How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
'Tis language unurbane,—and only befitting the man who cannot give clear and satisfactory accounts of things, or dive deep enough into the first causes of human ignorance and confusion. (2.2.5)
Who called the language police? Tristram says bad language is the recourse of people who can't express themselves any other way. Again, language provides an important clue to what's going on in someone's head: bad language, bad man; nice language, nice man. But … really? Tristram can't possibly believe this, can he?
Quote #5
O countrymen!—be nice,—be cautious of your language;—and never, O! never let it be forgotten upon what small particles your eloquence and your fame depend. (2.6.7)
Particles are functional parts of language that don't change form, including prepositions and adverbs, as well as the interjections that help move words along—like "well," "alas," "hello." Tristram insists that every part of language matters, which is sort of obvious if you think about the difference between, "First, I took the bread out of the bag; second, I spread the peanut butter," and "First, I spread the peanut butter; second, I took the bread out of the bag."
Quote #6
You must know, my uncle Toby mistook the bridge—as widely as my father mistook the mortars. (3.23.2)
Here, "bridge" and "mortar" mean two different things at the same time. To Toby, they have military meaning; to Walter, they have philosophical meaning. Some words—the good words, maybe—don't have fixed meanings and can only be understood in context. Because people provide context, language becomes individual.