“Solely in the world of languages is the amateur of value. Well-intentioned sentences full of mistakes can still build bridges between people.”

“[B]ooks, which can be consulted at any time, questioned again and again, and read into scraps, cannot be rivaled as a language-learning tool.”

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

“Language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.”

“The spread of languages shouldn't imply the decay of national languages. There are so many literary and historical memories, so many joys and sorrows of the past linked to them that it is an obligation for all of us to guard their present and future.”

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

“[R]epetition is as an essential element of language learning as a knife is to a lathe or fuel is to an internal combustion engine.”