Scattered All Over the Earth

by Yōko Tawada

“When experts decide whether what people speak is independent language or just dialect there’s almost always a political agenda behind it — you see that, don’t you?”

“You can’t express deliciousness using the first person singular with a transitive verb,”

“First you become aware of the flavor, then you compare it with all your previous experiences, and finally, you connect it to the word ‘delicious.’”

“I’ve never even thought about whether or not I like traveling. I’m like a leaf floating down a stream.”

Melancholy vowels dyed the air blue.

All the adjectives I had casually used to describe girls until then, like “cute” or “sweet” or “pretty,” now became so light that a breeze blew them out of my mind.