Jodie Foster speaking French

It's her non-nonsense masculine persona that's getting you all hot 'n bothered, OP.

Her French is good but she makes a lot of mistakes and has an awkward vocabulary.

She was put in French-speaking schools when she was in elementary school.

Learning a foreign language is easy as shit if you do it before the age of 10. Afterwards, with every passing year, it becomes more difficult.

R2, the comments on the video seem to indicate that her French is better than perfect.

Even native French speakers are blown away by her.

And no, R1, it's not her no-nonsense demeanor.

In fact, she looks quite beautiful and feminine in this video.

It's just her overall persona that I'm drawn to, not to mention that she has a great sense of humor.

I'd rather have tea speaking French with Queen Elizabeth than a cocktail with Jodie Foster anyday.

Same here, R4. I think she's an egregious, elitist, serial cheating phony. She knew exactly what she was doing with the uber-feminine, French AC-TING. Of course, she asked for the questions in advance and carefully rehearsed her remarks to make it look effortless.

OP = Jodie Foster PR flack posing as a gay man

Wow, I never realized Jodie Foster was so hated here.

I've always been a fan of hers, especially "The Accused," and "Silence of the Lambs," and "Contact."

The vitriol here is pretty surprising. But I guess that comes with the territory for beautiful and smart women.

They're damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

I understand she's uncut and rather fromage-y down there. But I request more verificatia.

Quelle horreur!

Spare us the "you must hate beautiful women and lesbians if you don't like Jodie Foster" bullshit, OP. She publicly aligns herself with wife-abusing, homophobic anti-$em1te, Mel Gibson. Don't make this about ALL women or ALL lesbians.

I like her, she is a loyal friend.

Here is a French news clip about a movie she filmed in 1984. The English version used to be on Youtube and can be found every so often. I recall reading that she did her own vocal dub for the French release, rather than using a French actress. In this interview, they state that her French is perfect as she was sent to a French school. BTW, I've seen the movie as I am a fan of the book and author and it's only so-so, despite the stellar cast.

Best guess is that all of the sudden Jodie haters speak only one language.

If Hollywood stars had any sense, they would send their sparkle pony kids to Le Rosey or similar Swiss boarding schools. Instead of the ingrates that many of these spawn are, we'd have polished gorgeous multilingual spawn, and they'd have more cachet upon their return to Hollywood or business. Speak English French and Arabic or Chinese and all the world is your huitre.

Her French is very good, but not great. Which is why, when she appeared in a French film, her character's odd pronunciation was explained away by letting the audience know she was not born in France.

R13, for a language expert, you could use some English lessons. The proper phrase is "all of a sudden."

Jodie Foster is NO poster child for beautiful, intelligent women, out lesbians, non-native French speakers or loyalty.

Cette femme est fascinante.

Bradley and she are both homosexual french speakers.

OP I'm French and can attest that Foster speaks exactly like a native, minus a few nouns gender errors here and there, the only clue that she's a foreigner. She dubs her own movies in French. It's phenomenal how there's no trace of any accent. Perfect r's, é / è / and flow. We French are blown away by it because it's so rare. Charlotte Rampling was exposed to French in school since she was 9 and yet her english accent is still quite strong. Foster must have worked her ass off. I'm very admirative of her.

I pretty much knew Bradley Cooper was gay when I found out he speaks fluent French, which he learned in school. Heterosexual American men from middle-class backgrounds who are not from French families and did not grow up on the US/Quebec border do not learn French. It's "faggy."

[quote] OP I'm French and can attest that Foster speaks exactly like a native

[quote] It's phenomenal how there's no trace of any accent.

This is exactly why I'm so annoyed by the haters on this thread.

Native French speakers are clearly saying that she is fluent, yet these inbred retards like r2 are insisting that she isn't.

I just don't get all the Jodie Foster hate. I think she's lovely.

she sounds like me!

I pretty much knew Bradley Cooper was gay when I found out he speaks fluent French, which he learned in school. Heterosexual American men from middle-class backgrounds who are not from French families and did not grow up on the US/Quebec border do not learn French. It's "faggy."

Conneries!

Don't know how old you are or where you went to public school. I am 50 and from suburban NY and my public school offered French, Spanish and German. The French class wasn't filled with sissy boys. We mostly avoided German - that was for the pretentious intellectuals and had a reputation for being "hard." So 5 years of French for the HS diploma, then 3 years for the B.A. Lots of faggy as well as NON FAGGY guys learned French. Casse-toi branleur!

You can tell right away she's a non native speaker because she screws up the genders of her nouns. Native speakers never do that,

All of you who are criticizing her French, please write your comments in French and let those of us who actually speak French evaluate your expertise.

R14 I went to a Swiss boarding school. Everything goes on in English. Non-English speakers become fluent in English, English speakers do not necessarily become fluent in French. English is considered cooler.

She's an exceptional woman. She's undeniably beautiful. Her ability to speak French is all the more attractive. Super bright women get a little of the admiration they deserve. Jodie is no exception.

Pour ceux d'entre vous qui sont critizing mon français , va te faire foutre . Mon français est tellement bon que je sot toujours peuple français en prétendant que je suis né à Tours .

Chicka, chicka, chickabee. T'ee an me an t'ee an me. Ressa, ressa, ressa me, Chicka, chicka, chickabee.

I applaud her for knowing French because being fluent even in one language is rare for Americans. But when she speaks it, it almost sounds like a parody. It is very actressy to insert the audible pauses while you are making a grand point of picking your next word very carefully. People speaking English don't do that.

I'm just surprised she isn't wearing a beret, smoking an unfiltered cigarette and holding a baguette.

What r10 said

The queens criticizing her French probably think Meryl is some great linguist who can speak a dozen languages flawlessly.

Ingrid Bergman can speak 5 languages and can 't act in any of them.

I honestly don't know why she hasn't turned her back on Gibson. He probably thinks two men having sex is disgusting but two women is hot. One of those kind of homophobes. Used to be a bigger fan but she's become pretty arrogant and obnoxious. I don't care if she knows seven languages. Only good thing lately is she keeps a low profile.

Native French speaker here and like R20, I've always been stunned by Jodie Foster's French. She dubs her own movies, I saw The Accused in French and after a few lines of dialogue I was like: Holy shit! It's Jodie! She did a fantastic job, too.

There are many things I don't like about her, but her French is really great. And it's a difficult language to master.

[quote]He probably thinks two men having sex is disgusting but two women is hot.

Mel's got that one right. Good man.

