I speak German to my horse (Philological Room) Language Learning Forum

I speak German to my horse
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Language Learning Forum : Philological Room

13 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

Raincrowlee
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Message 9 of 13

11 February 2007 at 4:40am | IP Logged

From Wikipedia:

Quote:

Charles was born in the Flemish city of Ghent and brought up in Mechelen by his aunt Margaret until 1517. The culture and courtly life of the Burgundian Low Countries was the prime influence in his early life. He was brought up to speak French and Flemish, but also added Spanish (which was required by the Castilian Cortes as a condition for becoming king of Castile) and some German. Indeed, he was said to speak "Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to his horse". He could not speak Spanish very well, as it was not his primary language.

The devil's in the details.
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hot_flip16
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Message 10 of 13

14 February 2007 at 12:50am | IP Logged

You're right Raincrowlee!
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Hencke
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Message 11 of 13

17 February 2007 at 9:13pm | IP Logged

Funny to read about this here, since I just happened to be visiting the museum at the monastery of Yuste a few weeks ago, which is where he spent the last years of his life, including a tour of the bedroom in which he died.

The guides seemed knowledgeable enough and recounted many details about his daily life. Among other things we were shown a special chair he had made with supports for his legs at different angles to relieve the pains of the gout he suffered from from an early age.

However, that statement about what he spoke to his horse was never mentioned. The guides might have known about it but I didn't realise that this was the king that supposedly said it so I didn't ask.

Edited by Hencke on 17 February 2007 at 9:15pm
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Alas Oscuras
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Message 12 of 13

09 July 2007 at 5:00pm | IP Logged

Well, he was quite a foreigner king for the Spanish people, wasn't
he? then maybe he said that about Spanish in an attempt to
congraciate himself with the people.
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William Camden
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Message 13 of 13

07 October 2007 at 1:27pm | IP Logged

I forget the exact words in the quote, but he may not have made a clear distinction between Dutch/Flemish and the language we now call German.

I believe French was used to some extent in his territory, which included what we now call Belgium. Walloon dialect was spoken but something like the standard French of Paris was used by the literate for writing in Wallonia.

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