Kató Lomb Quotes

Whenever I read statistical reports, I try to imagine my unfortunate contemporary, the Average Person, who, according to these reports, has 0.66 children, 0.032 cars, and 0.046 TVs.

He who knows other languages feels even closer to his own language.

Solely in the world of languages is the amateur of value. Well-intentioned sentences full of mistakes can still build bridges between people. Asking in broken Italian which train we are supposed to board at the Venice railway station is far from useless. Indeed, it is better to do that than to remain uncertain and silent and end up back in Budapest rather than in Milan.

Language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.

The beauty of a language is, generally judged by its soft or rigid, melodious or harsh, ring. Other aspects, such as the flexibility of derivation, play hardly any role in grading. Were it the case, Russian would certainly be placed on the winner’s stand. It would rank first in plasticity.

It is a frequently cited fact that English has two sets of words for farm animals and their corresponding meats. The living animals are expressed with words of Germanic origin-calf (German ‘Kalb’), swine (G. ‘Schwein’), and ox (G. ‘Ochse’)-because the servants who guarded them were the conquered Anglo-Saxons. The names of the meats are of Romance origin-veal (French ‘veau’), pork (F. ‘porc’) and beef (F. ‘boeuf’)-because those who enjoyed them were the conquering Norman masters.

Language is present in a piece of work like the sea in a single drop.

Aside from mastery in the fine arts, success in learning anything is the result of genuine interest and amount of energy dedicated to it.

One should connect language learning with either work or leisure. And not at the expense of them but to supplement them.

Knowledge—like a nail—is made load-bearing by being driven in. If it’s not driven deep enough, it will break when any weight is put upon it.

I feel such a difference between a philologist/linguist and a linguaphile as, say, a choreographer and a ballerina.

My view is that knowing languages is part of the process of becoming a cultured person.