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Meaning
The quote says that words are not harmless; they have effects like actions do. Because of that, writers should be accountable for the consequences of what they write. It treats language as something that can influence people and events, not just express ideas.
When It Was Said
Not documented yet.
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places (1989)
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
The phrase appears in the book "Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places (1989)" by Ursula K. Le Guin (Google Books snippet); no earlier source was checked.
Did You Know?
Not documented yet.
About Ursula K. Le Guin
American author
Ursula K. Le Guin was an American author, active from the late 1950s into the early twenty-first century. She is best known for speculative fiction, especially the science fiction set in her Hainish universe and the fantasy series Earthsea. Her first work appeared in 1959, and her career lasted nearly sixty years. Over that time she wrote more than twenty novels and more than a hundred short stories, along with poetry, literary criticism, translations, and children's books. Although she was often described as a science fiction writer, she said she would rather be known as an American novelist.
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READ THE SOURCE
Books by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness
2016
A Wizard of Earthsea
1968
The Dispossessed
1975
The Farthest Shore
1990
The Lathe of Heaven
2008