# Movies where characters learn a foreign language all too quickly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 22, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107 "2026-06-22T17:49:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/1 "2026-06-22T17:49:01Z")
I just recently watched Robinson Crusoe (1997 Pierce Brosnan) and thought, how awfully quickly Friday learned English. He even learned the word “spirit”. Another example, in my dive into old movies, Enemy Mine (1985) comes to mind. The “enemy” quite rapidly learns english. “Robinson Crusoe on mars” is another example, The marsian (or what he is) Is suddenly speaking broken english. Do any of you people have got any other examples? I dont know about Avatar or any new stuff, maybe there are recent examples? ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/2 "2026-06-22T17:51:05Z")
How quick were any of those? Robinson Crusoe and Enemy Mine were both spans of months at least, with nobody else present to talk to. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/3 "2026-06-22T17:52:10Z")
I could not learn an alien language in months. Robinson Crusoe was 6 years altogether. But Friday learned english in no time. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/4 "2026-06-22T17:53:32Z")
In _Pocahontas_, the title character is suddenly able to speak with John Smith in English thanks to a magical gust of wind. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/5 "2026-06-22T18:03:15Z")
It was a joke in **Splash** that Madison picked up English in a day or so by watching TV. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/6 "2026-06-22T18:05:42Z")
I can forgive jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/7 "2026-06-22T18:15:50Z")
If I recolllect correctly, in _The 13th Warrior_, the Arab protagonist suddenly can understand his Norsemen companions‘ speech within one single scene (albeit after spending some time traveling with them and not understanding them). ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/8 "2026-06-22T18:18:17Z")
My SiL has a niece who learned Setswana (Botswana) in 7 weeks. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/9 "2026-06-22T18:20:36Z")
I don’t think that’s meant to actually be instantaneous; it’s just storytelling shorthand for “he eventually learned their language and we don’t want to keep on using subtitles for every scene”. In much the same way that they also had the main characters speaking English, instead of Old Norse. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/10 "2026-06-22T18:23:00Z")
Project Hail Mary. A big part of my issue with that movie was how it swings so wildly from hard sci-fi to extremely soft. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/11 "2026-06-22T18:28:17Z")
I was able to converse in Russian after six weeks at a language camp at the age of 17. Absolute beginners were allowed to speak English only in the first couple of days. The rest of the time, only Russian was used. I wasn’t a complete beginner, but up until then I had only had a few private lessons the year before. It helped that I’d already had two years of high school German, so I was used to dealing with a foreign language. But nothing compares to complete immersion in one. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/12 "2026-06-22T18:28:29Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > If I recolllect correctly, in _The 13th Warrior_, the Arab protagonist suddenly can understand his Norsemen companions‘ speech within one single scene (albeit after spending some time traveling with them and not understanding them). I suppose it’s technically a “single scene”, but it’s also a montage of several months, showing him gradually understanding a little bit more every week. It might be the best “learning a language” scene ever. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cZo7eCh4WXI/maxresdefault.jpg "The 13th Warrior (1999) Old Norse Language") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZo7eCh4WXI) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/13 "2026-06-22T18:44:36Z")
Bart Simpson suddenly becomes fluent in French: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/79BjxQh6Xp0/maxresdefault.jpg "Bart Speaks French | S01E11 - Crepes of Wrath | The Simpsons Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79BjxQh6Xp0) ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/14 "2026-06-22T18:46:27Z")
I don’t think any of the movies show it, but characters like “Mr Clark” in Tom Clancy’s novels seem to learn foreign languages in record time. Of course, immersion helps; but they all master languages well enough to pass as native speakers after only a month or two. This is completely unrealistic. After 50+ years of speaking Russian (and German), it’s still relatively easy for native speakers to peg me as a foreigner, if not an American. (Russians often ask me if I’m from Bulgaria or the Baltics.) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/15 "2026-06-22T18:49:17Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > It was a joke in **Splash** that Madison picked up English in a day or so by watching TV. Also, she wasn’t human. We have no idea how long it takes a mermaid to absorb a language. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/16 "2026-06-22T19:00:05Z")
Many people for whom English is not their first language claim to have learned it watching TV. This was (and still is?) common on game shows like Bob Barker’s _ **Truth or Consequences** _, which was taped in California. I remember Bob interviewing a lot of contestants who had emigrated to the US from Spanish-speaking countries and elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/17 "2026-06-22T19:04:49Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > > > It was a joke in **Splash** that Madison picked up English in a day or so by watching TV. > > Also, she wasn’t human. We have no idea how long it takes a mermaid to absorb a language. > [@Alessan](#): > > [@Alessan](#): > > From Resident Alien we learn how long it takes an alien to learn a language from Law and Order reruns. > [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > > > It was a joke in **Splash** that Madison picked up English in a day or so by watching TV. > > Also, she wasn’t human. We have no idea how long it takes a mermaid to absorb a language. From Resident Alien we learn how long it takes to learn English from Law and Order reruns. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/18 "2026-06-22T19:15:20Z")
in gullivers travels, Gulliver and others learn languages oddly quickly. While originally a book, it was made into various movies. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/19 "2026-06-22T19:43:16Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > Project Hail Mary. Rocky is able to understand English quickly because Eridians have photographic memory - he only needs to hear a word once to remember what it means. For Grace, he’s piecing together the language word by word by asking Rocky what his word is for a thing or concept and entering it into his computer. The book goes into more detail about how they start this process with numbers and elements before moving on to more complex ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107/20 "2026-06-22T19:51:34Z")
**The Fifth Element** So Leelo is the perfect being and learns English in an afternoon watching television. Cool. I think that would affect her speech tho. Corban Dallas: “Leelo, we need to get on the Cruise Ship.” Leelo: “Waaaazzzzaaaaaap.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-characters-learn-a-foreign-language-all-too-quickly/1031107.md?page=2)