that you trust and you know can help in the communication, that is very important.
I wish you didn't have to design so often. Try to do quality and cut down on quantity. I think fashion is very, very important.
In sport you always think the strongest guy should be going for it and getting the best results. The thing is, cycling also has a very important team aspect, which I don't think that a lot of people fully grasp.
I think communication starts when words are not present at all ... I think we put so much emphasis on language, actually silence is so much more important.
I think training and being dedicated is very important, but one aspect that I always live by is that I enjoy myself in what I do!
You think about the legacy that you leave behind, and I've been very fortunate to be part of a very successful team, but I think the fight for equal pay and respect is something that goes beyond the field. I think it is very important, something that I'm very willing to take on to help the generations that come behind me.
The Republican establishment cringe at the very discussion of social issues. They are in favor of big government for the most part. They think campaigns on smaller government are losers and they worry that, if they succeed, there's going to be less of an opportunity for them to have jobs in government. They're basically people who don't think we have a spending problem and that that's great.
A second person that's come to my life very recently, and I'm thankful for it, is Marshall Rosenberg, the founder of the Nonviolent Communication Organization. He has all these books about how we can use our language nonviolently to help create peace. He's using a lot of Buddhism too, but he's helping me to think about language.
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