# American actors doing a good job voicing languages they don't actually speak **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657 "2020-07-18T11:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/1 "2020-07-18T11:44:46Z")
Quite often a movie requires an American actor to speak a few sentences in a foreign language, to show that they are fluent. If you happen to know that language it is usually clear that it is a memorized speech. For example (being Dutch) I find the few lines of Anna Hathaway in Hustlers ([at 1:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBft4t3CDlc)) hard to follow. No disrespect, Dutch is I think a very hard language to pronounce. This made me wonder what are examples of an actor getting it (almost) right. I tried looking for an example of Dutch, but couldn’t recall one. To be clear: this is about an actor having to mimic a language they do not actually speak. For example, there is a clip of Kate McKinnon doing an [Hungarian rap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO_UheP7v_Y) which according ot the comments is quite good. In the movie Now You See 2 two of the characters speak a few words of Chinese, but again I can’t tell whether it is any good. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/2 "2020-07-18T14:56:37Z")
Carl Reiner was a master of mimicking languages other than English. He could speak gibberish and still sound like a native speaker of the language he was imitating. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/3 "2020-07-18T15:15:04Z")
Sorry, I think I didn’t make my meaning clear. I mean that an actor actually speaks the words, sounding like a native would, but only because he memorized the vowels and practiced the pronunciation. So to a native speaker it sounds genuine. But the actor is unable to speak the language, he cannot form a single sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/4 "2020-07-18T15:25:09Z")
Does it have to be American? When Monty Python went to Germany in the early 70s, most of their accents sucked despite phonetic lessons, but John Cleese did a good job. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/5 "2020-07-18T15:42:27Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > But the actor is unable to speak the language, he cannot form a single sentence. And yet, the actor forms the sentences in the movie. And probably understands what they mean. And sounds genuine to a native speaker. I think you need to provide a better definition of “almost right.” You’re straying into an area of linguistic philosophy perhaps unintentionally. What does it mean to “be able to speak a language”? It reminds me of those people who claim to speak dozens of languages. Really? What can they actually do in those languages? Can they effectively negotiate a business dispute? Can they appropriately and convincingly make an excuse for why they forgot the birthday of a friend, without offense? Even native speakers have trouble with those things. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/6 "2020-07-18T15:51:08Z")
None of the Indonesian spoken in The Year of Living Dangerously sounds authentic. (It was filmed in the Philippines without Indonesian participation.) There is very little of it, but even to me as a non-native speaker it sounds ridiculously contrived. There is a scene where Sigourney Weaver shoos away some "“Indonesian” kids and it’s very obvious she’s just mouthing syllables without knowing what she’s saying. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/7 "2020-07-18T16:45:14Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Carl Reiner was a master of mimicking languages other than English. He must have gotten that from Sid Cesar, who I think was the real master of that. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/8 "2020-07-18T17:06:04Z")
I would be amazed if any round-eye could even begin with a tonal language such s Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/9 "2020-07-18T18:29:15Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > > [@Tusculan](#): > > > > But the actor is unable to speak the language, he cannot form a single sentence. > > And yet, the actor forms the sentences in the movie. And probably understands what they mean. And sounds genuine to a native speaker. > > I think you need to provide a better definition of “almost right.” You’re straying into an area of linguistic philosophy perhaps unintentionally. What does it mean to “be able to speak a language”? > > It reminds me of those people who claim to speak dozens of languages. Really? What can they actually do in those languages? Can they effectively negotiate a business dispute? Can they appropriately and convincingly make an excuse for why they forgot the birthday of a friend, without offense? Even native speakers have trouble with those things. You’re making it way too difficult. My point is that actors may manage to say the words, sounding like a native does. They _don’t_ form the sentence itself, they only voice the words from the sentence as given to them. it is simpy parroting or reading ffom a phrase book. No-one seriously confuses this with speaking a language. I wanted to discount cases where the actor simply can speak the language (such as is often the case for French), in which case it is not surprising if the actor can convincingly pronounce the words similar to a native speaker. I gave the exampe of Kate McKinnon who I understand doesn’t speak Hungarian but still managed to do a Hungarian rap, and the case of Anne Hathaway who did speak Dutch words bit clearly can’t speak Dutch. I find it impressive when an actor does do so well, and I wondered how often this is done succesfullly. Incidentally, I’m also interested in examples of English actors, but the title of the topic was already fairly long. Not being an English native speaker I’m sure I phrase this in a clumsy way; I find that the word ‘speak’ is too ambiguous for my intent. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/10 "2020-07-18T18:36:45Z")
Incidentally, I do agree with your scepticism towards people who claim to be fluent in dozens of languages. It is quite possible that this is more a knack for emulating the ‘accent’, rather than actually mastering a sizeable vocabulary. But that would be the topic of a different thread. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/11 "2020-07-18T18:43:28Z")
