Peter Elbow: The real reason that language so often carries magic

“The real reason that language so often carries magic is because humans have trouble not ascribing special power to it. Language makes so many things happen. If we say or write words in a certain way, we can make people see things that aren’t there and feel things they have no reason to feel—all this with mere mouth sounds or paper marks.”
― Peter Elbow, Vernacular Eloquence: What Speech Can Bring to Writing