Celebrities and Language Learning

[TheInsidiousParadigm]

I love this video!!!!!!!

[CHAM0RRITO]

Actress Mira Sorvino speaks Chinese

[MaggieOlsen]

I can Norwegian, Swedish, danish, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Italian, German, English and a tiiiny bit Polish ;)

[asasscd]

wow Gwyneth Paltrow speaks very well!

[Camden1313]

Wow...I was impressed by Jodie Foster and Bradley Cooper the most, as I assume there's is learnt language...as opposed to the likes of Charlize Theron for example that grew up speaking the language. It's still all incredibly impressive...speaking a secondarly language is automatically sexy:-)

[Bubah06]

A few of the celebrities on this list are speaking their mother tongue and English is the 'other' language that they speak. Schwarzenegger as an Austrian, Banderas as a Spaniard, Theron as a South African and Celin Dion as a French Canadian etc. all speak English aswell as German, Spanish, Africaans and French. It's hardly a surprise that they can speak the language of the countries they were born.

[dehro]

funny bit of holywood lore. when arny wanted to dub his conan movies in german they said no, because he sounds like a hillbilly, apparently (that is, his austrian accent didn't sit well with the germans in charge of dubbing the movies.)

[Atomic440]

C'est vrai que Jodie Foster a etudie le francais a l'universite? Je l'ai ecoute mais maintenant je suis sur que c'est vrai. Tres bien parlé, Jodie. Et Jack Black, je pense aussi qu'il TROLL justement lol. Et avec Johnny Depp? C'est justement "awkwaaaard" lol

[BloodNazgul]

09:33 justin timberlake's face saying:

mmmmmmm... i'm understanding EEEEEEEVERYTHING!

[capitanzach]

por una razon BUENA.

[aMadMansMusic]

You mean to tell me that Arnold Älois Schwarzenegger is not a full-on red-blooded American

[SrtaYaleska]

I have to give Gwyneth an standing ovation... She speaks spanish perfectly well! She even has the Castilla acent wich is something like the British acent but in spanish; is even better than mine! Hat off to misses Paltrow! :D

[nisalty]

barack obama can speak indonesian as well. he lived in jakarta for few years..

[tiernomip]

aaaahh, and last but not least, sexy Jude Law speaks a not so bad - and improving - French, his parents (who live in France) and his elder son speak a perfect French

[tiernomip]

Emma Watson (Harry Potter's Hermione) was born in France and has a French grand ma, I wouldn't be amazed to know she speaks French too

Kristin Scott Thomas speaks a perfect French and performed in several French cinema and theatre productions

I guess Salma Hayek speaks French too, like most christian lebanese. She has also been in love - and now married - for years with French billionaire François-Henri Pinault (PPR Company), and recently performed in a French TV commercial

[tiernomip]

I confirm Jodie Fister speaks an amazingly perfect French

So do Queen Elizabeth, prince Phillip and Prince Charles... the next royal generation is far less skilled ^^

Celine Dion is French-Canadian born and shouldn't be in the list

Penelope Cruz like most spanish pupils was taught French at school, she improved her French very much over the last few years and even performed in a very acceptable French

Brian Molko speaks a very good French, so do other Placebo members

[OettingerCroat]

Evangeline Lilly's sexy subtle Québécois accent !!!

[CamiloSanchez1979]

The ones that surprised me is Coby Bryant and Sandrita Bullock, didn't think they were fluent in another language

[alejopecora]

where is shakira ? she nows like 6 languages.

[LaraBallerina]

knowing foreign languages opens many doors and hearts :-) i speak czech, slowak, english, german, relativly good russian and understand some of spanish basics. It helps me not only being able to understand other people but to learn about new cultures. It is a beautiful thing. I can only encourage everyone to learn at least one foreig language. thank you so much for this video!

[valeferht]

why does Gwenyth Paltrow speak spanish so well?

[CamiloSanchez1979]

@valeferht She lived in Spain for a number of years

[chrisven1000]

@valeferht she used to live in spain,,,,he spanish is wonderful

[EdyMar77]

Viggo Mortensen speaks Spanish perfectly , he lived his Childhood in Argentina.

[melissaratliff]

Oh man, Bradley Cooper. You are hot.

[ccipollini1984]

@melissaratliff

Hot is not even the word, hun....

[sabrinaayaadig]

Shakira should be in here she speaks like 5 languages!

[RomuloWarde]

thats cool!!!

[NewEnglandgardening]

I remember once in the late 80's being in a Pizza Hut and there was this white guy that looked like he could have come from a leave it to beaver episode. He was with a Japanese gentleman and speaking fluent Japanese and it just looked so strange. Now its not uncommon to come across people from different cultures speaking multiple languages it seems.

