One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. Turkish Proverb
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Knowing multiple languages increases one's perspectives and abilities
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Biết nhiều ngôn ngữ tăng khả năng và quan điểm của một người
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. Turkish Proverb” mean?
Knowing multiple languages increases one's perspectives and abilities
Is “One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. Turkish Proverb” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.