--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a child I did engage in an…" description: "\"When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent, becoming conversant with the culture in all..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg" --- # When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to… ![“When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent, becoming conversant with the culture in all its large and small aspects.” quote by Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg) > “When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent, becoming conversant with the culture in all its large and small aspects.” [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author recounts the challenges of learning English, shedding his accent, and assimilating culturally. **In simple terms:** Struggling to fit into a new language and culture. Key Takeaway Embrace the learning journey. Themes identity language assimilation Mood introspective thoughtful Type reflective educational When to use this quote - immigration counseling - language classes - personal memoirs Key Concepts cultural adaptation self‑acceptance linguistic perseverance Questions to Reflect On - How does your accent shape your identity? - What aspects of your culture do you retain? A Different Perspective Focusing on accent loss can undervalue cultural heritage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Arduous Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arduous-struggle-4858019/) [Aspect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspect/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Child Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-did-750770/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Learning english](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-english/) [Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pass/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-pass-2187494/) ## Related quotes > [The story of civilization is, in a sense, the story of engineering-that long and arduous struggle to make the forces of nature work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-sprague-de-camp/the-story-of-civilization-is-in-a-sense-the-story-of-engineering-that/) [L. Sprague de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-sprague-de-camp/) > [Every struggle you pass through is not designed to punish you, but rather a necessary for your development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ore-abayomi/every-struggle-you-pass-through-is-not-designed-to-punish-you-but/) [Ore Abayomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ore-abayomi/) > [Part of our history includes the long struggle to pass the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-eychaner/part-of-our-history-includes-the-long-struggle-to-pass-the-chicago/) [Fred Eychaner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-eychaner/) > [Whoever raises a righteous child, it is as if he did not die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashi/whoever-raises-a-righteous-child-it-is-as-if-he-did-not-die/) [Rashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashi/) > [I was an only child. I did have kind of like a lonely existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-was-an-only-child-i-did-have-kind-of-like-a-lonely-existence/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [It now costs more to amuse a child than it once did to educate his father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaughn-monroe/it-now-costs-more-to-amuse-a-child-than-it-once-did-to-educate-his/) [Vaughn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaughn-monroe/) > [As a child, I did not dream of being a rapper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/too-short/as-a-child-i-did-not-dream-of-being-a-rapper/) [Too Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/too-short/) > [A child did approach me in a restaurant in Cornwall, but he thought I was Gandalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gambon/a-child-did-approach-me-in-a-restaurant-in-cornwall-but-he-thought-i/) [Michael Gambon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gambon/) > [When I was a child, I did singing and dancing and drama and impressions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-stephenson/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-singing-and-dancing-and-drama-and-impressions/) [Debra Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-stephenson/) > [I never went to church as a child. I did not .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-never-went-to-church-as-a-child-i-did-not/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [“I suppose I was artistic as a child. Our house was so full of art and artists that it never occurred to me not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-froud/i-suppose-i-was-artistic-as-a-child-our-house-was-so-full-of-art-and/) [Wendy Froud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-froud/) > [I was an only child, but I did have a hell of a lot of cousins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desi-arnaz/i-was-an-only-child-but-i-did-have-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-cousins/) [Desi Arnaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desi-arnaz/) > [I don't have the desires of a spoiled child. I never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/i-don-t-have-the-desires-of-a-spoiled-child-i-never-did/) [Princess Stephanie of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/) > [My mom had been a script supervisor in Hungary, but you can't just jump into that in Canada without knowing any English. She worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/my-mom-had-been-a-script-supervisor-in-hungary-but-you-can-t-just/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [Anyone who stops learning is old — whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/anyone-who-stops-learning-is-old-whether-this-happens-at-twenty-or-at/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) ## More by Luc Sante > [All I know about 1970s New York City is that it's where I grew up, and you always have an umbilical connection to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/all-i-know-about-1970s-new-york-city-is-that-it-s-where-i-grew-up-and/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Like a four-sided porch I'm open to all winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/like-a-four-sided-porch-i-m-open-to-all-winds/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Many writers and artists portrayed the poor sympathetically, and even fought on their behalf, but they themselves were not of that class. Gay life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/many-writers-and-artists-portrayed-the-poor-sympathetically-and-even/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [My method is the magpie's: I look for shiny things. That is, I look for concrete material details of daily life, and I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/my-method-is-the-magpie-s-i-look-for-shiny-things-that-is-i-look-for/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Neoliberalism seems to ramp up every day, making it ever more difficult