| Sumario: | The article examines the concept of speechlessness and linguistic reciprocity through a critical engagement with Hannah Arendt’s political philosophy, focusing on how unreciprocated speech can sustain shared worlds of meaning even when one party cannot respond linguistically. Drawing on a personal case of severe speech impairment due to illness, the author challenges Arendt’s apparent premise that mutual linguistic exchange is necessary for political belonging and human appearance, arguing instead that unreciprocated speech—such as storytelling offered without expectation of response—can affirm inclusion and care. The analysis incorporates Iris Marion Young’s notion of asymmetrical reciprocity, which reconceives communicative encounters as temporal gifts rather than exchanges requiring reciprocation, and highlights Aristotle’s view of storytelling as a formative practice for communal life. Ultimately, the article proposes that unreciprocated, caring speech can maintain linguistic worlds for nonspeaking persons, expanding ethical and political understandings of communication and belonging beyond reciprocal verbal exchange.
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