# The languages that famous leaders spoke **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 23, 2003, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944 "2003-02-23T08:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/21 "2013-05-16T15:04:57Z")
President Garfield could write Latin and Greek simultaneously, one with each hand. President Van Buren was raised in a Dutch speaking household, and did not learn English until school age. Herbert Hoover spoke fluent Mandarin. > **[List of multilingual presidents of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multilingual_Presidents_of_the_United_States)** > > Of the 45\[a\] persons who have served as presidents of the United States, at least half have displayed proficiency in speaking or writing a language other than English. Of these, only one, Martin Van Buren, learned English as his second language; his first language was Dutch. Four of the earliest presidents were multilingual, with John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson demonstrating proficiency in a number of foreign languages. > James A. Garfield and his successor Chester A. Arthur knew Ancient ... ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/22 "2013-05-16T15:21:23Z")
Was going to mention Hoover. It’s questionable how “fluent” he was and also whether it was Mandarin. Here’s more about that: [http://owenhaacke.com/was-president-herbert-hoover-fluent-in-chinese/](http://owenhaacke.com/was-president-herbert-hoover-fluent-in-chinese/) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/23 "2013-05-16T16:08:32Z")
US President John Quincy Adams spoke several languages, including French, German, Dutch (he studied at Leiden) and Russian. Given his classical education, I assume he was versed in Latin and Greek, as well. President Herbert Hoover spoke Mandarin Chinese, as did his wife Lou. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/24 "2013-05-16T18:08:13Z")
President Obama apparently speaks some Indonesian from his few years in Indonesia as a child, and has spoken to the Indonesian president, but from my internet searches I can’t find much information on if he is fluent. One cite from an Indonesian woman said he would only use a handful of Indonesian words there and was not fluent, but maybe she knew him before he learned the language well. Anyone know if he’s still fluent? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/25 "2013-05-16T18:30:17Z")
During the last years of his life, his British captors attempted - with limited success - to teach Napoleon English during imprisonment on St. Helena. [A letter in English written by Napoleon.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18335017) Also; thread is from 2003 (!) ---
**Author:** ![Jamie\_Gillis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@Jamie\_Gillis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamie_Gillis)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/26 "2013-05-16T20:33:19Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I understand that Stalin and Napolean spoke Russian and French, respectively, with atrocious accents. > > I am sure that Jefferson spoke French, as did Franklin. I\*\* think both Jimmy Carter and W are quite fluent in Spanish.\*\* I just read that Chirac has traveled extensively and even lived in the US, so presumably speaks pretty good American. > > Since many of the British prime ministers went to Oxbridge, I would assume that many of the pre-20th century ones must have spoken Latin. And of course, I imagine that the early Norman kings of England must have spoken at least some English. I don’t know who was the first king who spoke it as a native language though. I think every king (and Queen) has spoken French. > > Oh yes, the current prime minister of Canada speaks somewhat fractured English. That’s difficult to believe considering his command of English ---
**Author:** ![Jamie\_Gillis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@Jamie\_Gillis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamie_Gillis)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/27 "2013-05-16T20:37:09Z")
Not a world leader, but I understand that Mrs. Cleaver could speak Jive. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/28 "2013-05-16T20:43:02Z")
Most, if not all, Canadian prime ministers from Trudeau onwards (i.e., since 1968) have spoken both French and English with varying degrees of fluency. (I say “most” because I can’t find information one way or the other on Kim Campbell.) In these cases, one of those was their native language, and one was not. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/29 "2013-05-16T21:07:34Z")
Benito Mussolini spoke several languages besides his native Italian. I read once that at the Munich Conference he was the only person who could speak to all of the other leaders present without a translator, which would mean he spoke English, French, and German. England’s Elizabeth I spoke French, Greek, Italian, Latin, and Spanish fluently (along with her native English) and also knew some Welsh and Portuguese. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/30 "2013-05-16T21:13:21Z")
I’ve read that FDR liked to say he spoke German. He had toured Europe when he was young and lived in Germany for several months. But I’ve also heard that Roosevelt greatly overestimated his abilities and his German was almost incomprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/31 "2013-05-16T21:23:51Z")
David Lloyd-George (British Prime Minister during WWI) spoke Welsh as his first language ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/32 "2013-05-16T21:51:03Z")
> [@Jamie\_Gillis](#): > > That’s difficult to believe considering his command of English Go look at the date of my posting. This thread is a ten year old zombie. At the time, the PM was Jean Chretien. His English was fairly heavily accented although fluent. The current PM is a native English speaker who has apparently put some effort into learning French. The PM between them, Paul Martin, would have been utterly bilingual, as of course, was Pierre Elliot Trudeau. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/33 "2013-05-16T21:52:22Z")
Decades after WW2 was over, I recall reading a New York Times piece by Elliott Roosevelt, FDR’s son, who had taken part in some diplomatic missions with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Roosevelt said that there were always interpreters telling Stalin what Roosevelt was saying and vice versa. But Roosevelt was watching Stalin’s face, and he saw that Stalin regularly smiled or grimaced or gave some kind of reaction BEFORE the interpreters told him anything in Russian. Roosevelt said he then asked Stalin, “You speak English, don’t you?” Stalin then burst out laughing and said, “So, you caught me! Yes, I speak some English. Understand even more.” ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/34 "2013-05-17T12:35:57Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Go look at the date of my posting. This thread is a ten year old zombie. At the time, the PM was Jean Chretien. His English was fairly heavily accented although fluent. The current PM is a native English speaker who has apparently put some effort into learning French. The PM between them, Paul Martin, would have been utterly bilingual, as of course, was Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Given that **Jamie Gillis** bolded a sentence about George W. Bush when quoting you, I think it was actually intended as a Dubya joke. But my initial reaction to his post was the same as yours. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/35 "2013-05-17T13:44:20Z")
> [@mkl12](#): > > Vladimir Putin speaks German perfectly. And Angela Merkel is fluent in Russian (and in English). I wonder in what language they converse or if they switch from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/36 "2013-05-17T15:05:07Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And Angela Merkel is fluent in Russian (and in English). I wonder in what language they converse or if they switch from time to time. Wouldn’t surprise me to learn they speak in their own languages and use interpreters almost all of the time - even if they’re each fluent in the other’s language, their staffers in the room may not be. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/37 "2013-05-17T20:30:14Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Wouldn’t surprise me to learn they speak in their own languages and use interpreters almost all of the time - even if they’re each fluent in the other’s language, their staffers in the room may not be. In an official conversation, sure, but there must be some more private moments during their meetings when they are talking eye to eye. I meant those. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/38 "2013-05-17T21:31:23Z")
I had a collection of letters by J.R.R. Tolkien which included his letter of application for an Oxford teaching post. It included a fluency list of I think well over 10 languages. Unfortunately I gave the book away to some unappreciative fool who lost it, but Tolkien’s entry in the Wiki article on polyglotism has an list that looks close: Old English Middle English Medieval Welsh Welsh Finnish Gothic Greek Italian Old Norse Spanish I am quite sure the book I owned listed Icelandic. Having had a turn of the 20th century English education he must surely have mastered Latin as well. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/39 "2013-05-17T21:40:34Z")
I was unaware J.R.R. Tolkien was a political leader. Ignorance fought! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/40 "2013-05-17T21:42:00Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > In an official conversation, sure, but there must be some more private moments during their meetings when they are talking eye to eye. I meant those. Putin and Merkle having a private moment? Brain bleach! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944.md?page=3)