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Speak Quotes

The languages, and limits, people speak within.

A couple of these speak quotes are about language and identity specifically, children translating for family members, and a cultural background where the expected native language was never actually spoken at home. The Language collection covers this in more depth.

Blacks, especially in America, have been raised with a slave mentality - they don't feel that they have the right to speak as loud as possible.

Quotes by Kanye West

To chase an athlete that really doesn't want to speak with you and when you finally get him, gives you three words and you have to write a story based on three words of information he gave you, that's pretty...

Quotes by Junior Seau

I'd retired for about six or seven years. Coming back to the business, I found that I was sort of not quite a has-been, and it wasn't a new career, it was just kind of difficult to crack the nut,...

Quotes by Julie London

Some laws are wrong, and we have an obligation to speak out against those laws wherever they are.

Quotes by Julian McMahon

We should not be afraid to speak the truth to our powerful friend the United States.

Quotes by Julian McMahon

It's a common mistake to speak the same to everybody. We all have different filters.

Quotes by Julian Treasure

I understand Spanish better than I speak it.

Quotes by Julian Castro

If all you have to offer is a look that is supposed to be appealing, the you are going to be paid attention to about a tenth as long as you would be if when you speak you are interesting.

Quotes by Julia Roberts

Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves.

Quotes by Julia Morgan

I saw Krishnamurti speak one time. And I thought, I'm not going to live here.

Quotes by Jules Shear

To say that gender is performative is a little different because for something to be performative means that it produces a series of effects. We act and walk and speak and talk in ways that consolidate an impression of being...

Quotes by Judith Butler

When one set of Jews labels another set of Jews 'anti-Semitic,' they are trying to monopolize the right to speak in the name of the Jews. So the allegation of anti-Semitism is actually a cover for an intra-Jewish quarrel.

Quotes by Judith Butler

As a Jew, I was taught that it was ethically imperative to speak up and to speak out against arbitrary state violence. That was part of what I learned when I learned about the Second World War and the concentration...

Quotes by Judith Butler

In my time, you needed to speak a little Italian, and that was it.

Quotes by Juan Manuel Fangio

I speak Urdu quite a lot, too, and I read a lot of Persian.

Quotes by Juan Cole

Listen to any musical phrase or rhythm, and grasp it as a whole, and you thereupon have present in you the image, so to speak, of the divine knowledge of the temporal order.

Quotes by Josiah Royce

Women like men who listen. We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak.

Quotes by Josh Bowman

Generally speaking, it has been my ambition to write as a good old nurse will speak when she tells fairy tales.

Quotes by Joseph Jacobs

IT is difficult to speak or write with becoming moderation or propriety, on topics to which we are biased by prejudice, interest, or even principle.

Quotes by Joseph Lancaster

So then, when I speak to you, I speak to myself. If I seem to warn or to rebuke you, it is not so much you, as myself, to whom the warning or the rebuke is addressed.

Quotes by Joseph Barber Lightfoot

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a quote about children speaking another language?
Yes — a proud one: "My children speak very good Chinese, and they translate for our American friends." It highlights language skill as something to be proud of within a family. For more quotes about language and communication, see Language quotes.
Is there a quote about identity and language not matching expectations?
Yes — a direct one: "I'm a Persian Jew, and we don't speak Hebrew." It's a clear, honest statement correcting an assumption people might make. For more quotes about knowing and understanding people better, browse Know quotes.
Is there a quote using "speak" as a figure of speech?
Yes — one uses the phrase casually: "I just sort of follow my bliss, so to speak, and then I see where that takes me." Here "speak" isn't literal — it's part of a common expression about following your instincts. For more relaxed, conversational quotes like this, check out Like quotes.
Is there a quote about not wanting to hear certain people speak?
Yes — a strong one: "There are evil people, and I don't even want to hear those guys speak." It's a forceful statement about refusing to give a platform to certain voices. For more strongly held opinions like this, see Always quotes.
What's the range of ways "speak" is used across these quotes?
From literal fluency in a language, to correcting assumptions, to a common expression, to refusing to listen — these quotes show how flexible the word "speak" really is.

Others use the word more loosely, one following an instinct rather than a plan, another admitting discomfort even listening to certain harmful views. Continue with Know quotes or Always quotes.