--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never known what is Arabic or…" description: "\"I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is that the two have always been ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/edward-said-6412_arabic_i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-eng_152370.jpg" --- # I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one… ![“I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is that the two have always been together in my life, one resonating in the other, sometimes ironically, sometimes nostalgically, most often each correcting, and commenting on, the…” quote by Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/edward-said-6412_arabic_i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-eng_152370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/edward-said-6412_arabic_i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-eng_152370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/edward-said-6412_arabic_i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-eng_152370.jpg) > “I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is that the two have always been together in my life, one resonating in the other, sometimes ironically, sometimes nostalgically, most often each correcting, and commenting on, the other. Each can seem like my absolutely first language, but neither is.” [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language identities intertwine, each influencing the other, shaping personal and cultural perception. **In simple terms:** Languages shape each other and self. Key Takeaway Embrace bilingual influence. Themes identity culture language Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - immigration - education - literary analysis - personal narrative Key Concepts bilingualism self-construction Questions to Reflect On - How does bilingualism affect your worldview? - Can one language dominate the other? A Different Perspective Language conflict can cause confusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Resonating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resonating/) ## Related quotes > [Woman at Point Zero I wrote during the '70s in Arabic. It came in English in '82. So, almost ten years' difference between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/woman-at-point-zero-i-wrote-during-the-70s-in-arabic-it-came-in/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Country music... doesn't bend notes in the same way, so I suppose it's very English, really. Even though it's been very Americanized, it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/country-music-doesn-t-bend-notes-in-the-same-way-so-i-suppose-it-s/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [When I'm in Brazil, I'm not Brazilian at all; I am a gringo. And then when I'm in England, I'm not really English, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-goth/when-i-m-in-brazil-i-m-not-brazilian-at-all-i-am-a-gringo-and-then/) [Mia Goth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-goth/) > [I learned English kind of late. I remember when I got my first opportunity to work in America, I didn't speak a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/i-learned-english-kind-of-late-i-remember-when-i-got-my-first/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [The English was really my mother, it was never me. Being the daughter of my father, I always felt very French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-gainsbourg/the-english-was-really-my-mother-it-was-never-me-being-the-daughter/) [Charlotte Gainsbourg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-gainsbourg/) > [“After all, the English are really too much. One can't live in that constipated fashion forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/after-all-the-english-are-really-too-much-one-can-t-live-in-that/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [English is really free for me; there's no limits to the music and the imagination. And French, it's just I live in Paris, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yael-naim/english-is-really-free-for-me-there-s-no-limits-to-the-music-and-the/) [Yael Naim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yael-naim/) > [I remember when I got my first opportunity to work in America, I didn't speak a lot of English, so I only really knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/i-remember-when-i-got-my-first-opportunity-to-work-in-america-i-didn/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [I think the biggest difficulty is that when I'm here in America, there's a necessity of using English, so I really have a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiaki-kuriyama/i-think-the-biggest-difficulty-is-that-when-i-m-here-in-america-there/) [Chiaki Kuriyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiaki-kuriyama/) > [I'm very English really. I even ordered a book on the internet, 'how to have absolutely nothing to do with your neighbors'. Unfortunately I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/i-m-very-english-really-i-even-ordered-a-book-on-the-internet-how-to/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [I did really well at school, and I would have loved to have gone to Oxford or Cambridge. I would have read English, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-rigby/i-did-really-well-at-school-and-i-would-have-loved-to-have-gone-to/) [Emma Rigby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-rigby/) > [I'm born and raised in Mexico. I only spent eight months in the States, but definitely English is a really big part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiza-gonzalez/i-m-born-and-raised-in-mexico-i-only-spent-eight-months-in-the-states/) [Eiza Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiza-gonzalez/) > [Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/tea-to-the-english-is-really-a-picnic-indoors/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [English is a really wonderful language and I urge you all to investigate it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/english-is-a-really-wonderful-language-and-i-urge-you-all-to/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Johnny English is someone who really means well it's just that he's not as good as he thinks he is, and I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/johnny-english-is-someone-who-really-means-well-it-s-just-that-he-s/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) ## More by Edward Said > [Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/beginning-is-not-only-a-kind-of-action-it-is-also-a-frame-of-mind-a/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[9/11\] was bloody-minded destruction for no other reason than to do it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/9-11-was-bloody-minded-destruction-for-no-other-reason-than-to-do-it/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Look at situations as contingent, not as inevitable, look at them as the result of a series of historical choices made by men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/look-at-situations-as-contingent-not-as-inevitable-look-at-them-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[One task of intellectuals is\] to break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are . . . limiting to human thought and communication. