--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you speak a foreign language, you…" description: "\"When you speak a foreign language, you become someone else. If you aren't used to speaking a language, and you start speaking it again, for the first f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/eugene-green-36139_finding-yourself_when-you-speak-a-foreign-language-you-be_2425176.jpg" --- # When you speak a foreign language, you become someone… ![“When you speak a foreign language, you become someone else. If you aren't used to speaking a language, and you start speaking it again, for the first few sentences you'll find yourself in very strange shape, because you're still the person who was speaking the first language. But if you keep…” quote by Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/eugene-green-36139_finding-yourself_when-you-speak-a-foreign-language-you-be_2425176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/eugene-green-36139_finding-yourself_when-you-speak-a-foreign-language-you-be_2425176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/eugene-green-36139_finding-yourself_when-you-speak-a-foreign-language-you-be_2425176.jpg) > “When you speak a foreign language, you become someone else. If you aren't used to speaking a language, and you start speaking it again, for the first few sentences you'll find yourself in very strange shape, because you're still the person who was speaking the first language. But if you keep speaking that language, you will become the person who corresponds to it.” [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning a new language reshapes self‑perception; continual use integrates the language into one's identity. **In simple terms:** Language changes who you become. Key Takeaway Embrace language immersion to transform yourself. Themes identity language learning personal growth Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - immersion programs - multilingual work - cultural exchange Key Concepts cognitive adaptation cultural assimilation self‑concept Questions to Reflect On - How does language influence personal identity? - What challenges arise when adopting a new linguistic self? A Different Perspective Identity shift may cause disorientation or loss of original self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Finding yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-yourself/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Foreign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-person-2295820/) [Language Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-speaking-2305585/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-foreign-2247305/) [Speaking Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking-language-1013709/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [“names which are relatively easy to pronounce correctly by someone whose first and only language is English have been included. 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I think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/no-matter-where-i-go-in-the-world-although-i-can-t-speak-any-foreign/) [Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/) > [I've never learned to speak a foreign language with ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-esler/i-ve-never-learned-to-speak-a-foreign-language-with-ease/) [Gavin Esler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-esler/) > [“Trying something new is like daring to speak a foreign language, you bite your tongue at first, memorize and thereafter sing it as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/trying-something-new-is-like-daring-to-speak-a-foreign-language-you/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Americans don't speak foreign languages, by and large. Their interest in anything beyond the borders of the country is limited. A European of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/americans-don-t-speak-foreign-languages-by-and-large-their-interest/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/americans-who-travel-abroad-for-the-first-time-are-often-shocked-to/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Korean American immigrants that meet faithfully at 5:00 a.m. every day to pray at the church before embarking on a twelve-hour work day are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/korean-american-immigrants-that-meet-faithfully-at-5-00-a-m-every-day/) [Soong-Chan Rah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-chan-rah/) > [Maybe then you comprehend, speaking one language only is a prison!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/maybe-then-you-comprehend-speaking-one-language-only-is-a-prison/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I'm sorry what language are you speaking? it sounds like bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crapp/i-m-sorry-what-language-are-you-speaking-it-sounds-like-bullshit/) [Crapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crapp/) > [“When I spoke to her in Spanish I was not translating, I was not thinking my thoughts in English first, but I was nevertheless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/when-i-spoke-to-her-in-spanish-i-was-not-translating-i-was-not/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [At times it does not really matter what language you are speaking, especially when you are emotional and try to reach other hearts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-sufyan-ibn-harb/at-times-it-does-not-really-matter-what-language-you-are-speaking/) [Abu Sufyan ibn Harb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-sufyan-ibn-harb/) > [Im sorry,what language are you speaking ?? it sound like bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danger-zone/im-sorry-what-language-are-you-speaking-it-sound-like-bullshit/) [Danger Zone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danger-zone/) > [When I'm doing a one-on-one with somebody, I have to speak in a language that that person can understand, using a vocabulary that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-salonga/when-i-m-doing-a-one-on-one-with-somebody-i-have-to-speak-in-a/) [Lea Salonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-salonga/) ## More by Eugene Green > [I have much respect for the people that I work with, and it's reciprocal. My shoots are always very calm. Everyone has their work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/i-have-much-respect-for-the-people-that-i-work-with-and-it-s/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [Spiritual truth is something that is so far from us - without any form or name that we can imagine - that we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/spiritual-truth-is-something-that-is-so-far-from-us-without-any-form/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [The information that was contained in a cathedral was based upon a common culture - a common Christian culture - and the elements were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/the-information-that-was-contained-in-a-cathedral-was-based-upon-a/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [Mature people transmit to young people a certain wisdom that comes from maturity, but young people are close to a more intuitive wisdom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/mature-people-transmit-to-young-people-a-certain-wisdom-that-comes/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [I think that if you have a sense of the sacredness of nature and of human relations, I think you will be uplifted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/i-think-that-if-you-have-a-sense-of-the-sacredness-of-nature-and-of/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [In France, we have laïcité, which means that atheism is almost our state religion. 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People have no past in their present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/one-of-the-biggest-problems-of-our-contemporary-civilization-is-that/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [It's one of the bases of all human existence - the relation between parents and children, whether biologically or metaphorically. It's something we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/it-s-one-of-the-bases-of-all-human-existence-the-relation-between/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [I work very hard to achieve simplicity, which is never natural, never spontaneous. It's always obtained at the price of a great effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-green/i-work-very-hard-to-achieve-simplicity-which-is-never-natural-never/) [Eugene Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-green/) > [I don't like things to be overcharged, because otherwise everyone starts getting nervous. I try to be very well organized. 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Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [I work with a lot of music programs and there's a steep learning curve to a lot of them. You can really find yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe/i-work-with-a-lot-of-music-programs-and-there-s-a-steep-learning/) [Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe/) > [I was going to say 'my friend Stuart', but I suppose he's not a friend any more. I seem to have lost a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-was-going-to-say-my-friend-stuart-but-i-suppose-he-s-not-a-friend/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [To be the best you can be, is to know the person in the mirror better than you think you know everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lopez/to-be-the-best-you-can-be-is-to-know-the-person-in-the-mirror-better/) [Wendy Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-lopez/) > [Sometimes, the most important thing you'll need to know, is how to be your own best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-the-most-important-thing-you-ll-need-to-know-is-how-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. The hero in each of us is required to answer the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/the-act-of-consciousness-is-central-otherwise-we-are-overrun-by-the/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [What you discover on your own is always more exciting than what someone else discovers for you - it's like the marriage between romantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-rafferty/what-you-discover-on-your-own-is-always-more-exciting-than-what/) [Terrence Rafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-rafferty/) > [I am to the point where I don't know if I'm getting better, or I'm just used to the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cori-morton/i-am-to-the-point-where-i-don-t-know-if-i-m-getting-better-or-i-m/) [Cori Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cori-morton/) > [I noticed that once you realize someone's watching you it's pretty hard not to find yourself watching them back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-noticed-that-once-you-realize-someone-s-watching-you-it-s-pretty/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [If you find yourself in a relationship or even a friendship with someone who's conflicted with their gender identity, just be kind. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-d-thompson/if-you-find-yourself-in-a-relationship-or-even-a-friendship-with/) [Linda D. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-d-thompson/) > [Theres an awkward silence when Eric clears his throat and speaks up. So Jade, tell us about yourself. 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