A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"-- Lao Tzu
Utterances become quotations because they mean something to people. They come to 'own' them when they find something in their personal lives to which the quotation relates. It's perhaps not surprising, then, to see Lao Tzu's remark emerging as a winner, for there can be few quotations which match it for its universal applicability.
Type the quotation into a large search engine and you will find thousands of contexts of use which range from scientific research to commercial advertising, from national politics to personal therapy. Its appealing content is reinforced in English by its linguistic structure: the quotation falls naturally into two rhythm-units, each with three strong stresses. It's easy to remember, therefore.
"A journey of a thousand miles / begins with a single step"
And there is a lovely contrast between the leisurely pace of the first half of the quotation - the disyllabic 'journey' and 'thousand' and the long vowels or diphthongs in each main word - and the punchy character of the second half, with its striking 's' alliteration, and each main word either monosyllabic or with a short vowel. Note how different the quotation would feel if we were to replace 'step' by, say, 'stride' or 'pace'. The impact of this quotation very much depends on its strong phonetic conclusion.
It's a worthy winner.
Professor David Crystal is a prolific writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster.
He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and is famous for his research work in English language studies.
