--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: However great one's gift of language may…" description: "\"However great one's gift of language may be, there is always something that one cannot tell.\" — Mary MacLane" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png" --- # However great one's gift of language may be, there is… ![“However great one's gift of language may be, there is always something that one cannot tell.” quote by Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png) > “However great one's gift of language may be, there is always something that one cannot tell.” [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language can convey much, yet some experiences remain beyond verbal expression. **In simple terms:** Words have limits. Key Takeaway Accept that some things are unspeakable. Themes communication limits expression Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - artistic creation - therapy - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you convey feelings that words fail to capture? - What non‑verbal ways can you use? A Different Perspective Even with rich vocabulary, some emotions resist articulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/) [Gift Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-language-2533136/) [Great gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-gift/) [Great ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-ones/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-tell-269491/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [The gift of language is the single human trait that marks us all genetically, setting us apart from the rest of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-gift-of-language-is-the-single-human-trait-that-marks-us-all/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It's a precious thing to be communicating to children, helping them discover the gift of language and thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/it-s-a-precious-thing-to-be-communicating-to-children-helping-them/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [We need language to tell us who we are, how we feel, what we're capable of- to explain the pains and glory of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-need-language-to-tell-us-who-we-are-how-we-feel-what-we-re-capable/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [We are storytelling creatures, and as children we acquire language to tell those stories that we have inside us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bruner/we-are-storytelling-creatures-and-as-children-we-acquire-language-to/) [Jerome Bruner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bruner/) > [Language both reflects and shapes society. Culture shapes language and then language shapes culture. Little wonder that the words we use to talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalie-maggio/language-both-reflects-and-shapes-society-culture-shapes-language-and/) [Rosalie Maggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalie-maggio/) > [Even when people can't speak your language, they can tell if you have love in your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-nixon/even-when-people-can-t-speak-your-language-they-can-tell-if-you-have/) [Pat Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-nixon/) > [Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation knows about its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/tell-me-how-much-a-nation-knows-about-its-own-language-and-i-will/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [Every film had its own grammar. And it's your job as a director to basically figure out a language to tell a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/every-film-had-its-own-grammar-and-it-s-your-job-as-a-director-to/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [Golf has been such a gift in my life, and I've enjoyed it so much and enjoyed lots of wonderful times on the golf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/golf-has-been-such-a-gift-in-my-life-and-i-ve-enjoyed-it-so-much-and/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [I don't like giving a gift just to cross the person off my list. They don't have to be extravagant or expensive things, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-facinelli/i-don-t-like-giving-a-gift-just-to-cross-the-person-off-my-list-they/) [Peter Facinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-facinelli/) > [Grace gives without the receiver realizing how great the gift really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pippert/grace-gives-without-the-receiver-realizing-how-great-the-gift-really/) [Rebecca Pippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pippert/) > [A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and it's easy to exchange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-hug-is-a-great-gift-one-size-fits-all-and-it-s-easy-to-exchange/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was always admiring people who seemed to conduct themselves with ease in the world. Maybe that's a great gift to give your kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/i-was-always-admiring-people-who-seemed-to-conduct-themselves-with/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) > [I just think it's a blessing that I was able to have the gift of words and to be able to put them into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teena-marie/i-just-think-it-s-a-blessing-that-i-was-able-to-have-the-gift-of/) [Teena Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teena-marie/) > [I think it is a great gift to make people laugh, and it shouldn't be underestimated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beeban-kidron/i-think-it-is-a-great-gift-to-make-people-laugh-and-it-shouldn-t-be/) [Beeban Kidron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beeban-kidron/) ## More by Mary MacLane > [I want fame more than I can tell. But more than I want fame I want happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-want-fame-more-than-i-can-tell-but-more-than-i-want-fame-i-want/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Fame is indeed beautiful and benign and gentle and satisfying, but happiness is something at once tender and brilliant beyond all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/fame-is-indeed-beautiful-and-benign-and-gentle-and-satisfying-but/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“I Don’t Know whether lust is a human coarseness or a human fineness: I don’t know why death holds a so sweet lure since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-don-t-know-whether-lust-is-a-human-coarseness-or-a-human-fineness-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Are there many things in this cool-hearted world so utterly exquisite as the pure love of one woman for another woman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/are-there-many-things-in-this-cool-hearted-world-so-utterly-exquisite/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“It is of the dubious inevitable side of human nature—like gold teeth and tinned salmon and bastard lacy valentines”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/it-is-of-the-dubious-inevitable-side-of-human-nature-like-gold-teeth/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I