Oh, and Bradley Cooper isn't nearly as good. He's much more half-assed and relies on charm and improvisation. She has A LOT more vocabulary. I'd say she's a C2 and he's a solid B2, even B1 sometimes when he gets sloppy.

And, I work in FLE (French as a foreign language - same as EFL).

I have Swiss students passing C2 exams in English every year. As do my colleagues in Germany, Netherlands, and Scandinavia. Its pretty rare for an American to rise to C2 in a foreign language. But if anyone would do it, an actor would. Cooper I agree is sloppy but proficient. He doesn't break down into English. Draft dodging Mitt Romney debouille lui-meme assez bien aussi.

First off, Mel Gibson got taken in by a grifter-woman. Why know one warned him anout her is astounding, but maybe they did and he let his mid-life crisis issues win.

Secondly, Mel's a devout Catholic which makes him persona non grata in Hollywood, period. The fact that Jodie is even seen with him makes her a rebel and very, very loyal friend.

And most importantly, Jodie has two wonderful sons, whom she raised with Sydney, I think, and she has doen a terrific job.

I am sticking up for Jodie Foster after she has snubbed me, so you know that I find her impressive as a human being.

[quote]Secondly, Mel's a devout Catholic

That's hilarious.

For an American, I speak French very well. I'm relying on the feedback of native French speakers--Parisians no less--who have told me so over the years. My pronunciation and accent are both complimented. But I don't speak it as well as Jodie Foster. My French friends tell me I speak very well, but they say Jodie is truly fluent. Thus, like other posters, I'll rely on the native French speakers for the final word.

She is absolutely beautiful in that video. Her skin is flawless.

What's this débrouille lui-même, R39? Se débrouille, if you please.

[R42], congratulations on your French. And Jodie is fluent. I've posted before so I'll stop now, but she really is.

ah oui tu as raison. se débruiller. mais moi je parle verlan.

oh dear god. Si tu es Suisse, tu parles suisse...

I briefly lived around the corner from her in Paris. The longtime neighbors said two things about her - that she was unassunimg and that she spoke like a native.

Voilà. Thank you, R48.

who is she fucking these days? She is beautiful and a talented actress.

Je suce coq comme une chienne en chaleur!

Like, JGL's French is very contrived. I don't even know if he's A2 or B1. Poor guy.

My ignore list went from 0 to 9 just from this thread!

Yeah, I think other cultures have a healthier view of what trans is. In Brazil, [italic]travestis[/italic] take hormones and augment their breasts and butts, but they consider themselves a subtype of gay man and think trans women who want genital surgery are fucked in the head.

I speak Nazi!

Goop also speaks spanish pretty well

Jodie graduated from Le Lycee Francais in Los Angeles. According to their website: Schoolwide (preschool – 12th grade), approximately 65% of the students are native English speakers, or non-French speakers. Approximately 35% of the students are native French speakers. Approximately 50% of the student body pursues the French-language Bac path and approximately 50% of the student body pursues the English-language college prep path.

I once visited the high school campus with a friend. You go up a driveway to the top of a hill, and it's you are transported to France with uppity French men in charge. There were some recently arrived French students who barely spoke English, but most were totally bilingual to the point that only their names gave a clue to their first language.

"It is very actressy to insert the audible pauses while you are making a grand point of picking your next word very carefully. People speaking English don't do that."

So, uh, true, uh, r31!

Foster graduated from Yale. She's no dummy

I like Sandra Bullock in German. That's why I believed she used to sew gold stars on her clothes while her ex-husband, dressed in his NAZI uniform and fucked her up the ass. IN THE BATHROOM. Now Sandra was prefect in German.

Bullshit, you can tell her accent isn't even close to the interviewers. She may speak "perfect" French, but she is not even close to being a "native."

Has she divorced that photographer yet?

Here's Sandra speaking German at the Bambi awards. Somehow, she doesn't sound as natural speaking German, as Jodie does speaking French.

Sandra sounds much more natural. She's even able to be funny in German. She was born there and it was her first language.

sans le soft butch

Sandra Bullock sounds very natural in German, better than her English in fact.

Natalie Portman speaking Hebrew. She seems a bit unsure about her words.

Goop speaks Spanish and French

People who grew up in Europe all speak many languages.

It's only in America that we're stunned when someone speaks more than one language.

Troglodytes we are

Her French is great. Americans should learn other languages more, but it is rare - even among rich or famous people.

Gwyneth must speak American-accented Spanish because I can completely understand her, but can't always understand the interviewer. She's speaking more slowly and using more basic words.

I'm also surprised by the Jodie hate. This was only post-Gibson meltdown, right?

[quote] Americans should learn other languages more, but it is rare - even among rich or famous people.

I think that Europeans simply don't understand that we don't speak more languages, because we don't HAVE to.

English has become the universal language of music, movies, and business. THEY have to learn our language - we don't have to learn theirs.

I'm not trying to be arrogant, but rather, just stating a fact.

Europeans are so many tiny countries grouped together, all speaking different languages, so they are more or less forced to speak 3 or 4 different languages.

Americans and Canadians both speak almost exactly the same "type" of English, and we may or may not learn a spattering of Spanish words for our neighbors to the South, like "salsa," "taco," and "burrito."

It's a sad fact, but when it comes to learning another language, American isolationism is alive and well.

R72 - typical ignorant American

[quote]I think that Europeans simply don't understand that we don't speak more languages, because we don't HAVE to.

that's not strictly speaking true, we don't speak other languages mainly because other languages are REALLY FAR AWAY. yes, spanish is ubiquitous but is considered a servant-class language. In europe for example native speakers of a completely different linage could live only a few hundred kilometers from you, and in great numbers. Just turning on the television you encounter Italian, German, French and English stations, regardless of where you are. Why? because those languages are being spoke right around the corner in most cases.

In North America it's less so

I know Americans "don't have" to, but it is strange how few are interested in doing it as an intellectual project, or hobby - even "educated" people. When you learn another language, you learn another way to think and have access to the literature and ideas.

Her accent is very pretty (whereas her English is oddly prole and OOOWWW), but she obviously still thinks in English, which accounts for all the humming and over long sentence constructions.

I used to be a hater because she was such an object of adoration, but some of you are over the top and make me sympathize with her. She has had a very hard life, emotionally, and the fact that she did not sign up to be your role model was dictated no doubt by the trouble she had keeping it together for herself, let alone anyone else. Give her a break people! She is fully out now, and a survivor of a life where the people she had to rely on were people like Mel Fucking Gibson.

