# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**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, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/41 "2013-05-17T21:44:08Z")
> [@D18](#): > > Putin and Merkle having a private moment? Brain bleach! :smack: 😃 ---
**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:** [May 17, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/42 "2013-05-17T22:50:05Z")
The Kims, of N. Korea, speak every language in the world, fluently. Natch. 😃 ---
**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:** [May 17, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/43 "2013-05-17T23:12:18Z")
> [@D18](#): > > I was unaware J.R.R. Tolkien was a political leader. Ignorance fought! 😉 All these other people were mere world leaders. Tolkien was a world _creator_. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/44 "2013-05-18T02:34:17Z")
> [@D18](#): > > I was unaware J.R.R. Tolkien was a political leader. Ignorance fought! 😉 Oops. But how about a literary leader? An artistic leader? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/45 "2013-05-18T03:59:37Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > 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: > **Gothic** I wasn’t aware Gothic was a language? Gonna read up on that! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/46 "2013-05-18T05:28:46Z")
The current Pakiatani President can speak, English, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi and Balochi. ---
**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 18, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/47 "2013-05-18T06:48:05Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I wasn’t aware Gothic was a language? Gonna read up on that! There is a partial copy of a Bible that was translated into Gothic and a few other scattered documents. From these, modern linguists have been able to recreate the Gothic language. And then Tolkein decided to go ahead and write some poems in Gothic. So we have an unusual situation where the only original literature we have that was composed in a language was written over a thousand years after the language had died. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/48 "2013-05-18T13:11:49Z")
Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, was fluent in several languages. In addition to the Javanese language of his childhood, he was a master of Sundanese, Balinese and of Indonesian, and especially strong in Dutch. He was also quite comfortable in German, English, French, Arabic, and Japanese. > **[Sukarno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukarno)** > > 1st President of Indonesia > > Sukarno or Soekarno (/suːˈkɑːrnoʊ/ soo-KAR-noh, Indonesian: \[suˈkarno\]; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, Javanese: \[ˈkʊsnɔ\];\[needs surname IPA\] 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/49 "2013-05-19T04:47:56Z")
On the Chinese side of the house Deng Xiaoping spoke Sichuanese, Mandarin and some French. At least he picked up a preference for croissants from his time in France. Lee Teng-hui, former President of Taiwan, spoke Taiwanese, Japanese, Mandarin and English. Ironically enough, Mandarin seemed to be his worst language. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/50 "2013-05-20T01:00:20Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I wasn’t aware Gothic was a language? Gonna read up on that! > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There is a partial copy of a Bible that was translated into Gothic and a few other scattered documents. From these, modern linguists have been able to recreate the Gothic language. And then Tolkein decided to go ahead and write some poems in Gothic. So we have an unusual situation where the only original literature we have that was composed in a language was written over a thousand years after the language had died. [Atta unsar](http://languageserver.uni-graz.at/ls/img?id=000000004249), þu in himinam, weihnai namo þein, qimai þiudinassus þeins, wairþai wilja þeins, swe in himina jah ana airþai. Hlaif unsarana þana sinteinan gif uns himma daga, jah aflet uns þatei skulans sijaima, swaswe jah weis afletam þaim skulam unsaraim, jah ni briggais uns in fraistubnjai, ak lausei uns af þamma ubilin; unte þeina ist þiudangardi jah mahts jah wulþus in aiwins. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944/51 "2013-05-20T13:56:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There is a partial copy of a Bible that was translated into Gothic … [Codex Argenteus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Argenteus) ; or ; The Silver Bible. I read many years ago that the Swedish 17th century king Gustaf II Adolf handled five languages, including Gaelic, fluently and could manage another five. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-languages-that-famous-leaders-spoke/156944.md?page=2)