Quote by Virginia Woolf

Humour is the first of the gifts to perish in a foreign tongue.

Humour is the first of the gifts to perish in a foreign tong

Summary

This quote means that when a person speaks or jokes in a language that is not their native tongue, it is often difficult for humor to translate effectively. Humor relies heavily on cultural references, wordplay, and nuances that may not carry the same meaning or impact in a different language. Therefore, when attempting to communicate humor in a foreign language, it can easily lose its essence or be completely lost, resulting in the diminished ability to make others laugh or find amusement.

By Virginia Woolf

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

The God who existed before any religion counts on you to mak

The God who existed before any religion counts on you to make the oneness of the human family known and celebrated.

. . . colors like a flourish of trumpets or pianissimo on th

. . . colors like a flourish of trumpets or pianissimo on the violin, great, calm, oscillating, splintered surgances . . . . Is this not form?

Giacomo Puccini, from Talks with

Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the min

Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the mind. Music depends on details of the auditory system, painting and sculpture on the visual system. Poetry and literature depend on language.

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Theodore Roosevelt

The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.

The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.

Terry Pratchett

Writing Process

I consider my mom and all my sisters my friends.

I consider my mom and all my sisters my friends.

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

Theodore Roosevelt

That small world, like the great one out of doors, had the c

That small world, like the great one out of doors, had the capacity of easily forgetting its dead; and when the cook had said she was a quiet-tempered lady, and the housekeeper had said it was the common lot, and the butler had said who'd have thought it, and the housemaid had said she couldn't hardly believe it, and the footman had said it seemed exactly like a dream, they had quite worn the subject out, and began to think their mourning was wearing rusty too.

Charles Dickens

I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituarie

I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.

Death Humor Funny

What ever is the natural propensity of a person is hard to o

What ever is the natural propensity of a person is hard to overcome. If a dog were made a king, he would still gnaw at his shoes laces.

The level of detail and craft is something that's inscribed

The level of detail and craft is something that's inscribed within the original design concept. And so when I begin to draw, I know what kind of detailing I want the building to have.

There is a universal, intelligent, life force that exists wi

There is a universal, intelligent, life force that exists within everyone and everything. It resides within each one of use as a deep wisdom, an inner knowing. We can access this wonderful source of knowledge and wisdom through our intuition, an inner sense that tells us what feels right and true for us at any given moment.