Helen Vendler Quotes

I learned Spanish at home and, since half my family doesn't speak English, it's my first language.

Spanish is my first language.

I spent ten years in London; I trained there. But because I started in English, it kind of feels the most natural to me, to act in English, which is a strange thing. My language is Spanish; I grew up in Argentina. I speak to my family in Spanish, but if you were to ask me what language I connect with, it'd be English in some weird way.

It is asked of me that I give my first speech in this house in a language [English] other than my mother tongue [French.] …. Even if I knew English as intimately as I knew French, I would still give my first speech in the language of my French Canadian compatriots

My grandfather spoke fluent Spanish and I have family members who speak fluent Spanish.

The fact is I do feel very Spanish, like when I'm talking to my wife and daughter in Spanish at two in the afternoon. I even think in Spanish when I get angry!

I think in my mother tongue. That's Hindi.

I grew up speaking both languages, and for me that's really important.

I don't speak Spanish, and I get so much crap for it. Oddly enough, it was the first language I learned, but somehow I lost it throughout the years. I can understand pieces of it, but I don't speak it. I need to speak it. I want to teach my kids Spanish.

I write in English because I was raised in the States and educated in this language.

French was my first language.

I studied in American school, so yes, I grew up speaking English and Spanish. Obviously, Spanish is my first language.

When I started writing, the first thing that came out was in English. I liked a few French things, but they were very overwhelming.

All my mom's side speaks Spanish. I speak to my grandparents in Spanish. Slowly. And they're patient with me! But I do speak with them in Spanish and carry on conversations with them.

I grew up speaking Spanish. The woman who helped raise me was only Spanish-speaking, so it was one of my primary languages as a kid. And I lived in Spain for a while.

I grew up speaking Arabic at home.

My father had barely any education. He could hardly write or count. But his great pride was that he was perfectly bilingual. In the household, he entertained this idea that we had to speak both languages.

Neither of my parents had English as a first language.

My mother is a Telugu, so I have been familiar with the language since childhood.

My Spanish is a daughter's Spanish. I write, but my Spanish really is very limited.

I speak English, so I am no longer cute. My tongue itches for French.

Singing in Spanish is much more honest, much closer to my roots. For me, Spanish is essential. I still think in Spanish, dream in Spanish. It's the melodies and arrangements that transmit meaning.

My primary and secondary education was in French, which had a lasting influence on my life.

As a boy, when I was bad, my mother would chew me out in Spanish. And since I was bad a lot, I learned a lot of Spanish!

I speak Hindi fluently because my mother speaks only in Hindi and Urdu.