Just kidding. Here are our top 5 tips to learn French, brought to you by one of our French linguistics experts. All rights reserved. In the early days of the Police, the band decided to audition for the part of a punk rock band in what else a chewing gum commercial. Her pronunciation is impeccable. "He had a lot of learning difficulties," Sting told the Advocate in 1996. Our next celebrity is a very motivated actor who keeps talking in French despite the fact he lacks some words: John Travolta. They struggle with French but they make the effort. To finish this extraordinary list, we are going to talk about astounding people because they can speak 5 and 7 languages. Vous parlez franais? Speaking in front of a mirror can help you get your mouth and tongue movements right. For example, suppose your conversation partner said "Je viens de Paris, et toi?" Jodie, you can find my Fun French Notebook to write down all your French words and remember the gender. The French language is one of the most widespread in the world. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Learning an accent that's closer to your native accent may come easier than simply learning the Parisian French normally taught in textbooks. Shes the mistress of a successful businessman and theres a poignancy about the story. The first one is the former United States secretary of state (2013-2017), John Kerry. Where do his skills end? Therefore, she was delighted to be able to use her French and sing Je laime mourir by Francis Cabrel. :4 Hacks to Visually Identify the Gender of French words. All Rights reserved. Greet people by saying "salut," "bonjour," and "bonsoir.". He only studied it for 4 years at school and is capable of saying simple sentences with a perfect accent. John Kerry masters superbly French and said to be able to speak Italian, Portuguese, German and Spanish. Whether you're planning to travel to a Francophone country or just want to be able to converse with a French-speaking friend, speaking French is not so much about memorizing countless vocabulary words and grammar rules. How did these famous people learn French in the first place? That is pretty respectable it's impossible to teach kids to be responsible, productive members of society while simultaneously giving them everything they ever wanted for free. One profile says he was a bus conductor for a while, and then he worked as a tax officer, where he presumably stung people with bad tax news. Very good pronunciation even if it's basic: trs bien! Learning is far easier when you enjoy the process and not when its a chore. The interview from the French TV went viral. During the Vietnam War John Kerry deciphered a map in French and saved lives. Justin Bieber (Canadian singer-songwriter) Phil Collins (British singer) Julio Iglesias (Spanish singer) Mick Jagger (British musician) Elton John (British musician) Madonna (American singer, actress) Getting a grasp on how many people speak French and where its spoken will carry you to pretty much every continent in the world. Its also widely spoken in Luxembourg (543,000 speakers). His accent is still quite strong but I love his positive attitude like you can feel in this video: Hugh Grant is another actor showing good vibes. Look for French speakers in your city. The French pop star, who has sold 11million albums worldwide and regularly sells out stadiums throughout the French-speaking world, recently debuted a version of Stings 2004 song Stolen Car, in which she and the ex-Police man duetin French and English. Get the latest on travel, languages and culture with our newsletter. After he got done with those enormously sucky professions, he got a college degree, which is yet another a boringly conventional way to escape the circumstances of your birth. 8. So oui! For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was a Belgian colony, there are 28 million French speakers. Bite-sized French lessons. Sting's parents were not privileged his mom was a hairdresser and his dad owned a dairy shop. Her French isperfect. Nonetheless, knowing these foreign languages allowed him to understand also the culture and the people in order to be a perfect secretary of state. In the following video, you can hear her French in the middle of the song. Ill talk more about International famous people and not national ones. Shes incredibly smart, can read several books per week. He can also speak Korean Definitely hes incredible. So when Sting was born, doctors were all, "Seriously? wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. It was always designed to have a female singing in the chorus: Take me dancing tonight. Because the girl doesnt get enough attention. The most obvious answer is yes, it is because you are in a country of french origin. Canadas commitment to bilingualism is written into its Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and both English and French are recognized as official languages. Ive decided to do the same! You are now subscribed. Yes French and Spanish are similar but Arabic is another story. I think he simply wants to practice. The fair lady with no regrets. And check this out, the song is also widely believed to be among the most requested radio songs of all time, though we're really not sure where that information comes from because it's not like radio DJs are noted for their meticulous recordkeeping skills. Im sure she spent more time with her than with her parents. Lets not forgetlove. You dont believe me? Then its really like a conversation between the two of them; that was interesting for