In general, the philological movement opened up countless sources relevant to linguistic issues, treating them in quite a different spirit from traditional grammar; for instance, the study of inscriptions and their language. But not yet in the spirit of linguistics.
Language
There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting.
Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man.
Autistic children are very difficult to take care of, especially severely autistic ones. When I was 4, I had almost no language; when I was 3, I had none at all.
Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.
I am interested in 18th century natural philosophy, science, particularly botany, the study of hybridity in plants and animals, which, of course, then allows me to consider the hybridity of language.
Texting has added a new dimension to language use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a disaster.
Poetry is above all a concentration of the power of language, which is the power of our ultimate relationship to everything in the universe.
‘Ulysses’ is the greatest anti-racist text in the English language, and it challenges right from the beginning the vicious racism which lies near the foundations of the Irish Free State and of the Irish republic.
I use the language I use to my friends. They wouldn’t believe me if I used some high-flown literary language. I want them to believe me.