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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.

Making a donation is the ultimate sign of solidarity. Actions speak louder than words.

Quotes by Ibrahim Hooper

I'm never running for office. I love being able to speak to members of Congress or members of the Senate and floating on either side, because it takes all of us. It's going to take both of them.

Quotes by Ian Somerhalder

I arrived in the U.S.A. in 1935, to San Francisco. I got the boat from China, and I didn't even speak English. I could read a little, perhaps write a little, but that was all. It was a 17-day journey,...

Quotes by I. M. Pei

Nearly all Italian officers speak French.

Quotes by Hugh Dalton

When he died, Emerson was thought of as the representative American writer par excellence, and his point of view was still so potent that William James was honored to be asked to speak at a centenary celebration.

Quotes by Howard Mumford Jones

You're not going to be liked by everybody when you speak the truth. I don't speak the truth to put people down; I don't speak the truth to show disrespect.

Quotes by Hope Solo

I grew up around Vietnamese refugees, around people who don't speak English as a first language.

Quotes by Hong Chau

My parents speak with an accent. A lot of people that I know speak with an accent. I have friends who speak with an accent. Accents in a vacuum aren't a problem; it's how you portray those characters and how...

Quotes by Hong Chau

Asian-Americans, we're not a monolithic group. There might be some Asians who are second-generation, third-generation, who may not speak the language that their parents or their grandparents spoke.

Quotes by Hong Chau

I grew up speaking Vietnamese - that was my first language because my parents didn't speak any English, and I didn't learn English until I started school.

Quotes by Hong Chau

I want to teach. I want to speak. I want to travel.

Quotes by Hillary Clinton

The city is as large as Seville or Cordova; its streets, I speak of the principal ones, are very wide and straight; some of these, and all the inferior ones, are half land and half water, and are navigated by...

Quotes by Hernan Cortes

I speak a kind of Hapsburg language.

Quotes by Herta Muller

We know how to speak many falsehoods that resemble real things, but we know, when we will, how to speak true things.

Quotes by Hesiod

You know it's hard to hear what a bearded man is saying. He can't speak above a whisker.

Quotes by Herman J. Mankiewicz

Let us speak, though we show all our faults and weaknesses, - for it is a sign of strength to be weak, to know it, and out with it - not in a set way and ostentatiously, though, but incidentally...

Herman Melville

Judaism has always been a strong interest of mine. My two sons speak Hebrew and are familiar with the scriptures and with rabbinic literature. This is the way we live.

Quotes by Herman Wouk

It does me good to write a letter which is not a response to a demand, a gratuitous letter, so to speak, which has accumulated in me like the waters of a reservoir.

Quotes by Henry Miller

You speak into it and everything is recorded, voice, tone, intonation, everything. You turn a little wheel, and forth it comes, and can be repeated ten thousand times. Only fancy what this suggests.

Quotes by Henry Irving

I told him that my own opinion was that the time now and the method now to deal with Russia was to keep our mouths shut and let our actions speak for words.

Quotes by Henry L. Stimson

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.