[Giulyx16]

Penelope Cruz also speaks italian

[laviebanale]

Most of them sucked. Jody Foster and Sandra Bullock were fluent.

[CoolHandBernard]

@laviebanale So, presumably, you speak every single language in the above video?

[laviebanale]

@CoolHandBernard

I speak 5 and understand another 5. You can tell how well someone speaks a language in about 10 seconds. You see how comfortable they are. And you? How many can you speak?

[laviebanale]

@laviebanale

I apologize for the mistake. Jody Foster, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock, Obama's sister, C Ronaldo, Mila Kunis, and Nelly Furtado are fluent in the languages they spoke. The others sucked.

[carl1223]

@laviebanale

Ronaldo was terrible. Im fluent in Spanish and his Portuguese accent was making it hard for me to understand him.

[weo1weo1weo1]

so the language of the celebs is french, German and Spanish huh?

[CoolHandBernard]

@weo1weo1weo1 Well, they are the languages most commonly thought at school level, it makes sense that they would be the most prevalent amongst celebrities.

[elchicocosmico]

Varias celebridades que aparecen en el video hablan esos idiomas debido a sus orígenes por ejemplo Mila Kunis habla ruso porque ella nació en Rusia y sus padres son de allá, Natalie Portman nació en Israel y su papá es israelí, la mamá de Sandra Bullock era alemana y Charlize Theron nació y se crió en Sudáfrica.

[laguida1982]

Bradley Cooper WTF! Not only is he sexy as hell, him speaking french is...WOW!

[Tracymmo]

Here's a fun one. Earle Hyman, the grandfather on The Cosby Show, fell in love with the work of Norwegian playwright Ibsen as a student, so he spent time in Norway and learned the language to really know the works. He has spent a lot of time living in Norway, even becoming a Norwegian TV star. There are clips on YouTube.

[billclark1]

who was the woman Nelly Furtado was interviewing::

[Iceland1944]

Depp was being a real Depp. He could have delivered that speech in French without the silly recording. Not sure why he did that.

[pageplant7t7]

Diese Video ist sehr interessant. Gut gemacht!

~auch. Ich wusste nicht, dass Obamas Schwester deutsch spricht.

[FernandoLuis191]

¡Muy bien por estas celebridades! Me hubiera gustado ver un vídeo de Clint Eastwood hablando Italiano, u otro de Viggo Mortensen hablando Español. ¡El de Natalie Portman no me gustó nada!

Suena muy parecido al arabigo, demasiadas ejes. Bradley Cooper habló muy bien en Francés, también me impresionó cómo habla con tanta fluidez Kobe Bryant el italiano. Johnny Depp como que trata mucho por impresionar a los franceses. Aún así no creo que los franceses se sientan identificados con él. Saludos.

[FernandoLuis191]

Also, notice how the women sound much more feminine when they speak romance languages. Romance languages make men sound masculine and women sound feminine.

[Tixbubulle]

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born and raised in Austria which means german is his mother tongue, he shouldn't be included.

[AighceTV]

afrikaans is like dutch and as a german i understand it good :)

[AighceTV]

obamas sister speaks german perfect Oo

[annlise90]

wtf ??? Jack black is really stupid !

[atreyyu1]

George W. Bush -- ...

[Karolinizationable]

oh my god; it just like dutch but with a funny accent, i can actually understand her

[Chiona33]

Leo XD I love german foot too, hihihi

[realvideos19]

johnny depp!!!

[angerock49]

Jodie Foster speaks truly like a french person ! I'm french and I couldn't believe it.

[TypeNoEvil]

Evangeline Lilly, Jodie Foster, and Bradley Cooper are impressive.

[AndHeWasARetard]

rey kong

[MKandASH4]

when charlize theron started speaking I listen carefully and I sounded a little bit swedish meets normay..!!!

[5Language]

@That253Chick So... I take it that you like him lol.

[That253Chick]

@5Language Very much, lol.

[stingingpistol]

Audrey Hepburn actually spoke Dutch, although she was born in Flanders. I don't hear any Flemish in her accent! Her Dutch was very proper, probably because she grew up in an aristocratic environment.

[murfad]

not quite sure if jack black was trolling or not...

[5Language]

@murfad Lol, I'm pretty sure he was in a way.

[ericafash]

lmfao @ jack black.

[sniffmysocks92]

damn jody foster masters french with such grace :D

[M3mPHiS]

Obama speaks Indonesian. Football (soccer) players who play abroad speak different languages. Mourinho (Real Madrid coach) speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French.

In Europe it's common to speak minimum 2-3 languages.

