I'm not contradicting all you say, as a matter of fact, I don't even know what I am contradicting. A lot of what I believe (as I see from you also) is how language affects me.
I grew up in Africa; I hated school and would deliberately sit outside my class and read a book. I'd get taken to the head master for a caning (six of the best as they said in those days) but I did not care.
My father grew up in a village in Cyprus and tried to teach himself English, so as to get a better job. Moving to Africa, meant he was surrounded by people speaking English. He loved literature (at a time when non-British were not welcome in their clubs, they asked my father to give a speech about British Literature). He wrote mostly poetry and had them translated, by publishers, into 7 languages. I do not have any of them.
I think I barely noticed his love and accomplishments, for I discovered that language has rhythms - depending on the effect I want to achieve. Words can flow so that they sound like songs.
I've spent the last 18 years writing almost full time, with no time for going out or watching movies. The characters I created took over and Robert, the main character, has a deep love for the English language.
I've taken what we were discusisng to a more personal level, but ultimately, that is how I react to life.
I think an important point about myself is that I am not a snob about language. For instance, I see many posts by asians and africans and I enjoy reading them because they mash up the language something awful, but now and then, they distort the language in a way that it turns into a splendid little gem.
Those are beautiful moments