Linguistic Differences Quotes

“If I had the money I could buy a torch and read till dawn. In America a torch is called a flashlight. A biscuit is called a cookie, a bun is a roll. Confectionery is pastry and minced meat is ground. Men wear pants instead of trousers and they’ll even say this pant leg is shorter than the other which is silly. When I hear them saying pant leg I feel like breathing faster. The lift is an elevator and if you want a WC or a lavatory you have to say bathroom even if there isn’t a sign of a bath there. And no one dies in America, they pass away or they’re deceased and when they die the body, which is called the remains, is taken to a funeral home where people just stand around and look at it and no one sings or tells a story or takes a drink and then it’s taken away in a casket to be interred. They don’t like saying coffin and they don’t like saying buried. They never say graveyard. Cemetery sounds nicer.”
― Frank McCourt, 'Tis

“AI can translate info, not inkling,
AI can translate facts, not poetry.
Till a tongue transcends lips to soul,
Translations are but soulless forgery.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“Each language leaves a distinct mental imprint,
Inaccessible by the fanciest of translator.
Translation gives a glimpse into the head,
Language is highway to the soul of a culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“AI can translate info, not inkling,
AI can translate facts, not poetry.
Till a tongue transcends lips to soul,
Translations are but soulless forgery.

Each language leaves a distinct mental imprint,
Inaccessible by the fanciest of translator.
Translation gives a glimpse into the head,
Language is highway to the soul of a culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science