
2 Books on the Cultural History of Quotation: Choose by Study Focus
Which cultural study of quotation best fits what you want to explore? Why Do We Quote? links contemporary practices with cross-cultural and historical inquiry, while The Words of Others examines how quotations arise, develop, and affect culture.
| Product | Study focus |
|---|---|
Why Do We Quote? | Quotation practices across cultures and history |
The Words of Others | How quotations arise, develop, and affect culture |
1. Why Do We Quote?
Best for Cross-cultural and historical inquiry
For a cultural study of quotation, Why Do We Quote? links contemporary practices with cross-cultural and historical inquiry across anthropology, folklore, sociolinguistics, and literary studies. Its topics include quotation marks, collections, quotation in sight and sound, and the regulation of other people’s words and voices.
A free official full-text digital edition is available to read, so buying the paperback is optional for access to the text. Read the free digital edition.

2. The Words of Others
Best for Quotation development and cultural effects
For readers studying the cultural history of quotation, The Words of Others examines how quotations arise, develop, and affect culture, including their collection in commonplace books, treasuries, and anthologies. It also explores quotability, differences between quotation and misquotation, and how quotations develop into idioms.

Which should you choose?
- For cross-cultural and historical inquiry into contemporary quotation practices, with a free official digital edition:
- For a focus on how quotations arise, develop, and affect culture, including their collection in commonplace books, treasuries, and anthologies:


