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Putin on Learning Languages | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots |  | |
| seldnar Senior Member United States Joined 6944 days ago 189 posts - 287 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, French, Greek | Message 1 of 3 18 October 2007 at 2:51pm | IP Logged |
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I thought this news item from Yahoo might be of interest.
Putin talks about learning German and English Edited by seldnar on 18 October 2007 at 2:51pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7188 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes 12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 3 18 October 2007 at 3:26pm | IP Logged |
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Talking the talk: Putin expounds on foreign languages
Thu Oct 18, 12:57 PM ET MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday jokingly compared his learning of German to training a circus bear, and said he studied English regularly to have "normal" conversations with other leaders. "Before I went to Germany and lived surrounded by the language, I did not possess it," said Putin, who lived in Germany as a KGB officer before returning to Russia and becoming involved in politics in the early 1990s. "But I lived there for nearly five years, in direct contact with our German colleagues and friends," Putin said, responding to questions from Russians during a live television appearance. "In five years, even someone with average language ability can master a foreign language -- like the bear that goes to the circus and learns to ride a bicycle," Putin said. The Russian president said he studied English "fairly regularly" in order to carry on conversations with foreign counterparts without the help of translators. "Why do I do this?... It is necessary to have a normal working regimen with colleagues, so that there is no language barrier. You can't always talk about everything in the presence of translators," he said. Putin said he had also made an effort to utter a few words in French during his speech before the International Olympic Committee in Guatemala last July. "This was a request from several members of the IOC, as a sign of respect for French-speaking countries, including Francophone African countries," Putin said. Edited by administrator on 18 October 2007 at 3:26pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Alvinho Triglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 6046 days ago 828 posts - 832 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish | Message 3 of 3 04 November 2007 at 8:00pm | IP Logged |
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He's right.....as state leader he should study other languages in order to gain influence among his counterparts as well as not going through difficulties over language communication....it's the least he gotta do. Edited by Alvinho on 04 November 2007 at 8:01pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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