[LeXx0r]

Roger Federer speaks German, Swiss-German, French and English

[LeXx0r]

Even though I don't understand spanish, I can hear a very strong portuguese accent from C. Ronaldo :)

[annlise90]

@LeXx0r lool

[sackmaster91]

@LeXx0r Indeed there was an awful lot of "shhhs" in there lol. He doesn't really do that when he speaks English so I don't really get it lol. It's a lot like his language tho so maybe he gets confused : D

[BUJeff10]

@sackmaster91 the "sh" is a pretty common quality to the accent in many regions in Spain. Especially Madrid where so many different types of Spaniards are living. He has a bit of a Portuguese influence, but it is very little.

[sackmaster91]

@BUJeff10 are you sure its the "sh" for "s"? and the ""th" for "c"?

[BUJeff10]

@sackmaster91 the "sh" for "s." It isn't like the accent is taught in school really, but it is more of a "heavy" s. Quite funny the first time you hear it... My friends here used to make fun of me for speaking like that when I came back from Madrid.

[MyClip456]

Jack Black Spanish is horrible even i who is never learned it can speak it better

but some celebs „speaking foreign language” is actually their first language like Theron

Sandra Bullock spent a lot time in Germany as little her mother is German that's why is she good in it

[hunga13]

Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. So I think Hebrew is her first language

[31LadyGirl]

South african sounds a lot like dutch ist only another accent and some diffrent words

[Peonsarepeopletoo]

@31LadyGirl Yes and no. Afrikaans is the consequence of getting colonised too often. You can recognise Dutch, English, Spanish etc. To me, Afrikaans sounds like simplified Dutch.

[android1893]

what was the song at the beginning

[zo1215so]

@5language

Personally, I don't think either should be included.

[5Language]

@zo1215so I do respect your opinion, honestly I do... but the purpose of the video was to encourage more people to learn languages. Personally, I cared less who I put in it so long as the message that I wanted to convey got out. Thank you for you comments, I appreciate it.

[zo1215so]

@5Language Thanks for your civility (really, respectful discourse has become quite rare on Youtube), and for the honesty in this response. I did not think the list was put together with much thought (as you originally said), but now you have explained your reasoning for making the list/video. Though I feel that the list is inaccurate, I think we can agree on the driving force behind it-encouraging multilingualism in our world. I hope everyone who sees it is encouraged to learn a new language!

[zo1215so]

@5language

As for Al Gore, the Houston Chronicle ran an article during his presidential campaign in which native Spanish speakers commented on the use of Spanish by both candidates. The article concluded that while both candidates appeared to have some Spanish knowledge, neither could be considered fluent. In fact, the article ventured that "By all accounts, Gore's Spanish was much worse than Bush's." So if Gore deserves inclusion on this list, Bush does.

[zo1215so]

@5language

Barack Obama may have a limited grasp of Spanish, but the title of the list is "celebrities who speak languages other than English." Barack Obama himself has stated that he does not speak a foreign language. Why don't you believe him? I think he knows better than you or I what languages he speaks. When he made a campaign stop in San Antonio, he told the prospective voters to come back, because they were "having a little siesta, a little party." Hardly a good knowledge of the language.

[zo1215so]

Putting out an election PSA in Spanish does not mean you can speak Spanish. Obama, by his own admission, does not speak a foreign language.

Al Gore does not speak Spanish either.

Just scanning this list, I think it needs serious review.

[5Language]

@zo1215so Barack Obama has studied Spanish from before he was a Senator. Though I agree he isn't fluent, he does have a good knowledge of the language that had to be acquired, thus his inclusion on this list. As for Al Gore, he studied at the University of Mexico City for some time in his college years where he gained a good hold on the language as well. So yes, he does speak Spanish. The list was put together with thought.

[M3mPHiS]

@zo1215so Obama speaks Indonesian.

[hiphopson]

@zo1215so well its not that serious just a video no one will get hurt for a list that may have some errors

[JoyousinJesus]

@zo1215so Wow, how about you just enjoy the video and appreciate the effort that into making it instead of being a dick?

[zo1215so]

@JoyousinJesus Wow, how about reading the last comment I wrote? How very joyous and Christlike you sound.

[JoyousinJesus]

@zo1215so Troll.

[thwRoyalSizeCX]

I love Charlize Theron but she was out of place in this video as Afrikaans is her mother language, so not very impressive (although she is beautiful and lovely to hear in Afrikaans). So you could have included too Daniela Ruah (NCIS Los Angeles) speaking Portuguese ;)

[thwRoyalSizeCX]

I loved Gwineth's Spanish, Jodie's French and Sandra's German. Bradley I already knew he could speak French, very good.

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portuguese (his mother language is Portuguese) and he was speaking Spanish (a foreign language for him).

