James Bond - Cunning Linguist

Ludovico

MrBond wrote:

In the book "James Bond The Secret World of 007" it says Bond knows the following languages:
French (fluent)
German (fluent)
Italian
Greek
Czech
Russian

And he presumably he knows Japanese and some bits of Spanish.

I think this is too many. Bond should be trilingual, fine, and probably know enough Spanish and Italian to get along (as they are Latin languages knowing French is helpful) and he could easily have notions of Russian, again for simple conversations.

Sandy

Ludovico wrote:

MrBond wrote:

In the book "James Bond The Secret World of 007" it says Bond knows the following languages:
French (fluent)
German (fluent)
Italian
Greek
Czech
Russian

And he presumably he knows Japanese and some bits of Spanish.

I think this is too many. Bond should be trilingual, fine, and probably know enough Spanish and Italian to get along (as they are Latin languages knowing French is helpful) and he could easily have notions of Russian, again for simple conversations.

Why too many? Assuming he was trilingual from childhood then it wouldn't be difficult to learn a few others.

Ludovico

Sandy wrote:

Ludovico wrote:

MrBond wrote:

In the book "James Bond The Secret World of 007" it says Bond knows the following languages:
French (fluent)
German (fluent)
Italian
Greek
Czech
Russian

And he presumably he knows Japanese and some bits of Spanish.

I think this is too many. Bond should be trilingual, fine, and probably know enough Spanish and Italian to get along (as they are Latin languages knowing French is helpful) and he could easily have notions of Russian, again for simple conversations.

Why too many? Assuming he was trilingual from childhood then it wouldn't be difficult to learn a few others.

It depends of how deep his knowledge is and I understand that the more languages you know, the easier it is to learn new ones, yet James Bond is not a linguist, he is a spy specialised in special operations. Getting along in Spanish and Italian is easy enough if you know French, but Russian and Greek are very different. Again, he is no linguist and should not be a know-it-all.

RogueAgent

I absolutely loved the way Moneypenny delivered that line in TND! :))

0013

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but in LALD Bond speaks some Italian while conversing with both Ms. Caruso and Moneypenny at the beginning of the film.

And then again in FYEO to the carriage driver in Cortina. I wonder if Roger's wife Luisa had some influece in that. Perhaps he learnt a little Italian from his wife.

Sandy

0013 wrote:

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but in LALD Bond speaks some Italian while conversing with both Ms. Caruso and Moneypenny at the beginning of the film.

And then again in FYEO to the carriage driver in Cortina. I wonder if Roger's wife Luisa had some influece in that. Perhaps he learnt a little Italian from his wife.

Yes, I would guess so. Well spotted.

gt007

TheWizardOfIce wrote:

FYEO - Spanish when he gets the villagers to push the 2 CV and Greek at the market when they buy some fruit. I've got a feeling there might be a line of Italian in there too somwhere when he checks into he hotel.

Actually, he got it wrong at the market. He said "παρακαλώ" ("you're welcome") instead of "ευχαριστώ" ("thank you").

He also said "γεια σου" ("cheers") to Columbo on his boat.

Ludovico

gt007 wrote:

TheWizardOfIce wrote:

FYEO - Spanish when he gets the villagers to push the 2 CV and Greek at the market when they buy some fruit. I've got a feeling there might be a line of Italian in there too somwhere when he checks into he hotel.

Actually, he got it wrong at the market. He said "παρακαλώ" ("you're welcome") instead of "ευχαριστώ" ("thank you").

He also said "γεια σου" ("cheers") to Columbo on his boat.

Good, that means he's not all knowing.

4EverBonded

And indeed he is supposed to have a achieved a first in Oriental languages from ... where was it, Cambridge ...

I like it when Bond speaks a phrase or two in another language. It definitely would be part of his vocation; a real asset for a spy.