I have a universal translator so I don't have to worry about this shit.

Je Dis Fuh-Staire has cultivated a stammer in French, which is her idea of sounding more authentic. Bradley speaks basic French with a strong American accent, and poor grammar. And GOOP's French is 10th grade Dalton.

Can't get with anyone who'd be close friends with Mel Gibson.

It's not just that "we don't have to" Lear another language, it's that it is much more difficult to do so when tHere is no one to practice with. Your parents basically have to be very well off so you can travel enough to solidify your ability to converse. The next gen in my family went to immersion schools because we were so frustrated by this, so they are all bilingual. Also you had several older generations of immigrants and their kids who took pride in shedding their native tongues as they learned English.

So the kids lead their parents around Europe. Funnily, the Europeans are just as snotty about Spanish as say, Donald Trump, even refusing to use it as a bridge language, except in Spain of course. The big push is for Mandarin, but none of the kids want to learn it since it might mess up their AP GPAs to close to college.

Oh dear. I'm having trouble with iOS English again. Maybe some day, if I practice enough.

[quote] I know Americans "don't have" to, but it is strange how few are interested in doing it as an intellectual project, or hobby - even "educated" people. When you learn another language, you learn another way to think and have access to the literature and ideas.

That's not the way most Americans see it.

For some reason, "middle America" sees learning a foreign language as intrusive and un-American. Republicans paint this picture where if you speak anything other than English, then you're being unpatriotic.

Then there are others who think that learning (and trying to speak) other languages is pretentious.

It's a very strange attitude, but the USA (and maybe France and Japan) is one of the few countries in the world where learning another language is seen as a bad thing.

She loves Mel Gibson and defends him. He is a certified nut. How much do you want to be he is the father of her kids? I mean seriously, who defends Mel Gibson unless you have some stake in their life?

H you're so full of shit R82.

[quote] You can tell right away she's a non native speaker because she screws up the genders of her nouns. Native speakers never do that.

Oh, but they do. You will find people all over the world who butcher their mother tongue.

R82

It's true, it almost seems acquiring knowledge and perusing a higher educations is a bad thing in the US. No surprise with 20% of Americans believe in creationism rather than evolution. Most Europeans would be appalled by somebody like Donald Trump

I'm laughing at all of you language experts in here. So knowledgeable you are. I'd love to hear you all speak French, I'm sure we'd all be wowed by your flawless French accents and grammar.

I've lived in France and have native French speaking family- Jodie's is excellent. It's very difficult to nail down a French accent and she's done a fantastic job.

Je pense que son Français est manuels, désolé.

I studied French for about 8 years and lived in france for a 1 1/2 years. I was pretty good. As good as Jodie is here. Fuick I evne mastered the subjunctive. Five years out of college, having nowhere to use it, and I'd have trouble asking where the bibliotheque was.

[quote]. So knowledgeable you are. I'd love to hear you all speak French, I'm sure we'd all be wowed by your flawless French accents and grammar.

I speak four languages, or maybe five, weekly. French and German with work colleagues, Dutch and English with friends. I live in philadelphia. I speak Spanish with workers I meet. I don't speak any language flawlessly, but I speak them comfortably. Most likely Better than you do. Laugh all you want, I Teach language, you maybe don't.

Have fun!

Jodie speaks very good French. I studied the language from age 11 to 21. Most celebs who aren't native speakers sound very bad when speaking another language. You can tell she has spent a lot of time practicing and is rather intelligent.

In the Le Sang des Autres clip, she doesn't know the word "couturière" (the occupation of her character, Ellen Bertrand) and at first says "costumière" and then makes up a word "couteuse" (don't know what she was thinking! there; it means expensive). The interviewer corrects her, but she doesn't hear him say "couturière".

That cunt Goop did interviews in Spanish AND French and is now doing a Spanish movie with Javier Bardem. I hope Jodie and BCoop are better than her.

R93

The Spanish movie is with Antonio Banderas and your hick town rambling doesn't make any sense!

R60=Julia Roberts

R93, her spanish sound, well actorly and very polished. I wish her the best.

R2, how difficult is it to learn in your 30s? I did it in school but barely remember any. Is there any point trying at this stage?

* French, that is.

r97, you limit your ability to learn a language exponentially after the age of twelve, sorry to say. you can LEARN it well, but you will never speak it fluently.

She's a real movie star, perhaps one of the last. Your eye goes right to her and time or age doesn't change that. Great actor and one of the few who are actually smart. And a huge part of classic cinema starting (if not before) with "Taxi Driver".

How do you say "Adore her" in French? J'adore?

[quote] Troglodytes we are

No, we're not.

In Europe, countries where different languages are spoken are crammed up against each other. It's natural that people who live nearby would speak the local languages. In the US, English is spoken for thousands and thousands of miles. The U.S. is English speaking. Canada is English speaking (québécois pretend they don't speak English, but they do). Much of the Caribbean speaks English. Even Hawaii and Guam speak English.

BTW, how many British, Irish and Scots speak foreign languages fluently? And I'm not talking about the Irish speaking Irish. How many irish speak French or German or Swedish fluently? How many English speak French fluently, even though France is nearby geographically? How many Scots speak Spanish, Norwegian, Estonian? Very few people from Ireland, Scotland and England fluently speak languages of non-English speaking countries, and they're in Europe.

[quote]How do you say "Adore her" in French? J'adore?

more precise je l'adore.

[quote]BTW, how many British, Irish and Scots speak foreign languages fluently?

they speak their native celtic tongues, but with effort. on the street it is english.

I had forgotten how lovely she was when she was young--she's really so good-looking in OP's clip, and beautifully dressed and made-up.

Thanks, R012, love the language, am total Francophile -- though I did not get along with the French AT ALL when I worked in Europe for years. But still love their culture. Even their pop music as below (though Serge Gainsborough is my favorite, Bardot and Birkin too).

Brits are notoriously bad with other languages, r101.

R97, you can learn in your 30s. I learned more as an adult than as a child - studied it in school as a kid, and then again as an adult (when I learned more/understood more). I read some research about learning languages, and it was found that when people respect the language/culture and truly have a desire to learn - it helps them to learn (instead of when people don't really care or feel forced to learn a language). Bon chance!

How may Anglos in Miami speak Spanish?

[quote] they speak their native celtic tongues,

Those aren't foreign languages. They're local languages.

