Peter Ladefoged

"The International Phonetic Association is like the Episcopal church. One can hold almost any theoretical position as long as one gets the symbols right."

"It was really [David] Whitteridge who taught me to be a scientist."

"I wanted to find out why Shelley could write better-sounding poetry than I."

"[It's] not our decision to make. It's up to the people themselves."

"My immediate answer was, 'I don't have a singing butler and three maids who sing, but I will tell you what I can as an assistant professor.'"

"He did extensive linguistic fieldwork on a scale it had not been done before, and when he brought it back from the field he found ways to use sophisticated laboratory equipment to analyze his recordings."