# Does President Obama speak any foreign languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195 "2010-11-10T17:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/21 "2010-11-11T00:05:37Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > There is no such thing as speaking without an accent. That ‘absence’ of accent is in itself an accent. That’s nitpicking. Clearly, **Hari Seldon** is referring to having a foreign accent when pronouncing a certain language, as opposed to having an accent associated with a certain region or class or whatever but not with non-native speaker status. ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/22 "2010-11-11T00:11:23Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It must be possible. I spoke Serbo-Croatian when I was little, but I lost it after starting school. > > I have also know three Filipinos who grew up in suburban Manilla. They were from upscale families. Anyway they went to English only schools over there. > > I remember saying, "How is it possible for you to be born in the Philippines, go to school there and come to the USA after your 18 and not know ANY Tagalog or any other Philippine language. > . English the medium of instruction of schools in the Philippines. Classes are taught in English and textbooks are in English, with the exception of Filipino language and Filipino history/civics classes. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/23 "2010-11-11T00:16:30Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > So with the OP answered, can I plug a question of my own? What about other POTUSes, what languages other than English (if any) did they speak? From the [language log](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004699.html) > [@](#): > > In the 2004 election, John Kerry’s ability to speak French played a certain role. In anticipation of the 2008 election, I’ve gathered what information I could about the linguistic abilities of potential candidates. Curiously, it seems that few American Presidents have been able to speak any language other than English. Only one has had a language other than English as his first language: though born in New York State, Martin van Buren (1837-1841), spoke Dutch before he spoke English. Of recent Presidents, Jimmy Carter is reported to speak imperfect but functional Spanish. I don’t know if he did when he was President or if he has improved in his retirement. As far as I can tell, no other recent President has been able to speak a language other than English. (President George Bush is often said to speak Spanish, but most of my sources indicate that he speaks it very poorly. However, he apparently understands Spanish well. His brother Jeb, however, is truly fluent.) Wikipedia, as always, has a [list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_who_knew_a_foreign_language) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/24 "2010-11-11T00:32:01Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > That’s nitpicking. Clearly, **Hari Seldon** is referring to having a foreign accent when pronouncing a certain language, as opposed to having an accent associated with a certain region or class or whatever but not with non-native speaker status. Sorry, but people talking about being accentless is one of my bugbears. It annoys the tits off of me. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/25 "2010-11-11T01:34:57Z")
Young children can definitely lose languages as quickly as they can learn them. My older sister lived in a small town in Guizhou, China, before my family left when she was 7. According to my parents, she could speak the local dialect very well. She doesn’t remember any of that now whatsoever as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/26 "2010-11-11T05:03:54Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > Young children can definitely lose languages as quickly as they can learn them. My older sister lived in a small town in Guizhou, China, before my family left when she was 7. According to my parents, she could speak the local dialect very well. She doesn’t remember any of that now whatsoever as an adult. Just curious what small city or where it was near? I spent some time traveling around Guizhou in the 1980’s and loved it – especially the Dong and Miao Minority areas. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/27 "2010-11-11T05:13:57Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > There is an undergraduate language requirement at Columbia (at least there was when I was there–Obama graduated a few years after I did) and while it falls considerably short of fluency, my French got me through several months of living there. Obama must speak some language with a fair amount of proficiency. I would like to point out that even though the university I went to also has an undergrad torture requirement and I actually managed to pass it I was never even close to having any ability to speak it with any sort of proficiency. (I’m not saying he does or doesn’t, I’m just pointing out you can’t assume it because you now know of one person where this is not true. Oh before anybody asks no I didn’t cheat although I should have cheated my ass off, both cheeks.) ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/28 "2010-11-11T06:18:24Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Just curious what small city or where it was near? I spent some time traveling around Guizhou in the 1980’s and loved it – especially the Dong and Miao Minority areas. I don’t know. These all happened in the late 60s and early 70s before I was even born, so I don’t know all the details. My parents were sent there after med school to work in a rural hospital. They are not very fond of the experience. