Language always betrays us, tells the truth when we want to lie, and dissolves into formlessness when we would most like to be precise.

Jeanette Winterson
About This Quote

Language always betrays us. More than any other tool, language is the tool of communication. We use it to share our ideas, tell stories, and even build our identities. But as we do so, we must realize that words are not always reliable.

They betray us because they are born of the world around us. They are arbitrary associations that come from the way that humans think and act. That’s why language is generally unreliable.

It’s also why language can dissolve into formlessness when we would most like to be precise. The poet Paul Valery said, “Language is the only thing that makes communication possible between individuals incapable of communication.”

Source: Sexing The Cherry

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