for anyone but corporations to own and run things and define the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/neoliberalism-seems-to-ramp-up-every-day-making-it-ever-more/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [The con is a kind of jiu-jitsu that turns the sucker's own greed into its principal weapon. The greedier you are the more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/the-con-is-a-kind-of-jiu-jitsu-that-turns-the-sucker-s-own-greed-into/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [The US remains an object of fascination for me, and the subject of much study, but while many of my friends etc. are American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/the-us-remains-an-object-of-fascination-for-me-and-the-subject-of/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I try to take pictures on their own terms, considering the historical and social context from which they emerge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-try-to-take-pictures-on-their-own-terms-considering-the-historical/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I've always assumed it to be an absolute requirement for being a writer: to find all emotions and the sources of all behaviors somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-ve-always-assumed-it-to-be-an-absolute-requirement-for-being-a/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Self-reinvention is an essential trope of the American project, closely linked to another such trope: going on the lam. Both are regularly featured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/self-reinvention-is-an-essential-trope-of-the-american-project/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I confess I prefer to engage with pictures which I've chosen myself out of the welter of unidentified pictures, without the intrusion of too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-confess-i-prefer-to-engage-with-pictures-which-i-ve-chosen-myself/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Call yourself "Colonel" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/call-yourself-colonel-and-declare-that-your-fortune-was-left-to-you/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I thought of New York as a free city, like one of those prewar nests of intrigue and licentiousness where exiles and lamsters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-thought-of-new-york-as-a-free-city-like-one-of-those-prewar-nests/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Paris had more sex than most church-laden places, and more church than most sex-laden places. Parisians crowed about Travail-Famille-Patrie while frequenting brothels. They enjoyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/paris-had-more-sex-than-most-church-laden-places-and-more-church-than/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [My ideal city is more like the city (New York and Paris come to mind, but it sort of applies to all) that existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/my-ideal-city-is-more-like-the-city-new-york-and-paris-come-to-mind/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) [Explore all 23 Luc Sante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) ## More Accents quotes > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [You can't live in a dialect without tremendous work. Like any muscle, accents and voices and languages are all formed out of the muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/you-can-t-live-in-a-dialect-without-tremendous-work-like-any-muscle/) [Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/) > [At first I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/at-first-i-thought-i-would-have-to-put-on-an-english-accent-and-try-a/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I don't think you see a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, for example. And even with the accents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-don-t-think-you-see-a-pirate-with-a-parrot-on-his-shoulder-for/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [I'm a Yente and I have a terrible accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/i-m-a-yente-and-i-have-a-terrible-accent/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) > [In bed watching Family Guy. Love this show.! So hilarious! Stewie is my favorite :) love his accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/in-bed-watching-family-guy-love-this-show-so-hilarious-stewie-is-my/) [Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/) > [American accents often sound much more confident than British ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/american-accents-often-sound-much-more-confident-than-british-ones/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Much of my playing is rhythmic and choppy; I use a lot of double stops. The wah just accents all those stops and chops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-hammett/much-of-my-playing-is-rhythmic-and-choppy-i-use-a-lot-of-double-stops/) [Kirk Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-hammett/) > [“The accent of one's birthplace persists in the mind and heart as much as in speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-rouchefoucauld/the-accent-of-one-s-birthplace-persists-in-the-mind-and-heart-as-much/) [La Rouchefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-rouchefoucauld/) > [Years later, when I was working as a trolley wally in a supermarket, I tackled the boredom by talking to the customers in as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/years-later-when-i-was-working-as-a-trolley-wally-in-a-supermarket-i/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [I think Americans still can't help but respond to the natural authority of this voice. Deep down they long to be told what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-think-americans-still-can-t-help-but-respond-to-the-natural/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I live in L.A. so I worry my kids aren't that connected to Britain, I suppose I don't want them to become American kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mckidd/i-live-in-l-a-so-i-worry-my-kids-aren-t-that-connected-to-britain-i/) [Kevin McKidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mckidd/) [Browse all 749 Accents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent, becoming conversant with the culture in all its large and small aspects.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Luc Sante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-arduous-struggle-to-pass/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-arduous-struggle-to-pass/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/luc-sante-25406_accents_when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-ar_594233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent…” — Luc Sante", "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": "Luc Sante", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was a child I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-arduous-struggle-to-pass/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-arduous-struggle-to-pass/#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 } } ] } ```