me too. Likewise, John Malkovich spoke French in the movie Les Misrables. I listen, you speak. I just played the guitar. However his French isnt perfect and its hard to understand what he sings sometimes in FrenchI guess its easier to perfect one language first instead of trying several ones at the same time. Im sure this helped him a lot during his political conversations too. The country of Haiti itself, which is also located in North America, accounts for a further 10 million French speakers. I saved up for the other strings.". Thanks! They would ask for some specific words but they can understand everything. What matters is her intention, so lets cheer her up: Continue Shakira! People speak this language at school, at work, in restaurants, at the gym, in government, and at cultural events, so learning it is essential if you plan to spend time in France. The only one she didnt do is Silence of the Lambs. According to a blog post she wrote, Styler was in South America when she got a firsthand aerial view of large swaths of burned and devastated rain forest. ), on These celebrities can speak French (So can YOU!). Are you too in this category? Keep reading to find out all these answers and more, except for the one about "Every Breath you Take" because we really have no idea what the deal is with that super-creepy song. In interviews, Rita has spoken about her pride in being one of Kosovos few famous faces and by ensuring that the language remains part of her life. Singer and French pop star Mylne Farmer talk duo remake of 2004 track "Stolen Car". French is even today one of the official languages of the U.N. and its partners. In 2007, a brief reunion tour seemed to pinpoint why Rolling Stone says the band's rehearsals were mostly just Sting complaining about off tempos and "fluffy chords," whatever that means. On the contrary, be inspired! There are 291,000 French speakers in French Guiana, though over half arent native speakers. They are usually models on Youtube. Still, Sting even today makes $2,000 a day in royalties from "Every Breath You Take." Signum International AG 2023. You might also try watching native French speakers and attempt to mimic their facial expressions and mouth movements. He studied Psychology at the University of Southampton before working as a teacher and translator in Spain, England and Germany. which means "Is that right?" Sure he has an accent, still, bravo! She was born in Paris, so that can explain why she speaks French. But, having learned English fluently while at school, shes since landed many TV and film roles (youll have seen her as Gloria in Modern Family), passed the American citizenship test with a perfect score and has also bagged Hollywood heart-throb Joe Manganiello. Jane Fonda did the same in Et si on vivait ensemble? According to a 1983 article in Teen magazine, which evidently was truthful enough to earn a permanent place on Sting's official website, the band needed to have matching blonde hair in order to be in this commercial, which wait why was that necessary again? I was bitterly stung by what she said. And how many people speak French in the United States? There were no sting operations and there was no enemy-slaying wit. Quoi? * the use or absence of English words Have you seen Lord of the Rings trilogy? The province is home to 7 million French speakers. Democratic Republic of Congo: Africa: 105,044,646 2. Say "Je ne parle pas franais." This means, "I do not speak French." [2] It is pronounced: "Juh nuh pahrl pah frahn-say" (French speakers often leave out the "ne" in a negative sentence, or more commonly, slide it into the first word like "zhun" instead of "juh nuh". She was married to a French doctor, has British-French children, lives in France and is also in French movies. Hugh, Im available whenever you are! It was spread far and wide by Roman colonists, but following the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, many conquered lands became culturally and linguistically isolated. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a population of 77 million, compared to 62 million in France. 4) Politicians And the band thought I looked like a bee, and of course called me 'Sting.'". You can even sing a song in a language you dont speak like opera singers I cant believe I missed him for few years since I studied in Aix as well, As you can see people in this list are real inspirations. Later, when they got children together, Johnny Depp studied French seriously to understand everything. Tu viens de Paris? You can appreciate her perfect French here: Another British and rich woman who can speak French: the author of Harry Potter: J.K Rowling. The celebrities Im going to mention are fluent in French. You'll hear from us soon! Who in the heck gives their kid only one name? Wouldn't that be poetic. Sting is also a godfather. The French pop star, who has sold 11 million albums worldwide and regularly sells out stadiums throughout the French-speaking world, recently debuted a version of Sting 's 2004 song "Stolen. He learned Italian to impress his wife, Livia Giuggioli and her family, and hes even recently applied for Italian citizenship. As if it wasnt enough, she can speak 2 other languages: French and Castillan Spanish. Comment? The rules for liaisons aren't always intuitive. You have almost certainly heard of the Rainforest Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with indigenous communities in vulnerable rain forest ecosystems. "When immigrants came, they were primarily Catholic. I guess it was logical for her to learn it since she reaches the final of the French Open quite often. Moonlighting, of course. DOUBTS ABOUT THE GENDER OF FRENCH WORDS LIKE CELEBS? The first one is Emma Watson. . HmmmmmThis prevents him from sounding natural. In fact, Forbes called French the language of the future! That's one of the reasons why they disbanded less than 10 years after they began, and why Sting always swore that Police reunions would never happen. I got goosebumps when I heard her French. Although it is predominantly a second language for most speakers, there are some regions, such as Abidjan in Ivory Coast, where it has superseded local languages. