26 Quotes About Bilingual

The smell of bacon sizzling and the sound ofeggs hitting hot pans were drowned out by thesonorous diner conversations happening all over therestaurant. Some were laughing at their own jokes inone of the center tables. A couple wordlessly brokeup, using the diner napkins to dry their tears, sittingin one of the red with white upside down triangledetailed booths. There were also some teenagersarguing about the pronunciation of gif on the countertable, sitting on the red high chairs.

James turned the kitchen radio to a classic rock station as he started making the burger. Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer played throughout the restaurant. “It’s our song, Vanessa!” Elijah exclaimed as he and Vanessa sang along to the chorus. When the song came to an end, a few of the customers clapped, zapping them out of the Bon Jovi daze. Vanessa took a bow, embracing the attention. Elijah shyly got back to work and brought a customer their meal.

Elijah greeted the new family of customers, “Hello.Welcome to Dean’s Diner!” he said with a classiccustomer service smile. Sometimes he thought herepeated that phrase more than his own name.

The world around him began to change. Voicesbecame inaudible and his gaze was stuck on the manon the ground. Elijah was taken out of that state byVanessa’s voice.

Annoyance has made me bilingual.

I don’t know or understand any other language except the language of kindness.

Eu sou a escuridão que criaa minha própria sombra. I am the darkness that createsmy own shadow.

Something critical happens when the cadre of bilinguals learns to read imported scrolls: they gain entry into a library. I use the word "library" to refer not to a physical building but, more broadly, to the collectivity of accumulated writings. . . . humans possess an ever-increasing store of writings, the totality of which I call the library. The transformation of an oral culture into a written one means, first and foremost, the potential entry of bilinguals into a library.

German is my mother tongue and as such more natural to me, but I consider Czech much more affectionate, which is why your letter removes several uncertainties; I see you more clearly, the movements of your body, your hands, so quick, so resolute, it’s almost like a meeting.