10 Language Quotes that Will Inspire You

While learning a new language is exciting, there are times where it can also be a difficult, tedious process. The level of commitment involved in conquering a new language is immense and we learners have to find inspiration where we can—whether it’s reading blogs about successful language learners, picking up tips on how to improve your language journey, or conversing with other students about the highs and lows of the learning process. Today we’re looking to motivate you with something a little different: quotes about language. Read on to discover 10 amazing language quotes. Hopefully they’ll remind you that learning a new tongue, as difficult as it sometimes is, can be an eye-opening, life-changing experience!

1. “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” – Frank Smith

There’s something to be said about the opportunities knowing multiple languages can offer. It definitely opens more doors, both mental and otherwise, than remaining monolingual!

2. “A different language is a different vision of life.” – Federico Fellini

Indeed, when you learn a new language you learn about a new culture, a new way of life, and a different way of thinking. The foreign is no longer as scary when you can understand the language that is spoken.

3. “To have another language is to possess a second soul.” – Charlemagne

This is one of my all-time favourite language quotes. It really needs no elaboration, am I right?

4. “Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing unites human beings in the way language does. It allows you to understand your past, and connect with your present. It’s also a valuable tool that helps you to communicate with people from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds!

5. “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” – Rita Mae Brown

 If you grew up in a household where another language was spoken, then you understand the strong ties language holds with culture. When a language dies, a culture dies with it! And learning the language of your ancestors can give you so much insight into where you come from.

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6. “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Knowing only one language can limit where you travel, the types of jobs you can get, and the experiences and friends you can make. Learn more than one and you’ll find your world expanding in ways you never imagined!

7. “You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.” – Geoffrey Willans

As strange as it may seem, Willans is very much correct. When you learn another language you often discover things about your own that you never realised before. You become more in tune to the grammatical and verbal structures of your own tongue when you start studying those that make up another!

8. “The man who does not know other languages, unless he is a man of genius, necessarily has deficiencies in his ideas.” – Victor Hugo

I’m just going to leave this here. If you can’t take the word of the man who wrote the masterpiece that is Les Misérables, then I really can’t help you.

9. “One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people.” – Turkish Proverb

No, you don’t have multiple personalities, you’re just multilingual! Studies show that multilinguals can have very different personalities depending on which language they’re speaking. Whoever said this quote probably never imagined science would back it up, but there you have it!

10. “The conquest of learning is achieved through the knowledge of languages.” – Roger Bacon

Maybe I’m biased, but I tend to think that the best thing you can invest your time, energy, and money in in life is learning a new language. You’ll never regret it, and the discipline and knowledge you acquire can be easily transferred to so many other aspects of your life!

Which of the top 10 quotes are your favourites? Do you have a few go-to quotes for when you need to feel inspired? Share them with us in the comments section!