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/one-task-of-intellectuals-is-to-break-down-the-stereotypes-and/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ The just response to this terrible event \[9/11\] should be to go immediately to the world community, the United Nations. The rule of international… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/the-just-response-to-this-terrible-event-9-11-should-be-to-go/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Since when does a militarily occupied people have the responsibility for a peace movement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/since-when-does-a-militarily-occupied-people-have-the-responsibility/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Refuse to allow yourself to become a vegetable that simply absorbs information, pre-packaged, pre-ideologized , because no message.. is anything but an ideological package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/refuse-to-allow-yourself-to-become-a-vegetable-that-simply-absorbs/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/no-cause-no-god-no-abstract-idea-can-justify-the-mass-slaughter-of/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [What we must eliminate are systems of representation that carry with them the authority which has become repressive because it doesn't permit or make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/what-we-must-eliminate-are-systems-of-representation-that-carry-with/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Part of the main plan of imperialism... is that we will give you your history, we will write it for you, we will re-order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/part-of-the-main-plan-of-imperialism-is-that-we-will-give-you-your/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [And what terrifies me is that we're entering a phase where if you start to speak about this as something that can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/and-what-terrifies-me-is-that-we-re-entering-a-phase-where-if-you/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Explore all 97 Edward Said quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## More Arabic quotes > [“Yet even when such languages did not face direct official sanction, speakers of older tongues knew that they had little chance of getting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/yet-even-when-such-languages-did-not-face-direct-official-sanction/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [We were the outliers: my mother was the only Western woman (khawagayya, in Egyptian Arabic) to have married into the family, and during my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/we-were-the-outliers-my-mother-was-the-only-western-woman-khawagayya/) [Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/) > [“The Arabic language has had a great history, and in many respects is more remarkable than any other Semitic speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-john-courtenay/the-arabic-language-has-had-a-great-history-and-in-many-respects-is/) [James John Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-john-courtenay/) > [World music can be sometimes like the lumber room in which all the non-English singers are dumped. When you are singing in Arabic, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/world-music-can-be-sometimes-like-the-lumber-room-in-which-all-the/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [“In its classical form Arabic is of later date than Hebrew, but in its ancient form akin to Hebrew and Aramaic, certainly as old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-john-courtenay/in-its-classical-form-arabic-is-of-later-date-than-hebrew-but-in-its/) [James John Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-john-courtenay/) > [It's complicated for my music to be accepted, even in Lebanon and the Arabic world - I sing in Arabic, but there's no lute,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/it-s-complicated-for-my-music-to-be-accepted-even-in-lebanon-and-the/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [“By the affirmation of all scholars, Arabic is the most honourable language among all Semitic ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemens-joseph-david/by-the-affirmation-of-all-scholars-arabic-is-the-most-honourable/) Clemens Joseph David > [All the sciences came to exist in Arabic. The systematic works on them were written in Arabic writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/all-the-sciences-came-to-exist-in-arabic-the-systematic-works-on-them/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [“Assad whistled a few notes of one of his native country's melancholic songs. It sounded as though he was whistling backwards”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jussi-adler-olsen/assad-whistled-a-few-notes-of-one-of-his-native-country-s-melancholic/) [Jussi Adler-Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jussi-adler-olsen/) > [“Fuck the Bureau! Their entire outfit is half the size of the NYPD. I've got more officers who speak Arabic in one precinct that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/fuck-the-bureau-their-entire-outfit-is-half-the-size-of-the-nypd-i-ve/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [Pomegranate molasses is ubiquitous in Arabic cooking: it's sweet, sour and adds depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/pomegranate-molasses-is-ubiquitous-in-arabic-cooking-it-s-sweet-sour/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [I've been working a lot with identity and roots, being part of your roots. I went into this topic where I was trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-seed/i-ve-been-working-a-lot-with-identity-and-roots-being-part-of-your/) [eL Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-seed/) > [“Ancient Arabic may naturally be regarded as the chief source of the Hebrew language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-courtenay-james/ancient-arabic-may-naturally-be-regarded-as-the-chief-source-of-the/) [John Courtenay James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-courtenay-james/) > [Being published in Arabic is a strong and consistent wish I have. I live in the Middle East and want to be in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/being-published-in-arabic-is-a-strong-and-consistent-wish-i-have-i/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I'm shy, but sometimes my voice is so clear and strong. Your tongue moves, and the Arabic language is so beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakeem-olajuwon/i-m-shy-but-sometimes-my-voice-is-so-clear-and-strong-your-tongue/) [Hakeem Olajuwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakeem-olajuwon/) Browse all 107 Arabic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is that the two have always been together in my life, one resonating in the other, sometimes ironically, sometimes nostalgically, most often each correcting, and commenting on, the other. 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