Henry Sweet

“In learning a language, the first thing is to get a command of the sounds.”

“What is wanted is a scientific alphabet, in which each sound is represented by a single, definite sign.”

“Language is the expression of ideas, and if the ideas are vague, the language will be vague.”

“Phonetics is the indispensable foundation of all study of language.”

“Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.”

“All study of language is sterile which is not based on the living speech.”

“The history of a language is in fact the history of a nation.”

“The object of the science of language is to understand language, not to improve it.”

“The best and most rational grammar of a language is that which has been elaborated by the language itself.”