Babel by R.F. Kuang

1) “‘But Oxford gives you all the tools you need for your work – food, clothes, books, tea – and then it leaves you alone.'” – Professor Lovell

2) “‘But in Latin, malum means “bad” and malum – emphasizing the macron with force, means “apple”. It was a short leap from there to blaming the apple for the original sin. But for all we know, the real culprit could be a persimmon.'” – Mr Felton

3) “Goodbye was, incredibly, a shortened version of God be with you.”

4) “The English made regular uses of only two flavours – salty and not salty – and did not seem to recognize any of the others.”

5) “They were men at Oxford; they were not Oxford men.”

6) “‘But academics by nature are a solitary, sedentary lot. Travel sounds fun until you realize what you really want is to stay at home with a cup of tea and a stack of books by a warm fire.'” – Anthony

7) “‘That’s the dilemma. Do we take words as our unit of translation, or do we subordinate accuracy of individual words to the overall spirit of the text?'” – Professor Playfair

8) “‘It seems to me that the fact you’re here, enjoying an English education, is precisely what makes the English superior.'” – Letty

9) “‘The poet runs untrammelled across the meadow. The translator dances in shackles.'” – Robin

10) “‘There are no conjugations, no tenses, no declensions – how do you ever know the meaning of a sentence?'” – Victoire