I'm sad there was no video of someone speaking Portuguese. Nelly Furtado, Shakira and Ricky Martin can speak Portuguese as a foreign language, it would have been nice to include it.

I love Charlize Theron, but she was out of place in this video as Af

[allaboutsandra]

Gwyneth and her european spanish is perfect :D

[wittenberg5]

i see bradley cooper is on NZT again XD

[5Language]

@wittenberg5 I know right lol!

[houlmouth]

@wittenberg5 After watching Limitless yesterday I can appreciate your comment. LOL I myself would like some NZT I wish it were real!!

[lugiadoom]

No Djokovic O.O

He speaks Serbian, English, German, Italian and he is learning French.

[5Language]

@lugiadoom Wow, thanks! I missed him... good find.

[kerox79]

BTW, find Viggo Mortensen speaking in four or five languages. In spanish with argentinian accent. MASTER!!!

[kerox79]

We're surrounded by spies!!!!!!

[mty1]

Ronaldo is not English, so how is that language learning, he is speaking his native language.

[5Language]

@mty1 His Native Language is Portuguese... he had to learn Spanish and is currently learning English.

[byquez32]

Jodie Foster's french is beautiful 6:22

[TheCrazyhorse131]

fantastic!:<3 from italian

[punk8lives6on]

Johnny Depp also speaks German.

[Griffithfantasy]

Very nice compilation, thank u for that.

[5Language]

@Griffithfantasy You are welcomed!

[michiferrucci]

Jodie Foster can speak italian as well. she did it one year ago during a tv show on Rai1 ;)

[langcurious]

I would have never guessed that Kobe Bryant knows how to speak Italian. Many of the famous people in this video just gained my respect. I will not look at them as some dumb actor anymore.

[michiferrucci]

@langcurious well i think he was born here, so not big surprises at all ;)

[omurphy27]

Damn Sandra Bullock's German is really good. And lol at Jack Black, even I can speak better Spanish.

[Kanguruo]

Muzzy speaks Esperanto too. His name in Esperanto is Mazi, look for Mazi en Gondolando on Youtube

[espukr]

Considering Mother Theresa was born in Skopje I'd be surprised if she couldn't speak Macedonian...

And Federer can be seen on youtube also speaking Swiss-German.

[espukr]

To your list you should/could add:

Phil Jackson (hugely famous basketball coach) - Spanish

Marat Safin - Russian (obviously) + extremely fluent Spanish

Peter Lorre - German

Kevin Rudd (former Australian prime minister) - Mandarin

[CreateYourWorldBooks]

Thanks so much for this compilation. I'd never known that Sandra Bullock spoke German so well. It's great to see these stars out of their comfort zone in English and risking to make mistakes in another language on camera.

[irishpolyglot]

Thanks for compiling this!

[5Language]

@irishpolyglot You're welcome and don't take offense at what I wrote earlier.

[iamshunpike]

Sandra's German surprised me.

[5Language]

@iamshunpike Yeah, me too. She's good.

[zecchinoroni]

@iamshunpike I think she was born in Germany.

[iamshunpike]

@zecchinoroni IDK, but wiki says her mother was a German opera singer. :/

[lingualinca]

Fantastic, thank you for putting this together! I really enjoyed watching this clip :)

[5Language]

@lingualinca You're very welcome!

[Haseeb2]

Very good, but some of these are more impressive than others in that these are the native languages of many of these celebrities. I am not as impressed when they grow up in a particular country speaking that language. 

[5Language]

@Haseeb2 That wasn't the point though... the point was to give people motivation to learn a foreign language.

[skul1276]

AMAZING!!!!! I totally love it, Io sto imparando italiano sono molto emozionata amo questa lingua <3

[ellezeus]

@skul1276 complimenti,il tuo italiano è molto buono,di solito è raro che gli anglofoni lo sappiano così bene :)

[skul1276]

@ellezeus Grazie mille, Io non sono americana, sono costaricana e parlo englese, lo spagnolo e sto imparando l´italiano :D

[alkantre]

Muy buen video. Me encanta la diversidad de voces. Pude entender casi todo, hasta algo del hebreo y del ruso. Voy rumbo a hiperpoliglota, ?no es verdad?

Gracias por colgarlo. Espero que hagas otras compilaciones parecidas.

[5Language]

@alkantre Por su puesto, pienso que estas una Hiperpoliglota ;D!

[alkantre]

@5Language !Ojala!-- gracias otra vez por colgar el video

[Kaytube19]

This was awesome! Lol @ Jack Black!

[5Language]

@Kaytube19  Yeah, he can be a real clown at times lol!

[BrokenClocks08]

Awesome video, thanks for showing!

[5Language]

@BrokenClocks08 You're welcome!