I think americans get an unfair rap about not speaking forigin languages when people living in the British isles rarely speak a foreign language when they are in Europe, a land mass of many languages

In Russia, I met many people who thought they spoke English well. They didn't. It may have improved, since there are more english-language tv programs in Russia. But those programs are often dubbed rather than subtitled. And they are dubbed by one person; I.e., one person dubs the voice of every character in the show. Male, female -- doesn't matter.

Adding my two cents - Jodie Foster's French is phenomenally good for a non-native. It's because (a) she's very smart and (b) she went to French immersion schools from a young age. You can dislike her all you want (I'm not very fond of her myself) but all you people making dopey criticisms (she stammers, her vocabulary is limited, etc.) just demonstrate that you don't know French at all.

Goddess Kristin Scott Thomas is bilingual, but even her French is too carefully enunciated to sound like a native. Joel Kinnaman, on the other hand, sounds convincingly "native" in both English and Swedish.

R111 she is British. The British are notorious for having trouble adapting their pronunciation and speech flow/mannerisms when speaking other languages.

R92, are you actually saying she isn't fluent because she doesn't know the word for "seamstress"???? Are you actually serious??? In how many languages do you know this word?

Absolutely R110. Jesus, the people on this board...

Kristin Scott Thomas speaks perfect French, but yes she has that slight British overtone that is instantly noticeable. Can't really remember what her English sounds like. Charlotte Rampling, however, is bilingual in English and French, and has a slight British accent when speaking French, and some French mannerisms when speaking English. And she is incredibly beautiful in person (much more so than in pictures, if that were possible).

This link is actually kind of cool.

It shows a ton of "bilingual" celebs speaking in different languages, all with different levels of fluency. Some are pretty surprising.

Being bilingual improves your brain

Hiddleston converses in 4 languages! (in an Oxbridge-y manner).

Depp and Affleck learned French and Spanish respectively "on the pillow" (as the French say).

None of the American men have the confidence to "speak from the balls" in another language (as the French say).

GOOP's Spanish is proficient, but dainty Dalton-ish.

Excuse-moi!

Native French speaker here. Jody Foster is fluent in French. She even speaks it with the imperfect subjunctive. She has a slight accent when speaking it which is very pleasant. She is classy. When foreigners are speaking French, the most charming accents are from Germans and Americans.

That's fun to know

He looks less like a lesbian in that clip, nice accent too, r119

Listened to R116's clip of various celebs speaking a "foreign" language. If you speak and/or are attuned to languages other than your mother tongue, you would notice that just about every single one of the people in the clip spoke the "foreign" language with the cadence and overlay of their mother tongue, in most cases English. The only ones who did a pretty good job of it were Sandra Bullock (German) and Charlize Theron (Afrikaans). Jodie Foster may speak excellent French, but I would never mistake her for a native.

When someone learns a foreign language at a fluent or near-fluent level (say, an English speaker learning French, like Jodie) I wonder who is better at detecting an accent in their speech: native English speakers, or French speakers? I think Jodie speaks excellent French, but as an American English speaker, I can hear an accent, and I wouldn't mistake her for a native French speaker. Perhaps French people may not be "attuned" to American accents, and so detect less of it?

It reminds me of Rachel Griffiths and her near flawless American accent on Six Feet Under. Can Australians hear an Australian accent in her voice? I certainly can't, except every once in a rare while a certain word will come out sounding ever so slightly odd.

Say what you will about her French but she's absolutely stunning in that clip.

She looks like a million euros

Are we sure Audrey Hepburn wasn't a spy? Bow before the queen of Romance languages.

Yes, Audrey Hepburn spoke excellent French... Good for her if she was a spy. But she was like 13 during WWII.

Heard Depp speak French a few years ago, nothing to write home about... Pretty sure Affleck doesn't dazzle either. Cooper B is just ok. Lot of mistakes, which he makes up for with lots of confidence. But nothing on the level of Foster or Bullock, who are truly very proficient at a language that is not their mother tongue. Well, in the case of Bullock it is her mother's language if I recall correctly...

Speaking of the other Hepburn, I recall Kath speaking French in the dreadful but oh so gay Sylvia Scarlett. She spoke it well, even if it was very affected. She seemed very proud of it, too.

Watching that video, Depp improved over the years. With regards to his French-speaking abilities, if not in other areas.

Ha! Still love sandra Bullock speaking German. So cute. Großartig :)

What is the big deal about Diane Kruger speaking German though? It's her Muttersprache! French and English, on the other hand...

Tom Hiddleston is just annoying. Who watches this guy?

Audrey wins!

JF is proficient yes, but certainly not a native speaker.

She sounds like a quebecoise I knew once

Jodie attended Le Lycee Francais in Los Angeles

[quote] Yes, Audrey Hepburn spoke excellent French... Good for her if she was a spy. But she was like 13 during WWII.

Actually, Audrey worked as a courier for the Dutch Resistance during WWII.

her dutch is extremely refined, heel netjes

Yes R135, I had forgotten about that...

Here's a better link, R134

Dietrich speaks French almost "like a native" in SHANGHAI EXPRESS, less accented than her English. Re: Hepburn: most educated Belgians speak both French and Dutch, but prefer one over the other as their primary language, due to ethnic loyalty.

Audrey also spoke Italian, Spanish and German.

Everyone pales in comparison to Audrey. It just can't be helped.

R36 It is not so much that French is hard to master(try learning,the dative,accusative and genitive cases in German then get back to me) but French people can be extremely intolerant of foreigners speaking their language unlike Italians. That being said JD's French is pretty good. She's not like Sandra. Bullock speaking German which is beyond impressive but she speaks well for a non Frenchie.

You guys do know that most Europeans and South Americans are fluent in their native languages, English and at least one additional language. Americans are exceptional in their language ignorance- me included- I speak French just a little.

Another native Frenchie here. The remarkable thing about the interview is not just her mastery of the words, but her mastery of the whole French persona, particularly the "colour" that a native French speaker conveys by the use of intonation - very difficult to pin down or to fabricate. She has it to absolute perfection - neither overdone nor underdone. The only way to achieve this is either to be immersed for a long time in a Francophone environment or to have a very finely tuned ability to observe and mimic. I'm guessing mainly the latter in her case, which is a reflection of what a great actor she is.

Well if you were an American fluent in other languages when the fuck are you going to use them? Are you going to speak German at the grocery store? French when shopping for a new car? Maybe a touch of Italian during your smoke break? Other countries are fluent by necessity.

Jodie speaks very fine French and sounds nothing like a Quebecois.

