Peter Trudgill > Quotes

“Because language and society are so closely linked, it is possible, in some cases, to encourage social change by directing attention towards linguistic reflections of aspects of society that one would like to see altered.”
― Peter Trudgill, Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society

“. . . irrational attitudes and discriminatory decisions, often made by governments or other official bodies acting out of ignorance or prejudice, have led to language policies which have had detrimental effects on children's education and even on societies as a whole.”
― Peter Trudgill, Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society

“The fact is that none of us can unilaterally decide what a word means. Meanings of words are shared between people - they are a kind of social contract we all agree to - otherwise communication would not be possible.”
― Peter Trudgill