# Best Possible Communication Amongst Bill and Ted's Historical Companions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808 "2015-02-16T12:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/1 "2015-02-16T12:34:55Z")
As Bill and Ted made their way through their Excellent Adventure, they picked up a number of travelling companions. These companions were all taken by surprise and, truth be told, somewhat against their will. It had to be quite confusing. They probably all figured out on their own that they were travelling through time, but just what it was that their hosts/captors wanted from them might not have been entirely clear. It’s not addressed in the film but I consider it doubtful that either Bill or Ted are multilingual. What about their companions? [ul] [li]Abraham Lincoln, 1st Language: 19th Century American English[/li](could communicate directly with Bill and Ted) [li]Billy the Kid, 1st Language: 19th Century American English[/li](could communicate directly with Bill and Ted) [li]Napoleon, 1st Language: 18th/19th Century French[/li][li]Joan of Arc, 1st Language: 15th Century French[/li][li]Beethoven, 1st Language: 18th/19th Century German[/li][li]Sigmund Freud, 1st Language: 19th/20th Century Austrian German[/li][li]Socrates, 1st Language: Classical Greek[/li][li]Genghis Khan, 1st Language: Middle Mongol[/li][/ul] Who among the companions were multilingual? I don’t imagine Billy the Kid was multilingual (maybe a little Spanish? but that wouldn’t have helped on this trip). How about Abraham Lincoln? Could he speak any other languages? Sigmund Freud is shown to speak English in the film. Historically, he had relatives who lived in England and he himself spent his final year of life in England. Was he fairly fluent in English? No doubt Freud and Beethoven could have communicated without any problem. Was Beethoven multilingual? If so, who else would he have been able to talk to? Napoleon and Jean of Arc could have communicated directly with one another, though maybe they’d have some trouble with idioms that may have changed? Were either Napoleon or Joan of Arc multilingual? Would any of the characters have studied Classical Greek so as to be able to chit chat with Socrates? Genghis Khan …I guess the _only_ chance would be if he ever picked up any Greek to be able to talk to Socrates. I don’t imagine any of the other characters knew Middle Mongol. I’d doubt Genghis Khan ever learned Middle German and even if he did would it have been intelligible to the more modern German speakers? Would he have known any Latin in case any of the others had studied Latin? My guess is that Genghis Khan would have pretty much been out of the translation loop. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/2 "2015-02-16T12:56:09Z")
Well, through pantomime and gestures, Bill & Ted themselves were able to communicate with Socrates. (“Dust… Wind… Dude.”) Freud was fluent in several languages, including German, English, French, Latin and Greek. He could have translated for just about everybody in the phone booth (except perhaps Genghis) though goodness knows what he would’ve thought about Joan of Arc’s visions. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/3 "2015-02-16T13:12:39Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Freud was fluent in several languages, including German, English, French, Latin and Greek. Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/4 "2015-02-16T15:32:49Z")
Napoleon spoke French and Italian (Corsica had been Italian until shortly before his birth). Late in his life, he set about learning English but contemporary records show he didn’t speak it well. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/5 "2015-02-16T15:36:27Z")
Beethoven spoke German, French, and a limited amount of Italian. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/6 "2015-02-16T15:41:34Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > My guess is that Genghis Khan would have pretty much been out of the translation loop. Genghis Khan apparently didn’t even speak what we now call Mongolian. He spoke Nikudari, which was a dialect from western Mongolia that was relatively common in his lifetime but is now virtually extinct. When Mongolia modernized, it was an eastern dialect, Buryati, that became the official Mongolian language taught in schools. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/7 "2015-02-16T15:45:46Z")
> [@](#): > > …though goodness knows what he would’ve thought about Joan of Arc’s visions. In fact, it would have had… interesting… effects on everyone’s understanding of the situation, having all communications filtered through Freud. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/8 "2015-02-17T03:16:41Z")
I always worked with the underlying premise that they didn’t communicate with each other. I think it works better if everyone behaves as if they’re sharing a delusional dream. Lincoln surely knows what happens eventually to Socrates and Joan d’ Arc, I hope he wouldn’t spoil it. Billy certainly knows what happens to Lincoln – I just hope he hates the Yankee enough to not spoil history. After all, Billy was a hero to many in the South, as he was simply robbing banks, which were merely funneling profits to Northern US major banking firms. If Freud is as well read as was indicated above in the thread, then he might well be able to spoil the ending for Billy. I see very little good from them communicating at all, especially if he manages to convince Joan she’s not talking to God, there might not be a France anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/9 "2015-02-17T03:45:35Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Freud was fluent in several languages, including German, English, French, Latin and Greek. I suppose we’ll never know, but how different is Greek of the ancient era from the Greek that was taught in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? For one thing, what would we know about pronunciation in ancient times? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/10 "2015-02-17T04:08:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I suppose we’ll never know, but how different is Greek of the ancient era from the Greek that was taught in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? I’m sure it was Classical Greek that Freud studied. The fact that he also studied Latin makes me even more certain in this assumption. The study of the Classics used to be standard in higher academics. The trick is, when you study Classical Greek you study it to _read_ it not to speak it. Certainly pronunciation is part of the study but study for reading is definitely different from study for conversation. Still, if Freud was at least fairly good with his Classical Greek I’m sure he and Socrates would have managed at least functional communication. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/11 "2015-02-17T04:31:36Z")
I can’t help with the actual question, but it made me think of the translation chain Lewis and Clark had to go through at your new point on their expedition. > [@](#): > > The Corps eventually found the camp of the Lemhi Shoshone band led by Chief Cameahwait. In order to communicate with each other, it was necessary to put the following chain of translation in place: Lewis would speak English to Private Francois Labiche, who would speak French to the interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, who would speak Hidatsa to his Shoshone wife Sacagawea, who would speak Shoshone to Chief Cameahwait. Then, Cameahwait’s reply would move back along the language chain back to Lewis. > **[Lewis and Clark | Ken Burns | PBS | Watch Lewis and Clark Documentary | Ken...](https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/lewis-clark/)** > > Enter the world of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the rest of the Corps of Discovery. Full film now streaming. Pardon the hijack. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/12 "2015-02-17T04:43:24Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > …at your new point on their expedition. Damn autocorrect. “At ONE point”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/13 "2015-02-17T14:28:38Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Billy certainly knows what happens to Lincoln – I just hope he hates the Yankee enough to not spoil history. After all, Billy was a hero to many in the South, as he was simply robbing banks, which were merely funneling profits to Northern US major banking firms. I think you have Billy the Kid confused with Jesse James. William Bonney was a northerner who worked as a hired gun and cattle rustler in New Mexico. I don’t believe he ever robbed any banks. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/14 "2015-02-17T19:43:21Z")
It’s a bigger mystery how they learned the correct pronunciation of everybody’s name despite saying “Frood” the entire time before. Or why the Babes spoke modern English. > [@Bayard](#): > > I can’t help with the actual question, but it made me think of the translation chain Lewis and Clark had to go through at your new point on their expedition. “We seek permission to cross your land and trade your game for purple monkey dishwasher.” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/15 "2015-02-17T20:21:22Z")
It’s an even bigger mystery how Beethoven chose Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” as one of his favorite works, when he was obviously deaf by then. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-possible-communication-amongst-bill-and-teds-historical-companions/712808/16 "2015-02-18T15:41:55Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > It’s an even bigger mystery how Beethoven chose Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” as one of his favorite works, when he was obviously deaf by then. I think that explains why he even considered it.