I don't find Bullock more impressive than Foster because she speaks German and not French. Plus, it's her family's language on her mother's side. But, I do find her cute, because I like Sandy better.

And I definitely agree with R144.

R145 is an idiot.

[quote]You guys do know that most Europeans and South Americans are fluent in their native languages, English and at least one additional language.

Your use of thr word "fluent " is laughable at best. I lived in Northern Europe for ten years, and yes, English was spoken by nearly all, but in german less, but fluency? Not quite, but good try. If anything, people speak More English now there. Still, not fluency.

And South America, well, not by a long shot. sure, college educated folks in big cities, yes, but try walking down the street in La Paz and you'll probably only find Spanish and Amaya speakers, English very little if at all.

Can we bump this thread? It' s mighty interesting.

Johnny Depp's pillow French is interesting.

His accent is not bad at all, but he is so lacking in vocab and grammar. (And, I agree, it got better with time.)

His French is the exact opposite of someone who studied that language in school for many years. (Well, duh.)

But it's not all that good for someone who lived in the country for so many years.

R144, that is exactly what I find pretentious about Jodie's French.

It's like she is acting at being a French person.

Her supreme confidence is such that she never pauses to look for a word...she just jumps right in with the wrong one. (See the "couteuse" mistake upthread.)

But if you as a native speaker are impressed, who am I to criticize her?

Serena Williams is an interesting case too.

Kind of like Depp, she can speak a little, makes atrocious mistakes in grammar and vocab, but her confidence carries her through.

And her accent is not bad.

Clip of Serena.

Bit of Italian from the Jodester.

R156, less pretentious in Italian than in French.

And in US interviews with J. Fallon and the like, she has a totally different personality. She is PRETENTIOUS!

R156, I think your clip predates the Jodester's chin implant.

She got much more physically attractive with that surgery.

GOOP and RDJ in Paris plugging Iron Man.

GOOP is showing off her French which is okay, but not perfect.

RDJ's embarrassment at not being able to speak like Gwynnie is real here. And she does nothing to put him at ease.

Jodie is excellent.

RDJ's embarrassment...not sure if it is in the above clip.

For the curious, and for comparison, here's Justin Trudeau being interviewed in Quebecois French. It's said that his French is influenced by English, as if he thinks first in English, and then quickly translates it into French before speaking.

French-speaking natives, your thoughts?

RDJ was actually funny there at R161. But to give Paltrow credit, she must have put some effort in to study and practice. Not perfect yet with French, but sort of good. Isn't she very good in Spanish?

Jodie has cane-voice!

[quote]The only way to achieve this is either to be immersed for a long time in a Francophone environment or to have a very finely tuned ability to observe and mimic. I'm guessing mainly the latter in her case, which is a reflection of what a great actor she is.

She has both those. Remember that her mother shipped her to francophone schools in LA from a young age, so she grew up hearing native French.

Plus of course she's very smart.

Justin Trudeau has a JFK Jr. level of charisma!

R163, Gwyneth makes a shitload of mistakes...for example, she keeps saying "Pepper est mignon" when she should say "Pepper est mignonne."

But I admire her balls in making the most of the French that she has and being able to make herself understood. "

R166, I agree.

Justin actually sounds a bit French when he speaks English, so maybe he is a bit like that in both languages.

r162 - his delivery is directly in French (no translation lag) but he is an Anglophone who speaks fluent French, as opposed to someone raised bilingual. If anything, the former is MORE beloved by Francophones since the person obviously made an effort to learn.

In English in sounds like French was Trudeau's first language. The rhythm is strange.

HUGE props to Serena who comes across well with intermediate French (I'd give her a 4 on the AP exam) and asks for clarification when she needs it. She did not understand the irregular verb "craindre" (to be afraid of) and the guy on her right told her it means "avoir peur" (to fear).

R161, lol. Downey says, " I feel like an asshole." "Asshole" is translated by the interpreter as "cretin."

Still think Goop is being a shit to him the way she looks to him and says "Et toi?"

This is one of my favorite threads on Datalounge.

R163, I majored in Spanish and lived in Madrid for four years. I LOATHE Gwyneth Paltrow, so it pains me to say this: Yes, her Spanish is very good. In particular, she has nailed the Castilian accent. It is about as good as any I've ever heard from another American. Her grammar is far from perfect -- she sometimes makes errors with gender agreement, verb conjugation, etc. -- but her accent is so polished, and her confidence is so high, that she sounds better than she really is. She is lovely to listen to in Spanish.

Although her French is obviously not nearly as strong as her Spanish, it's a hell of a lot better than most people's. I admire not only the work she has put into it, but her willingness to use it publicly and imperfectly. She must have a genuine love of foreign languages in order to put herself out there like that. It's her one good quality, IMO.

R171, is that just the Montreal Anglo accent which is a little exotic to our ears?

R174, my fave thread too!

R174, agreed.

Supreme confidence will get one far in life!

[quote] is that just the Montreal Anglo accent which is a little exotic to our ears?

No, it definitely is not a "Anglo" accent or a "Montreal Anglo" accent. It sounds like he learned French first!

R172, yeah props to Serena. She communicates pretty well with a really elementary level of French.

She just annoys me b/c I feel that with a teeny bit more effort actually studying with a textbook, she would be exponentially better.

She clearly has a talent for languages.

This is a super interesting thread.

Re Justin Trudeau, could it be that French was his first language as spoken in the home but that his Uni work was in English?

If so, that could explain a lot of our reactions to his speech in French and English.

No celebrity will ever rival Ingrid Bergman, who spoke and performed in FIVE languages: Swedish, German, English, French, and Italian.

R181, Scandinavians are the best polyglots!

A. Hepburn was pretty good as well......

Hey, I talks in six languages!

R183 can indeed say "not on the mouth, cum on my tits" in 6 languages.

Jodie not only was graduated from the Lycee Française but I believe was at the top of her class. And living so many years in Paris has made her accent and her vocabulary much richer.

Brooke Shields was a French major at Princeton, but I am not sure how good her French is.

[quote] No celebrity will ever rival Ingrid Bergman, who spoke and performed in FIVE languages: Swedish, German, English, French, and Italian.

Isn't that true of Connie Francis as well? I know she has multiple languages down because her father insisted she record in multiple languages so she'd be an international hit (which she was).

The same skills that make one a good actor can make one very confident in speaking a foreign language and also adopt a beautiful foreign accent. Many actors are superb mimics because they practice quite a lot listening to other people's speech patterns and affectations and trying to replicate them onstage (which is why so many actors like to mimic other actors on Jimmy Fallon's show, because he gives them that chance to show off). I think that explains why Foster and Cooper and Paltrow all have decent-to-excellent accents.

