Les affinités électives (6/11)
Dictionnaire amoureux des Langues
No one is indifferent to human languages, whose appearance at the dawn of our species is what permitted its members to make social ties that no other animal could. Those who do not like languages, because of the difficulty of learning certain ones, will find in this Dictionary, if not reasons for loving them, at least enough to be surprised by all that languages permit us to do, say and understand about our nature. It is filled with the brilliant, infinite ingenuity of human populations when defied to speak the world with very limited means.
No one is indifferent to human languages, whose appearance at the dawn of our species is what permitted its members to make social ties that no other animal could. Those who do not like languages, because of the difficulty of learning certain ones, will find in this Dictionary, if not reasons for loving them, at least enough to be surprised by all that languages permit us to do, say and understand about our nature. It is filled with the brilliant, infinite ingenuity of human populations when defied to speak the world with very limited means.
