--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have heard no word of my own language…" description: "\"“I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb.”\" — David Malouf" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png" --- # I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb. ![“I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb.” quote by David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png) > ““I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb.”” [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels alienated, unable to express themselves in their native language, leading to a sense of silence and loss of identity. **In simple terms:** Feeling mute without one's own language. Key Takeaway Seek ways to reclaim your linguistic voice. Themes identity language alienation Mood lonely reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - immigration - education - personal growth - artistic creation Key Concepts cultural displacement self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape your sense of self? - What steps can you take to reconnect with your mother tongue? A Different Perspective Silence can also be a protective shield in hostile environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [Im just another thing for you to roll your eyes at, honey. You might have him but havent you heard? 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'Can people repeat something they heard, word for word?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-horn/one-sign-of-an-excellent-speech-can-people-repeat-something-they/) [Sam Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-horn/) > [Rom 10:17: Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/rom-10-17-consequently-faith-comes-from-hearing-the-message-and-the/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“You cannot be my friend and use the N- word around me. I feel strongly about it… I always think of the millions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/you-cannot-be-my-friend-and-use-the-n-word-around-me-i-feel-strongly/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Sookie," Eric said. I didn't think he'd heard a word. "Yield to me." Well, that was pretty direct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/sookie-eric-said-i-didn-t-think-he-d-heard-a-word-yield-to-me-well/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [I became an ecologist long before I had ever heard the word,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chico-mendes/i-became-an-ecologist-long-before-i-had-ever-heard-the-word/) Chico Mendes > [“He did not want to climb down and visit the men again. He couldn’t fly away. He wasn’t sure because he’d only heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-harrison/he-did-not-want-to-climb-down-and-visit-the-men-again-he-couldn-t-fly/) [Thea Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-harrison/) > [He who has heard the Word of God can bear his silences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/he-who-has-heard-the-word-of-god-can-bear-his-silences/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [I love comedy. I love the absurdity of it. I love the kind of intelligence that's required to be dumb in comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/i-love-comedy-i-love-the-absurdity-of-it-i-love-the-kind-of/) [Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/) > [“War is not nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/war-is-not-nice/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) ## More by David Malouf > [“Brisbane is so sleepy, so slatternly, so sprawlingly unlovely… It is simply the most ordinary place in the world…It was so shabby and makeshift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/brisbane-is-so-sleepy-so-slatternly-so-sprawlingly-unlovely-it-is/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“The hundred possibilities a situation contains may be more significant than the occurrence of any of them, and metaphor truer in the long run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/the-hundred-possibilities-a-situation-contains-may-be-more/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [Words his soul danced to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/words-his-soul-danced-to/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [I write not to record what I think but to discover what I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-write-not-to-record-what-i-think-but-to-discover-what-i-think/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“So these things happen, deep in our lives. We do not speak of them. We hide them even from ourselves, but they do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/so-these-things-happen-deep-in-our-lives-we-do-not-speak-of-them-we/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [All the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/all-the-things-we-achieve-are-things-we-have-first-of-all-imagined/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“However the story is told and elaborated, the raw shame of it will be with him now til his last breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/however-the-story-is-told-and-elaborated-the-raw-shame-of-it-will-be/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [The earth's warmth under me, as I stretch out at night, is astonishing. It is like the warmth of another body that has absorbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/the-earth-s-warmth-under-me-as-i-stretch-out-at-night-is-astonishing/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“I scoffed at such old fashioned notions as duty, patriotism, the military virtues. And here I was, aged fifty, standing on guard at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-scoffed-at-such-old-fashioned-notions-as-duty-patriotism-the/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [Fiction, with its preference for what is small and might elsewhere seem irrelevant; its facility for smuggling us into another skin and allowing us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/fiction-with-its-preference-for-what-is-small-and-might-elsewhere/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“She had given him up. That was the hard condition of his being and of all commerce between them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/she-had-given-him-up-that-was-the-hard-condition-of-his-being-and-of/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [With all those prizes the most interesting thing is getting on to the shortlist, because that tells you who people see as your peers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/with-all-those-prizes-the-most-interesting-thing-is-getting-on-to-the/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“So long as we are driven by the need to make up for our needs; by the restless sense that we are not yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/so-long-as-we-are-driven-by-the-need-to-make-up-for-our-needs-by-the/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [We’re such contrary creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/we-re-such-contrary-creatures/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“Here is the life you have tried to throw away. Here is your second chance. 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I love the absurdity of it. I love the kind of intelligence that's required to be dumb in comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/i-love-comedy-i-love-the-absurdity-of-it-i-love-the-kind-of/) [Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/) > [Marilyn was a great actress, not a dumb blond bombshell. She was very smart, very astute and a good businesswoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/marilyn-was-a-great-actress-not-a-dumb-blond-bombshell-she-was-very/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I'm a meathead. I can't help it, man. You've got smart people and you've got dumb people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/i-m-a-meathead-i-can-t-help-it-man-you-ve-got-smart-people-and-you-ve/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [I always wanted to make big action movies as a kid, and that was my dream. In a way, 'Swingers' was the thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/i-always-wanted-to-make-big-action-movies-as-a-kid-and-that-was-my/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [Me seeing how thick my callous is on my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-country/me-seeing-how-thick-my-callous-is-on-my-hand/) [Michael Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-country/) > [It is unfortunate to consider all lawyers as natural Satanists many are just dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-unfortunate-to-consider-all-lawyers-as-natural-satanists-many/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [I hate it when people come up to me on trains and ask 'Are you Soulja Boy?' If people want pictures or autographs, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soulja-boy/i-hate-it-when-people-come-up-to-me-on-trains-and-ask-are-you-soulja/) [Soulja Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soulja-boy/) > [I just don't like that you can either be ugly and smart or pretty and dumb, or ugly and nice or pretty and mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-don-t-like-that-you-can-either-be-ugly-and-smart-or-pretty-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-turned-back-to-the-mirror-seeing-that-there-were-no-lines-on-it-it/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-pretty-cautious-and-not-very-athletic-so-i-ve-only-had-really/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-british-government-has-learned-that-saddam-hussein-recently/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) Browse all 2,053 Dumb quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Malouf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language-i-am-rendered-dumb/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dumb" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language-i-am-rendered-dumb/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/david-malouf-15192_dumb_i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language_848130.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb.” — David Malouf", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Malouf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have heard no word of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language-i-am-rendered-dumb/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language-i-am-rendered-dumb/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```