That's my theory, as well, R187. Regarding accent, specifically, I think many adult language learners -- even those who have mastered the grammar -- are held back by fear of looking or sounding stupid ("I have to make that shape with my lips? I have to try to make that weird vowel sound?"). It makes sense that adults who are comfortable performing in front of an audience, or who are fascinated by speech and body language, would be more willing to just plunge in.

Brooke Shields and Willie Guest "speak French" at 1:.33

My favourite story about Ingrid Bergman is when she performed for the first time in France, the first time she had to speak French on stage, "Thé et sympathie" in Paris. Everyone was there, all the rich and famous and so on... Roberto Rossellini tried to sabotage it (I think she split up with him just some days before the premiere). So he was standing in the dressing room with Ingrid and abusing her in Italian, saying things like "without me your nothing, you will fail tonight, after ten minutes they will boo you off stage and you will come back to me because everything you try to do without me will be a failure", stuff like that. So she gets out, plays her role and in the end gets standing ovations for 15 minutes for her flawless, thrilling performance.

Her mother was German btw and she grew up in Sweden and Germany. But also performing in English, French, Italian ... well hats off.

Viggo speaking French.

Viggo speaking 7 languages.

Diane Kruger speaking English, French and German and her mannerisms change for each.

R174, R187, excellent point.

I had a college Prof who once said, "If I am sufficiently drunk, I can speak French." Getting over self-consciousness is, indeed, a big part of speaking a foreign language. That is, provided one has actually studied it. lol

Anyone who says German sounds ugly needs to listen to Diane Kruger speaking auf Deutsch!

I am not a big fan of Viggo.

But props to him for his facility in several languages.

Is his native tongue English or Danish?

I feel like Viggo has a slight Spanish accent in French.

R197 Actually Viggo 's French is really excellent. If anything, he has a very light canadian/québécois accent in French. Mais c'est vraiment très léger... Impressionnant!

Does anyone know what Viggo is saying in Arabic?

R198, I think I would have a nervous breakdown if I ever had to go on that Thierry Ardisson show.

Sensory overload!

R199, "Death to America!"

R189, Brooke Shields is a curiosity. Off thread, sorry.

I would expect her to be spaced out like Mary Kate and Ashley.

But she's not! She's entirely wholesome and desperate to please!

R201, I just caught "Salaam Aleykim" in the beginning.

[quote]Diane Kruger speaking English, French and German and her mannerisms change for each.

She's really extraordinary, because she speaks with not a trace of a German accent when she speaks French or English.

R193, very astute of you to notice that her mannerisms change from English to French to German.

I feel like she uses more flirtatious eye movements in English. In French, she seems more serious. I wonder if this is due to the more serious, intellectual nature of French language interviews compared to American ones.

It has already been noted upthread that J. Foster has a different "personality" in French interviews compared to USA ones.

I speak neat perfect Bitch. Where's my adoration?

Sigourney Weaver: French and German

Friends, I am having trouble posting links today.

But for more Anglophones who speak French, please check out YouTube for:

Peter Lawford - not perfect, but he can speak the language! Mick Jagger - also speaks French well Jean Seberg - very interesting. Atrocious accent, but speaks French super well.

R207, yeah the film "Working Girl" has a scene where S. Weaver speaks fluent German on the telephone and totally intimates Melanie Griffith.

R207, how does DL feel about Sigourney W?

She always gave me a kind of "M" vibe.

R209, here.

Sorry. The correct word would be "intimidates."

Orson Welles spoke French!

Peter Lawford, French

Mick Jagger

To my American ears, the woman interviewing Orson Welles in r212 speaks French in the same way Arlene Francis spoke English. Her accent has a certain refined eloquence to it, like something you're trained in, not born with.

Mick again

Mick Jagger's French has improved with the years!

R213, I like Peter Lawford. He is charming.

His French is quite good!

Does anyone know who the interviewer is?

R215, I like her accent. She is easy to understand!

Interview with Jean Seberg.

Younger DLers may not remember her. She had a tragic life.

Her accent is atrocious, but her French is excellent!

R212, Orson Welles will sell no wine before its time!

R220, the interviewer of Jean Seberg is a real shark!

Justin Trudeau has a JFK Jr. level of charisma!

Is Justin also a homosexual, like JFK Jr?

[quote] Sandra sounds much more natural. She's even able to be funny in German. She was born there and it was her first language.

Almost but not quite exact. She was born in Arlington, Virginia. Her father was American and her mother German. She spent 12 years growing up in Germany and Austria - speaking German.

I’m American, but moved to Italy at age three and lived there for four years. By the time I left I was speaking fluently enough to be taken for an Italian by native speakers. Then I subsequently learned some Arabic and fairly good French, which I studied through high school in America.

Many years later I decided to take introductory Italian at my local community church college, assuming that it would be very easy to pick it up again. It was not, and I realized that it wouldn’t be worth the effort to relearn it since there was very little chance I’d be able to afford to visit there again for more than a few days.

As long as we are talking German, Donna Summers could speak that language!

That's interesting r225, I would have assumed taking up a language one was fluent in as a child would be like riding a bicycle.

R225, very interesting story.

So you left Italy when you were seven years old? And then, apparently, you lost your Italian due to lack of use.

Love the Jean Seberg video, R220. Yes, she had a very sad life.

As much as I have admired some of the beautiful, native-sounding accents on this thread, I wanted to share, for fun, the late Paul Fussell's thoughts on the matter:

"Speaking French fluently, even though French is irrelevant to one's actual life, business, interests, and the like, is an upper-class sign, although it's important not to speak it with anything resembling a correct, or 'French,' accent."

Thanks, R229.

I mean, yeah.........!

It is a dang shame that kids don't study French in school any longer!

Yes, I didn’t use the Italian after age 7 so forgot it. I had assumed that it would be easy to relearn it, but maybe I was just too lazy to put in the effort. I’m still convinced that if I were to live in Italy with immersion for a month or two, it would come back. But now that Italy is reverting to fascism, I’m not interested in living there.

There was a funny story. We were on an ocean liner returning from Italy to the US. There were a lot of Italian emigrants on the boat. (It was the late 50s, and yes I’m elder). I let my little 3-year old little sister out of the stateroom one night and she got lost. She could only speak Italian, so the ship employees didn’t think to look for her parents in the American passengers, they spent hours asking the Italian passengers who might have lost a child. It took awhile for them to make the connection.