**Maserschmidt** : The example from John Cleese is good, I haven’t heard it but I take your word for it. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/12 "2020-07-18T18:46:57Z")
Anne Hathaway in “One Day” did not convince many people, I think. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/13 "2020-07-18T18:53:29Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Does it have to be American? When Monty Python went to Germany in the early 70s, most of their accents sucked despite phonetic lessons, but John Cleese did a good job. > [@Tusculan](#): > > **Maserschmidt** : The example from John Cleese is good, I haven’t heard it but I take your word for it. Here’s [Bavarian Restaurant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdPMSd7xA7U). John Cleese hardly spoke a word of German and learned his parts phonetically, but it’s very good. You wouldn’t take him for a native speaker, but for someone who knows the language. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/14 "2020-07-18T19:11:53Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > You’re making it way too difficult. > > My point is that actors may manage to say the words, sounding like a native does. They _don’t_ form the sentence itself, they only voice the words from the sentence as given to them. it is simpy parroting or reading ffom a phrase book. No-one seriously confuses this with speaking a language. > > I wanted to discount cases where the actor simply can speak the language (such as is often the case for French), in which case it is not surprising if the actor can convincingly pronounce the words similar to a native speaker. Don’t worry. I know exactly what you mean. I was raising a philosophical question, quite apart from that. Whether the actor is just memorizing the sounds or not, if the actor is saying the sounds, and if the actor knows what the sounds mean (by way of some explanation from the director, crew, interpreters, etc.), and if the audience understands the sounds spoken (as you yourself said: " . . . to a native speaker it sounds genuine"), then is–or is not–the actor able to “speak” the language, _ **at least in this instance** _? Again: It’s a philosophical question. > [@Tusculan](#): > > I find that the word ‘speak’ is too ambiguous for my intent. Right. That ambiguity is at the heart of my point. It relates to concepts of language acquisition–behaviorist views, Chomsky, etc. I know we’re talking about cases where the actor isn’t able to walk off the set and start conversing in the language. We all know that. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/15 "2020-07-18T19:15:24Z")
MacLaren in _Travelers_ (season 1, episode 3) speaks Romanian to an abducted kid. The actor’s accent is not impressive, but it isn’t supposed to be either. The kid may be of Romanian origin in RL though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/16 "2020-07-18T20:18:47Z")
They do not sound genuine to a native speaker. A good example of this is Robin Williams in _ **Moscow on the Hudson** _. In America, it was a big deal that he took a crash course in Russian and was able to speak the language in the movie. All of my Russian friends who saw it say he was hard to understand, and it was easier to just read the subtitles. I’m not a native speaker of Russian or German, but I still wince every time I hear a foreigner try to speak either. Gibbs and crew in the _ **NCIS** _ franchise sound atrocious to my ear. The Russians in the _ **Rambo** _ series are Dutch or German, and I can’t understand a word they’re saying (except for _“Ochen khorosho!”_). In _ **Red Heat** _, one of the KGB officers was Hungarian; he spoke Russian perfectly, but I could tell his accent was completely different. In _ **The Americans** _, the Jenningses never spoke more than a word or two of Russian at a time, and it was always with an American accent In _ **Combat!** _, the Nazis would occasionally speak German, but when I watch the series now, it’s ridiculously easy to distinguish between those were indeed German and the ones who had just memorized their lines phonetically. The only non-German I can think of who made an even halfway convincing Nazi was Richard Basehart, who had that deep, resonant voice and could do a German accent quite well. If I can tell the difference, I’m sure native speakers can as well. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/17 "2020-07-18T20:20:14Z")
Thanks for the link. Yes, that is exactly what I meant. His pronunciation is indeed not quite right in some spots, but I wouldn’t have guessed that he had merely memorized it and couldn’t speak German. Good job by Cleese. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/18 "2020-07-18T21:19:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > They do not sound genuine to a native speaker. I agree, personally, but the OP said this (so _ **that’s what I’m referring to** _): > [@Tusculan](#): > > So to a native speaker it sounds genuine. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2020, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/19 "2020-07-19T07:05:23Z")
Thanks **terentii** , the examples you discuss (and the added information you provide) do point out the difficulties involved. Indeed it appears as if most actors, even with significant training, still cannot speak the words in a way that is sufficiently recognizable for native speakers. Also, good to hear also that it is the same for Dutch and Germans trying to ‘speak’ Russian. I only mentioned ‘American’ in the title because there are much more examples and they may be easier to check, but on further consideration that is not really relevant. The point you mentioned about your friends finding it hard to understand is exactly what I noticed with my example from Anne Hathaway (not to single her out, but it was a clear example). As you say, it is clear that the actor cannot speak the language, otherwise the words would be easier to recognize. To be clear: I did not mean that the actor could pass for a native speaker, only that he could pass as someone who spoke the language reasonably well. The John Cleese example is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657/20 "2020-07-19T07:27:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > In _ **The Americans** _ , the Jenningses never spoke more than a word or two of Russian at a time, and it was always with an American accent I was going to mention this. There was one scene in particular where Elizabeth was having a “conversation” with a Russian (in Russian, in America) but she never actually spoke a single word, just looked back at him meaningfully when the camera went back and forth. It was comical. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-actors-doing-a-good-job-voicing-languages-they-dont-actually-speak/915657.md?page=2)