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/29 "2010-11-12T21:49:25Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > I would like to point out that even though the university I went to also has an undergrad torture requirement and I actually managed to pass it I was never even close to having any ability to speak it with any sort of proficiency. (I’m not saying he does or doesn’t, I’m just pointing out you can’t assume it because you now know of one person where this is not true. Oh before anybody asks no I didn’t cheat although I should have cheated my ass off, both cheeks.) Ditto. Though advised multiple times not to, I took Latin as my language as that’s what I took in HS. I even took a Latin Literature course for distros (less literature-analysis than in English Literature, right?). I never felt I really understood any of it, and definitely needed a dictionary as my vocabulary is absolutely atrocious. I can read textbook Latin decently, but anything people actually wrote? Forget it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/30 "2010-11-12T22:48:28Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > I would like to point out that even though the university I went to also has an undergrad torture requirement and I actually managed to pass it I was never even close to having any ability to speak it with any sort of proficiency. (I’m not saying he does or doesn’t, I’m just pointing out you can’t assume it because you now know of one person where this is not true. Oh before anybody asks no I didn’t cheat although I should have cheated my ass off, both cheeks.) Yeah, my undergraduate college’s language requirement was exclusively about literature. We had a very difficult language requirement. Most kids had to take at least 2 or 3 semester to pass, but it wasn’t about speaking. I had 4 years of HS Spanish, and still had to do one semester. 100% literature. On the topic of other presidents, I thought Nixon was proficient in French. Clinton, of course, was fluent in the universal language of love! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/31 "2010-11-12T23:48:45Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > So with the OP answered, can I plug a question of my own? What about other POTUSes, what languages other than English (if any) did they speak? George Bush Jr. was fluent in gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/32 "2010-11-12T23:57:17Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > I would like to point out that even though the university I went to also has an undergrad torture requirement and I actually managed to pass it I was never even close to having any ability to speak it with any sort of proficiency. (I’m not saying he does or doesn’t, I’m just pointing out you can’t assume it because you now know of one person where this is not true. Oh before anybody asks no I didn’t cheat although I should have cheated my ass off, both cheeks.) That you will have to explain. Or else torture has entered American culture in a way I wasnt aware of. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/33 "2010-11-13T13:39:15Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > That you will have to explain. Or else torture has entered American culture in a way I wasnt aware of. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12629921&postcount=38](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12629921&postcount=38) I would think driving someone literally crazy would count as torture. (Of course you’ve only got my word for it, I admit that.) ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/34 "2010-11-13T14:33:25Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > I would like to point out that even though the university I went to also has an undergrad torture requirement and I actually managed to pass it I was never even close to having any ability to speak it with any sort of proficiency. > [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > That you will have to explain. Or else torture has entered American culture in a way I wasnt aware of. Many foreign language classes, IME, seem to be run a lot like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8). ---
**Author:** ![Godinama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@Godinama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godinama)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/35 "2010-11-13T19:11:18Z")
Wiki says [yes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_who_knew_a_foreign_language#Barack_Obama) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/36 "2010-11-15T06:53:30Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Also, almost completely irrelevant, but flipping around that blog I found the surprising fact that Colin Powell speaks fluent Yiddish. Apparently as a kid he worked in a baby-supply store in the Bronx that catered to the local Jewish population. According to [snopes](http://www.snopes.com/glurge/powell.asp) he isn’t fluent but does have some knowledge of Yiddish. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/37 "2010-11-15T15:48:12Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I studied French in Middle School, and never had any exposure to the language after that. Then, 40 years later, I went to Paris for the first time. I was amazed at how many words came back to me, \*once I was surrounded by the language. [quote truncated] Yeah, this is my experience, too. I took high school Spanish (and two weeks in college before deciding that Spanish teachers were too damned bubbly - so I switched to German, seeking a more unfriendly language… and got what I bartered for). However, going on visits to various places in South America a decade later, I found that after about 1-2 days, I was conversationally proficient again (local idioms still being a tremendous source of confusion, however). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/38 "2010-11-15T17:23:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > George Bush Jr. was fluent in gibberish. Minor nitpick: George W. Bush isn’t a “junior”, as he doesn’t share the full name of his father, George H. W. Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/39 "2010-11-15T19:49:41Z")
FWIW, I don’t know if/how I could find a cite online, but I read a book awhile back called “How to Learn any Language”, and it mentioned a few times that Indonesian is extraordinarily easy to learn. The easiest foreign language to learn, it said, if I recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195/40 "2010-11-15T21:11:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > George Bush Jr. was fluent in gibberish. [mod note] Save the political jabs for GD or the Pit. Do not do this in GQ. [/mod note] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-president-obama-speak-any-foreign-languages/560195.md?page=3)