Look at your [English] ladies of quality--are they not forever parting with their husbands--forfeiting their reputations--and is t...heir life aught but dissipation? In common genteel life, indeed, you may now and then meet with very fine girls--who have politeness, sense and conversation--but these are few--and then look at your trademen's daughters--what are they?--poor creatures indeed! all pertness, imitation and folly.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
In all conversation between two persons, tacit reference is made, as to a third party, to a common nature. That third party or com...mon nature is not social; it is impersonal; is God.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Chance: That tune, they been playin' it all day. What is it? Dude: Oh, it's some Mexican piece. I heard it farther south....<...br />Colorado: Well, they call it "The Deguello," the cutthroat song. The Mexicans played it for those Texas boys when they had them bottled up in the Alamo. Played it day and night 'til it was all over. Now do you know what he means by it? Chance: No quarter, no mercy for the loser.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Whether in conversation we generally agree or disagree with others is largely a matter of habit: the one tendency makes as much se...nse as the other.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of ...thought.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Gloucester. O, let me kiss that hand! Lear. Let me wipe it first, it smells of mortality.... Gloucester. O ruined piece of nature! This great world Shall so wear out to nought.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishing connections and negotiating... relationships. Emphasis is placed on displaying similarities and matching experiences. From childhood, girls criticize peers who try to stand out or appear better than others. People feel their closest connections at home, or in settings where they feel close to and comfortable with--in other words, during private speaking. But even the most public situations can be approached like private speaking. For most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. This is done by exhibiting knowledge and skill, and by holding center stage through verbal performance such as storytelling, joking, or imparting information. From childhood, men learn to use talking as a way to get and keep attention. So they are more comfortable speaking in larger groups made up of people they know less well--in the broadest sense, "public speaking." But even the most private situations can be approached like public speaking, more like giving a report than establishing rapport.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »