Language is a determined less by what it permits us to say than by what it compels us to say.
Language is a foundation for the more complex structures which correspond to the different aspects of culture.
Language is a guide to behavior because its logic is transferred, through analogy, to other domains of human cognitive activity.
Language is a form which, owing to the child's immersion in the linguistic environment even prior to speaking, solicits the child as a whole (rather than fragmentarily).
Language is a guide to behavior in that its logic transfers across various domains. One can be forgiven for not realizing that a gas drum marked 'empty' still contains flammable gas.
Language is a living thing, like a cowpath: it is the creation of the cows themselves, who, having created it, follow it or depart from it according to their whims or their needs. From daily use, the path undergoes change.
Language is a dangerous gift. It offers itself to our use free of charge but once we accept it, it colonizes us.