It is no secret that the fruits of language study are in no sort of relation to the labour spent on teaching and learning them. – Edward Sapir
English, once accepted as an international language, is no more secure than French has proved to be as the one and only accepted language of diplomacy or as Latin has proved to be as the international language of science. – Edward Sapir
A firm, for instance, that does business in many countries of the world is driven to spend an enormous amount of time, labour, and money in providing for translation services. – Edward Sapir
The attitude of independence toward a constructed language which all national speakers must adopt is really a great advantage, because it tends to make man see himself as the master of language instead of its obedient servant. – Edward Sapir