English language

England and America are two countries divided by a common language.

George Bernard Shaw (attrib.)

English, n. A language so haughty and reserved that few writers succeed in getting on terms of familiarity with it

Ambrose Bierce, The Enlarged Devil's Dictionary, 1967

Un homme qui parle trois langues est trilingue. Un homme qui parle deux langues est bilingue. Un homme qui ne parle qu'une langue est anglais.

— Claude Gagnière

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

— James D. Nicoll