R225

Great story, R231.

Here's a clip of the Swedish-British bilingual actress Rebecca Ferguson (mostly known for Mission Impossible) speaking Swedish. She doesn't make a lot of Swedish films these days, so you don't hear her speak Swedish much.

R229 My 2p, only Americans would take pride in butchering a language or not learning to use the proper accent. Furthermore, quite typical of Americans to label one as "pretentious" for being more worldly or intellectual.

Upper-class Brits prided themselves on speaking French with their own "cut glass" accents. You can hear a little of it in Lawford's interview in 1960.

Hugh Grant speaking French

John Malkovich speaking French.

Elton John, French with some problems

Travolta tries speaking French.

[Quote][R212], Orson Welles will sell no wine before its time!

He'll drink the fuck out of it, though!

Oliver Stone, French

Marlon Brando speaking French, and a few German words.

R234, I am American.

It's not that I am anti-intellectual, but I find it pretentious for an American like G. Paltrow to make her colleague, Robert Downey Jr. for not speaking French as well as she.

R234, Fussell's writing was sardonic. "Class" is an insightful but also viciously funny book (it ought to be a DL classic!). His point was that, at the very top of the social ladder, there is a lack of wit and curiosity. A person who had cultivated a beautiful French accent would most likely be a member of the upper-middle class, or, alternatively, Fussell's "Category X" (bohemians, intellectuals, and eccentrics).

I heartily agree with you about anti-intellectualism in America and the value of foreign language learning. R230 is right that French, in particular, is increasingly hard to find as a course offering in public schools; it's not considered "useful" by students and their parents.

R243, i meant to say I criticize G Paltrow for making R. Downey jr. feel embarrassed for not speaking French as well as she. I do think that is what she was doing, showing off.

I think Gwyneth said, "Et toi?" to Downey, as joke, knowing he did not speak French.

Queen Elizabeth speaking (reading) French

R246, right, but it was a joke at Downey's expense!

Playful ribbing, R248! He got a good joke out of it.

R241, I didn't know Oliver Stone spoke French. He expresses himself quite well.

Jean Seberg was so enchanting in r220! I don’t find her accent atrocious at all; it's charming! And yes, she speaks it with plenty of ease.

Emma Thompson in French

R251, yes I suppose it is charming. But it is odd that she lived in France and was married to a Frenchman and still made no attempt to learn to say the French 'R" or the French rounded vowels that are not found in English.

R249, I thought I detected real anguish in Downey's joke about being raised by wolves.

How good is Candice Bergen’s French?

He may have felt put on the spot for a few seconds, R254, but he quickly turned into a joke to his benefit with the outrageous talk of wolves and jail. (And made fun of Paltrow for being a spoiled rich kid).

R255, Candice Bergen used to do a tv commercial for Sprint in the U.S.

Her pronunciation was as good as an American's could be, I would say.

I have never heard an interview with her in French, though!

R256, all right! I suppose!

R257 here.

Sorry Candice Bergen did a commercial for Sprint where she spoke in French.

Jane Fonda was also married to a Frenchman (Roger Vadim) and speaks French quite well.

She appeared in a film, not too long ago, called "All Together" with G. Chaplin, Guy Bedos, and others.

In interviews, she stumbles a bit, but is not bad at all.

Petula Clark is another Brit who speaks French quite well.

I think she, too, was or is married to a Frenchman.

R253 It's hard for some people to get the accent, though. Not everyone has a talent for it. Like, Antonio Banderas in English, for example. But Jean's French was perfectly understandable, and her accent didn't make me cringe at all. I've heard atrocious French, and hers was miles away from that.

R234, also, this is DL.

We bitch, we gripe, we insult people, in particular, celebs.

Candice Bergen's French Sprint commercial

R239, I remember reading "Paris Match' in the early 80s.

I kid you not, G. Depardieu was great pals with Travolta back then!

R264, thanks.

I think her French hubby Louis Malle was crazy about her.

R243 I was not referring to Ms. Goop, RDJ, or your comments either. I was referring to those posters who thiought and said Jodie Foster was pretentious in her mannerisms, and the way she speaks French.

Jodie is excellent and the French would appreciate that. I didn't understand the comments against Jodie, either.

The former Mrs. Roger Vadim, Jane Fonda. I had forgotten that she spoke French, and even did some movies in it.

A young Carrie Fisher plugging "Star Wars" in France.

Most impressive!

A young Michel Drucker is interviewing Travolta upthread, and an older Drucker is talking to Jane Fonda in R269.

Travolta and Depardieu.

Lance Armstrong

In a The New York Times article, teammate George Hincapie hinted that Armstrong would run for Governor of Texas after cycling.

What is Lance Armstrong doing these days?

Oliver Stone's mother was French, and he is one of the best speakers cited here.

Armstrong's French is terrible. He is still trying to be a celebrity but nobody wants to know. He just sold his house in Austin. Think he lives in Aspen full time. He got off easy with his lawsuits.

For those interested, please check out a Brit comic named Paul Taylor on YouTube.

He is quite funny; he compares Brits to Frenchies.

He speaks French without an accent, so is often taken for French. But he still makes non-native mistakes (such as wrong article for a noun) so, he jokes, French people take him for a really stupid French person.

R316, I couldln't finish that video.

It made me cringe.

The French love, love, love cycling. Obviously.

I meant I couldn't finish the Armstrong video at R273.

My bad.

Good Lord, that video at R247 made me hurt, very much, for the Queen. She was obviously nervous, and speaking in another language. I had read that she understands French and can speak it conversationally, but no one seems to be able to confirm her real confidence in the language. It must be frightening to try to deliver an official speech in another language.

She is a mini wheat without the sugar. She is so bland. And she had an album in french as a child.

Most famous British royal family screw-up in French: Duke of Windsor back when he was Prince of Wales announced at the end of WWI that 'the world is going to make a magnificent peace' - he should have said 'le monde va faire UNE paix formidable'... but he said 'UN pet formidable' a magnificent fart.

R280, I did not listen to the entire speech, but from what I heard, Queen Elizabeth did a great job.

She has clearly studied the language, and most definitely practiced her speech.

QE2 has been working hard her entire life! I admire her much.

John Kerry speaks French quite well too.

R283, I’m rolling my eyes violently.

In all the French clips with Kerry, he is reading (which is easier)

R286, quite true. I have never seen an interview with J. Kerry.

