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Polyglot actors/actresses

 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots Post Reply
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lengua
Senior Member
United States
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Studies: French, Italian, Spanish, German

 
 Message 17 of 98
11 August 2006 at 4:06pm | IP Logged 
patuco wrote:
lengua wrote:
I don't know if three languages count (especially if one is from Europe)...

Does it matter where one is from? I'd say that three languages always count irrespective of location.


I agree. According to the dictionary, someone who speaks more than one language is a polyglot. I was simply thinking that, if I grew up in a bilingual environment, where everyone around me understood two languages, it wouldn't be unusual for me to speak or understand two languages. But it would definitely be unusual if I moved to an environment where people were primarily monolingual. Speaking multiple languages always "counts", and it is never something to be ashamed of.

I certainly didn't mean to diminish her abilities (or those of any person who grew up in bilingual, trilingual, or quadrilingual environments)...but in Luxembourg, for example, someone who spoke English, German, and French would probably not go about calling himself a polyglot to his fellow Luxembourgans, because as a native citizen of the country, speaking the three languages might be about as unusual as having ten fingers.

So I must say that I would be more impressed with the linguistic efforts of someone from a mono or bilingual environment who spoke three languages than I would with the linguistic abilities of a trilingual who grew up in a trilingual environment. But that doesn't take anything away from the abilities of the trilingual-raised trilinguist. Every language counts. It's just an observation of the lengths a person who spoke X languages from birth was willing to go to learn a total of Z = X + Y languages. :^)

To put it in superhero lingo: Is it impressive that Superman has superpowers on Earth? Yes. But it is worth remembering that under a Kryptonian sun, he is the same as any Earthling under an Earth sun - and that under an Earth sun, every Kryptonian has superpowers (and conversely, that every Earthling might have superpowers under a Kryptonian sun). Excuse the analogy; I recently watched Superman Returns in French...

Ha, with all this, I forgot to add the celebrity I was planning on mentioning:

I believe Keisha-Castle Hughes knows both English and Maori.

Edited by lengua on 11 August 2006 at 4:09pm

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patuco
Diglot
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 Message 18 of 98
11 August 2006 at 5:18pm | IP Logged 
lengua wrote:
So I must say that I would be more impressed with the linguistic efforts of someone from a mono or bilingual environment who spoke three languages than I would with the linguistic abilities of a trilingual who grew up in a trilingual environment. But that doesn't take anything away from the abilities of the trilingual-raised trilinguist. Every language counts. It's just an observation of the lengths a person who spoke X languages from birth was willing to go to learn a total of Z = X + Y languages. :^)

I see what you mean and I agree with you. Sorry if I seemed a little harsh.

By the way, were any of the actors in Superman Returns polyglots?
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lengua
Senior Member
United States
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Studies: French, Italian, Spanish, German

 
 Message 19 of 98
12 August 2006 at 1:01am | IP Logged 
patuco wrote:

I see what you mean and I agree with you. Sorry if I seemed a little harsh.

By the way, were any of the actors in Superman Returns polyglots?


Oh, no problem. Interestingly, Kate Bosworth (Lois) apparently speaks English and Spanish (althought not in the film, haha).

Edited by lengua on 12 August 2006 at 3:22pm

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Andy_Liu
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Hong Kong
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 Message 20 of 98
12 August 2006 at 5:12am | IP Logged 
Raincrowlee wrote:
Karen Mok, a prominent Hong Kong star, can speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, English and Italian.

Most HK stars can do at least three -- Mandarin, Cantonese and English. Jackie Chan, for intance, though I don't know how good his Mandarin actually is. A lot of Taiwanese stars speak Mandarin, Taiwanese and English (because many of the stars are ABCs).


Compared with other Hong Kong stars, Chan's Mandarin is on average. He also learned Korean and Japanese before, but he seldom showed this.

HK stars usually, apart from the 3 mentioned, may know a bit of Japanese/Korean. I think it's similar for Western stars.
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Captain Haddock
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Japan
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 Message 21 of 98
13 August 2006 at 8:52am | IP Logged 
I've seen Chan speak a little Japanese in at least one movie; however, I have heard that when he was one of the judges on "Iron Chef", he needed an interpreter.

Edited by Captain Haddock on 13 August 2006 at 8:53am

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patuco
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 Message 22 of 98
17 August 2006 at 7:03pm | IP Logged 
I was searching for the names of some actresses in the Internet Movies Database and I came across Audrey Hepburn, who apparently
Quote:
Was fluent in English, Spanish, French, Dutch/Flemish and Italian.

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hokusai77
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Italy
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 Message 23 of 98
18 August 2006 at 3:24am | IP Logged 
Eidolio wrote:
I don't know wether she speaks any other language, but Jodie Foster is fluent in French. Her accent is extremely good!


She also knows Italian: she acted in an Italian flick when she was a teenager, and she spoke Italian with journalists when presenting "Flightplan" in Rome.
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Journeyer
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United States
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 Message 24 of 98
18 August 2006 at 1:28pm | IP Logged 
Andy_Liu wrote:
[HK stars usually, apart from the 3 mentioned, may know a bit of Japanese/Korean. I think it's similar for Western stars.


I'm not sure I understand. I sounded to me like you meant that Western stars also usually speak Japanese/Korean, but I don't know of many who can. I'd love to find out, though.


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