would rather be a fairly happy wife and mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-would-rather-be-a-fairly-happy-wife-and-mother/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I am not good. I am not virtuous. I am not sympathetic. I am not generous. I am merely and above all a creature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-am-not-good-i-am-not-virtuous-i-am-not-sympathetic-i-am-not/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“And it is in New York I have those strangest things of all: human friendships. Not many friendships and not of spent familiarities: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/and-it-is-in-new-york-i-have-those-strangest-things-of-all-human/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I've never made plans for more than a day ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-ve-never-made-plans-for-more-than-a-day-ahead/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“May I never, I say, become that abnormal, merciless animal, that deformed monstrosity— a virtuous woman. Anything, Devil, but that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/may-i-never-i-say-become-that-abnormal-merciless-animal-that-deformed/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I am lithe, but fragile from constant involuntary self-analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-am-lithe-but-fragile-from-constant-involuntary-self-analysis/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Genius of a kind has always been with me; an empty heart that has taken on a certain wooden quality; an excellent, strong woman's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/genius-of-a-kind-has-always-been-with-me-an-empty-heart-that-has/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [at this point I meet Me face to face. I am Mary MacLane: of no importance to the wide bright world and dearly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/at-this-point-i-meet-me-face-to-face-i-am-mary-maclane-of-no/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Just why I sent it to the publishers would be hard to say, but when I had finished it I felt that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/just-why-i-sent-it-to-the-publishers-would-be-hard-to-say-but-when-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [The highest thing one can do in literature is to succeed in saying that thing which one meant to say. There is nothing better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/the-highest-thing-one-can-do-in-literature-is-to-succeed-in-saying/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) [Explore all 65 Mary MacLane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## More Gift quotes > [Here I am, 11 years old, and these grown men have to give it everything they have to beat me. In one part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/here-i-am-11-years-old-and-these-grown-men-have-to-give-it-everything/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The greatest gift you can give to those around you is honesty. Sometimes honest words may sting the heart, but dishonesty pierces deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-to-those-around-you-is-honesty/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [MOM,DAD YOU'RE THE BEST GIFT I EVER HAD.THERE'S NO ONE WILL BE LIKE YOU.THANKS GOD FOR THESE PRECIOUS GIFT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottoe/mom-dad-you-re-the-best-gift-i-ever-had-there-s-no-one-will-be-like/) [Ottoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottoe/) > [By the gift of God, WWE fell into my lap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-brooke/by-the-gift-of-god-wwe-fell-into-my-lap/) [Dana Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-brooke/) > [Here is your third gift from Me once again..I had a fourth gift it was about me making a video telling you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilbear/here-is-your-third-gift-from-me-once-again-i-had-a-fourth-gift-it-was/) [LilBear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilbear/) > [“Children give terrible gifts because they are poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-delaney/children-give-terrible-gifts-because-they-are-poor/) [Rob Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-delaney/) > [What a gift it would be if every child in the country could hear a professional orchestra at least once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-henry/what-a-gift-it-would-be-if-every-child-in-the-country-could-hear-a/) [Lenny Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-henry/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Being able to scream at the top of my lungs in front of people is very therapeutic. It is a great gift for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/being-able-to-scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs-in-front-of-people-is/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) > [“Falling in love is easy. Fools fall in love all the time. Staying in love is the test of time and the gift you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-murphy/falling-in-love-is-easy-fools-fall-in-love-all-the-time-staying-in/) [James A. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-murphy/) > [A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-is-careful-with-her-words-is-a-gift-to-all-who-know-her/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“I believe that our world was created with a sense of order. For every loss, there's a gain. Sometimes we're so blinded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-macomber/i-believe-that-our-world-was-created-with-a-sense-of-order-for-every/) [Debbie Macomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-macomber/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“It is the gift of stories that most repays life among settled people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-michael-pyle/it-is-the-gift-of-stories-that-most-repays-life-among-settled-people/) [Robert Michael Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-michael-pyle/) [Browse all 4,269 Gift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "However great one's gift of language may be, there is always something that one cannot tell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary MacLane" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may-be-there-is-always-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gift" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may-be-there-is-always-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/mary-maclane-10500_gift_however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may_1053471.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“However great one's gift of language may be, there is always something that one cannot tell.” — Mary MacLane", "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": "Mary MacLane", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "However great one's gift of language...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may-be-there-is-always-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/however-great-one-s-gift-of-language-may-be-there-is-always-something/#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 } } ] } ```