Since stinky politicians have invaded this thread, here is another one.

Boris Johnson

This is a cute video of

Petula Clark, Francoise Hardy, and Sylvie Vartan.

Sylvie imitates Petula singing "Coeur Blesse" and mocks her British accent in French. Pet pretends to be insulted.

Princess Grace speaking French.

Boy, do I feel sorry for her, trying to be interviewed in a foreign language with a squirming toddler on your lap!

Beautiful Jackie Kennedy.

R289, Boris Johnson speaks well. Someone needs to lend him a comb, though.

Keep up the stinky politicians, please!

Prince William

Bart Simpson speaks French

JFK speaking French

Oops here he is.

Brando speaking French.

Gloria Estefan tries a couple of times

JFK Sr. is not too strong.

I would not be surprised if he did not study French in HS. (Latin and Ancient Greek perhaps?) And I bet he learned his speech word by word phonetically.

Roger Federer's first language is Swiss-German and he speaks English, German and French very well. He also speaks some Swedish and Italian.

[quote]And I bet he learned his speech word by word phonetically.

I was thinking that, too, when I watched that clip.

You want bland? Roger Federer is bland like vanilla pudding!

No, wait, vanilla pudding is yummy.

He is bland like Shredded Wheat!

R299, Michel Drucker again!

Julio Iglesias was GORGEOUS when he was young.

R298, Brando was still handsome in that clip.

Not Streetcar level handsome, but not bad at all!

A few words from Di in Italian

R306, Lady Di was so young in that video!

Lovely and charming!

Love Diana's shoulder pads.

And love it that she is taller than Prince Charles!

Yes, she is, R307.

what a weird thread! I like it though.

More Anglophones speaking French.

Many of them have already been posted.

We forgot about Joseph Gordon Levitt, though.

R220, although she was way before my time, I've been infatuated with Jean Seberg for many years. Her face is sublime and the most naturally beautiful actress of all time. In the interview she's barely wearing much make up and she's flawless unlike some other actresses of her time...yes I'm looking at you Liz Taylor.

Any clips of Mira Sorvino speaking Chinese?

More American actors who speak French:

William Hurt - he had a child with French actress Sandrine Bonnaire.

Kevin Kline - he did a film called "Queen to Play" with the very same Ms. Bonnaire. His French was quite good.

Prince William which was not linked properly upthread.

Christian Bale

R314, Prince William was trying his darndest!

Yes, R316

Kevin Kline

The only movie I recall of Jean Seaberg’s was ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ which I saw on TCM a few years ago. It was strange because her character was so overwrought, but not in a way that made sense. She was supposed to be obsessed with her Daddy, but casting David Niven was a weird choice. I understand that the book was hugely popular, and a whole generation of French girls identified with it, but the movie did not convey why. She was luminously gorgeous.

R319, you must watch "A bout de souffle" with Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

"Breathless" in English.

R319, I, too, saw "Bonjour, Tristesse" on TV many years ago, and I did not much care for it. I had read the book prior.

"Le Divorce" with Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts was a good film, believe it or not.

The fabulous Grace Jones speaking French, along with her son, who speaks it natively.

R315, I am more amused by Christian Bale's cursing out of "Shane" the DP, when he made "Terminator Salvation."

R323, Grace is fabulous looking, but her French is not great.

If hearing Jodie speak in French gets you going .....

Try watching her munch carpet sometime. Positively mesmorizing .

Getting back to Jodie, she speaks too fast in French!

Paul Taylor, the Brit comic who lives in France.

I’m learning French, my dream is to speak Franch very fluently like Jodie. I wish that I learned it when I was a kid, I think is the best way to be fluent. Older is harder. Even though my mother language is Spanish, and french and spanish have a lot in common, french is very hard. I think Portuguese or Italian are easier to learn for a spanish speaking person.

R329, I have studied both, and I actually think Spanish has a lot of tricky stuff like dropping the "yo" and the estar/ser dichotomy.

The pronunciation of French is difficult, and the spelling a little bit tricky, but once you get beyond that, you are good!

I wish you all the best in your learning of French! Being a native Spanish speaker is a huge advantage! Profitez bien! Go for it!

I have studied French along with Spanish, Russian, and German, and although some of the other languages may have had more complex grammars, none of them even come close to French as far as the difficulty it poses to oral comprehension (let alone speaking). At least, that was my experience. The nasal phonemes, which don't seem to have well defined "edges" to my ears, made the language complicated enough, but when you combine that with liaison (where they run one word into the next -- especially confusing when a normally silent consonant at the end of one word gets tacked onto the beginning of the word that follows it), it seems near impossible. And at normal speaking speed, parts of words disappear, or are transformed in a way that makes them unrecognizable to the unexperienced ear. I still remember learning the phrase "aller et retour" for the first time and trying to match up the words on paper with what I was hearing on cassette.

I'm pretty fluent now, but I can say that making the leap from reading to listening posed a difficulty that the other languages I studied did not. In fact, I had been studying French for 2 years when I started learning Spanish, and my ability in Spanish (in all aspects, but especially in oral comprehension) exceeded my ability in French in less than 3 months after I started.

A classical actor declaiming Racine on stage at the Comedie Francaise is actually easier to comprehend than what passes for French diction in contemporary French film.

R332 that's because dialogue is in argot

R331, R332, I have studied French for a long time and even studied there for a year as a college student.

I still have trouble with comprehension!

I feel like I can speak it better than I can understand it!

Isn't Castilian Spanish spoke super rapidly as well?

R335 here agaiin. I meant, isn't it spoken?

Spanish is spoken rapidly, but the syllables are clearly enunciated for the most part. Sometimes the final consonant of a word seems to be dropped (as in verdad) or words ending with "ado" are pronounced as if they ended with "ao", and Castilian Spanish has that lisp thing going on, but these quirks are easily learned.

I speak French too

Thanks, R331.

Just thought of another thing that makes French so challenging.

Idioms, idioms, and idioms!

I guess all foreign languages have them, but, well, to me, this makes French hard to learn well.

[quote] The British are notorious for having trouble adapting their pronunciation and speech flow/mannerisms when speaking other languages.

R112 eh? That’s only the How Gets. The rest of us speak well.

R340, thanks for the video.

The late actor Richard Burton spoke Welsh as his first language!

Ar lan y mor (By the sea).

I think that was what Ioann Gruffudd was reciting!

Sidse Babett Knudsen speaks French. I can sense some hesitation in the way she speaks, but she seems to enjoy it:

R343, I think she speaks quite well!