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, French is the fourth most widely spoken language in the country, with about 2.1 million combined native and non-native speakers. When Styler and Sting spoke to the indigenous people, they learned that the forests were being destroyed mostly by outside interests: "ruthless multinationals" who were burning down the forests so they could graze cattle, or build mining and drilling operations. Fallen in love with French, but still struggling to make yourself understood? Country Continent Population; 1. The two sat down with Rolling Stone ahead of the November 6th release of InterstellairesFarmers 11th studio album, which will feature Stolen Car and is available for preorder October 3rd to talk about pilfering cars in two languages. Just to prove that he's still in touch with the common folk, in the early 1990s Sting and his wife bought a modest country home in Wiltshire, England. We have just seen how our famous people learned French. First, we have the British actor Freddie Highmore. Oh la la. Im sure he could speak French in a whole movie (the dream, non?). Kevin Kline, maybe you dont know it but I offer 30 minute-classes where you could practice with me. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. All French Compilations This 1 hour of French content WILL make your French sound more natural! Although the overwhelming majority of French speakers are in Europe, Africa and North America, there are also pockets of speakers in Asia, the Middle East, South America and Oceania. Sting sang in French and collaborated with French singers such as the pop singer Mylne Farmer and the rap singer Gims. Ok so maybe they have a few (try million) more Instagram followers than us, BUT plenty of them also realize the value of learning another language and generally becoming well-rounded, skillful people. I have classified famous people in 5 categories: 1) Actors Her native language is Czech. Owing to population growth in Africa, where approximately 50 percent of native French speakers live, the total number of French speakers could rise to as much as 700 million by 2050, according to demographers. Check this video out! I guess it was also because she could speak several languages. Im sure you assume as a queen she ought to speak other languages, fair enough! The very important persons in this list are more then bilingual. You dont have to be an expert to hear if our favorite movie star, singer or athlete can say a few words or sustain a whole conversation in French. Tom Hiddleston speaks four languages. Very good pronunciation even if its basic: trs bien! Enjoy! Turn your smartphone into a French speaker. 1. "Sting" is an unquestionably cool name. In Oceania, French is the official language of the Pacific island of Vanuatu, where it's spoken by about 89,000 people. She loves France. * learning in immersion Shes perfectly bilingual as you can see here: Then, we have Johnny Depp. My eyes are stinging. ", According to Oregon Live, Sting called his childhood "miserable," but said if he could go back he wouldn't change anything about it. "It was black and yellow hoops. If you add all these French speakers together, you come to around 80 million, which makes French the third most widely spoken mother tongue in Europe after Russian and German. My translation is very close to what he first wrote, and then I added a few little things that were really French and my style. Shes won an oscar. Styler and Sting set up the Rainforest Foundation with the intent to protect the indigenous people's rights to their own land. Kids with dyspraxia may have trouble writing or typing, and can even have difficulty learning to do ordinary kid things like riding a bike and playing with other children. Its now available in the U.S., to be followed with a video next month. Im not going to check her German and will trust her. These celebrities are polyglots. You can also use simple phrases to keep a conversation moving naturally, like "'est a?" Brigitte is also an actress, and so is Giacomo, who is the youngest. The same happened with Kristin Scott-Thomas. [1] The "j" in "bonjour" is soft; it's a "zh" sound, or a combination between "sh" and . Watch the facial expressions and mouth movements of native speakers as they converse with you. I can see 2 scenarios: you secretly love this language and attract a French partner or you fall in love with a French person and start learning this fantastic language. