Spoken Language Quotes

“A spoken language is a body, a living creature, whose physiognomy is verbal and whose visceral functions are linguistic. And this creature's home is the inarticulate as well as the articulate.”
― John Berger, Confabulations

“The spoken language is a symbolization of something that happened, could have happened, or is in the process of happening, while the written language is a symbolization of the spoken language. James Joyce, for example, dedicated his life to trying to close the gap between the two systems. In Finnegans Wake, Joyce portrays in writing the workings of the verbal parts of the brain.”
― Edward T. Hall, Beyond Culture

“Listen. Hear the language that isn't spoken, for everyone can hear spoken words, but only a few can hear the heart that beats behind them.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves