[...] through the unconscious selection of sounds as phonemes, definite psychological barriers are erected between various phonetic stations, [...] speech ceases to be an expressive flow of sound and becomes a symbolic composition [...]
- Sapir (1933a), a pag.8

Ordinary speech is directly expressive and the purely formal pattern of sounds, words, grammatical forms [...] are always to be thought of as compounded by intended or unintended symbolism of expression [...]
- Sapir (1933a), a pag.12

[...] speech as behaviour is a wonderfully complex blend of two pattern systems, the symbolic and the expressive [...]
- Sapir (1933a), a pag.14

[...] speech serves as a peculiarly potent symbol of the social solidarity of those who speak the language.
- Sapir (1933a), a pag.15