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Anyway he has not one but six adult children, and they're all as talented and good-looking as their dad, so hey maybe there is something to that whole "100 percent charmed life" theory. This happens with children who can repeat exactly like native people. You have a few options for a reply. Sting's son Jake has a developmental coordination disorder called dyspraxia, which affects motor coordination and speech. I thought that was very impressive, very beautiful and poetic. Im telling you this because if some of them started French as a moral duty, they had to like it in the process to continue. Emelia Clarke, Hugh Jackman, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Grant (the 3 Hugh), Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Laurie, Freddie Highmore, Kevin Kline and Tom Hiddleston learned French at school. Sting was not born with the name "Sting"; in fact, he has a very not-very-rock-star name on his birth certificate: Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. He started it to seduce the French singer Vanessa Paradis. Speaking languages helps diplomatic relationships, Learn the gerund and imparfait in this French song. It was just an ugly black and yellow sweater. Rumor has it, Tom can speak nine different languages, though he's only fluent in four of them: English, Spanish, French, and Greek. Second is Emma Thompson. Actress and model Sofia Vergara grew up in Colombia and began her career as the host of several Spanish-speaking TV shows in American. Here's how Sting really got his name: "I would wear a sweater that my girlfriend had knit for me," he said in an interview. Not in the horse's head in your bed sense of the word, but in the traditional sense and his godchild is none other than Rocco Ritchie, who is Madonna's older son. His French is amazing. Among the other basic conjugations you may need for parler are the subjunctive and the conditional. So that's really weird but still, it's so very rock star. Did you know that French is one of the fastest growing languages in the world and that about half of all French speakers live in Africa? Another form of the past tense is the pass compos. I'm from the United States."). Remember that everyone has an accent. Nov. 17, 2015 Updated: Nov. 17, 2015 11:29 a.m. 18. Later, she was naturalized American at 20 years. J'ai t piqu. Last Updated: February 6, 2023 Do you speak other languages apart your native one and French? French is also the procedural language for the European Union, the only language used for deliberations at the Court of Justice for the EU, and one of the recognized working languages of the United Nations. First impressions matter. No offense Oliver, your French is already amazing! French, like Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish, is a Romance language. and "Ah bon? Sting, it turns out, is perfectly equipped to steal a fancy car and run off with a Frenchwoman, as he does in the video hes fluent in French. Still, even if they're successful because of Sting's fame, they're not going to be successful because of his fortune, because according to the Guardian he plans to leave hardly any of it to them. Lots of rock stars make it, but few of them make it quite as spectacularly and permanently as Sting. They learned French for love and passion. Just hear how she speaks French. One of todays most successful entrepreneurs: its easy to assume that the founder of Facebook learned Mandarin because its spoken by over a billion people. Instead, focus on improving your pronunciation and having basic conversations in the language. You can tell shes clever. And afterward, Andy Summers admitted that he avoids thinking about his former bandmates to the point that he doesn't even know what projects either of them are working on. Another good example to follow is the Australian actor Hugh Jackman. He has no accent at all when he communicates in English or French (I havent checked his German and Italian but I can guess hes talented as well). Its worth noting that this includes French in all its varieties: Haitian Creole, for example, is also considered under the same broad umbrella as Quebecois and Cajun. Later she married an Italian man and learned the language. The former Prime Minister Tony Blair often goes to France for vacation. We want to hear it. Sting: I was very happy that Mylne came to my show, obviously, and we met, and she said, Do you have any songs that would be appropriate that we could sing together? And immediately I thought of Stolen Car. Id written it almost 12 years ago. **1: Start with useful, practical French phrases. I guess he was ashamed not to be able to say a few words in French to his audience and decided to correct that Have a look at this video: With Neymar, its another story. Phil Collins made the French version and 4 others for the movie Tarzan. Though Rita moved to England from Kosovo when she was just a toddler, growing up speaking to her Kosovar-Albanian parents in their mother tongue means shes fluent in Albanian. Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. The family lived in a shipbuilding town not far from the shipyards, in fact, Sting once told David Letterman that his earliest memory was "the sky being blotted out by a massive ship, towering above the house. In the movie he could speak an invented language (his author J.R.R Tolkien was passionate about languages and even invented one). But most bands can get past the bickering and forget their differences long enough to create music. A very good pronunciation even if its basic: trs bien! While its formal use has generally been on the decline in these countries, it remains widely studied and spoken among the elderly, elites and in many institutions of higher education. Moreover, you can tell about the accent and intonation. Speaking fluently French with an accent: excellent! There are 291,000 French speakers in French Guiana, though over half aren't native speakers.
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