4EverBonded

Just copied from askmen.com website; do we think these are all accurate?:

Bond became a 00 at the age of 38
In each movie, we learn a little more about not only Bond, but also his background -- and it all amounts to what would be a very impressive resume. A decorated serviceman, Bond attended the University of Geneva, served in the Royal Navy and later joined the special forces. While there, he was successful in several key missions across the globe. Still needing a challenge, Bond joined MI6 at the age of 30, and 8 years later received the prestigious 00 status, granting him a licence to kill for his country. More than just a typical action hero, the cerebral Bond holds a degree in Oriental languages, is fluent in English, French, German, Italian, and Russian, and can get by with passable Greek, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_200/233b_special_feature.html#ixzz2Nq2jggBM


(and sorry for not adding to my previous post ...)

Sandy

@4EverBonded I believe those informations came from the dossier released at the time of CR. A most fascinating read, which adapts the informations from Fleming to the Craig timeline while keeping it surprisingly faithful to canon.

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/site/flash.html

4EverBonded

Oh I will check those out - thanks!!

0013

We've discussed which languages he speaks. What about which Bond utter them best?
I'd say Moore's Italian is the must natural, though with imperfect accent, he reflects a good commanding of the language.
The worst for me would be Brosnan's French at Monte Carlo (GE) and German at the airport (TND). It seems too forced and amateur, and those are the two languages that Bond (Fleming's) spoke like a native.
Craig's Spanish in QOS wasn't the best but neither the worst. It's better when Mathis speaks Italian with his goomah and Bond smiles as he's understanding everything. (By the way, his Auf Wiedersehen to Monsieur Mendel was very good.)
It would have been great to hear Dalton speaking German! His intensity and search for perfection would have made of that moment as coming for a Wagner opera.

StirredNotShaken

Nobody's mentioned LALD. Moore's first ever words as Bond were in Italian, I believe.

0013

StirredNotShaken wrote:

Nobody's mentioned LALD. Moore's first ever words as Bond were in Italian, I believe.

@0Brady did.

LicencedToKilt69007

I love it when Bond shows his languages skills, it's a good point to see his (many) abilities. My all time favourite is Brosnan speaking German (TND).

- "Guten Tag, kan Ich Ihnen helfen ?"
-"Ja, Mein Büro hat ein(es) Auto reserviert" ;
-"Ein Moment, bitte"

TheWizardOfIce

LicencedToKilt69007 wrote:

I love it when Bond shows his languages skills, it's a good point to see his (many) abilities. My all time favourite is Brosnan speaking German (TND).

- "Guten Tag, kan Ich Ihnen helfen ?"
-"Ja, Mein Büro hat ein(es) Auto reserviert" ;
-"Ein Moment, bitte"

When you say 'all time favourite' I presume you mean for comedy value as this is by far the worst if you ask me. Brozza sounds like a 7 year old reading it for the teacher off the blackboard (which is probably pretty near the mark - I'm guessing there was most likely an idiot board off screen). The bit later on when he says 'dont let her push you about' is equally stilted.

4EverBonded wrote:

Just copied from askmen.com website; do we think these are all accurate?:

Bond became a 00 at the age of 38
In each movie, we learn a little more about not only Bond, but also his background -- and it all amounts to what would be a very impressive resume. A decorated serviceman, Bond attended the University of Geneva, served in the Royal Navy and later joined the special forces. While there, he was successful in several key missions across the globe. Still needing a challenge, Bond joined MI6 at the age of 30, and 8 years later received the prestigious 00 status, granting him a licence to kill for his country. More than just a typical action hero, the cerebral Bond holds a degree in Oriental languages, is fluent in English, French, German, Italian, and Russian, and can get by with passable Greek, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_200/233b_special_feature.html#ixzz2Nq2jggBM


(and sorry for not adding to my previous post ...)

Seems like standards at Cambridge are slipping if a degree in oriental languages only means you are 'passable' in Chinese and Japanese.

SirHenryLeeChaChing

After seeing the car rental scene the other night on cable I have to agree that for someone fluent in German, Brosnan Bond's delivery of these lines is rather halting like he was reading a teleprompter, and certainly not indicative of someone fluent in the language. Lazy acting as far as I'm concerned, those lines should have been learned proficiently along with the English ones. The last line though with the valet did seem to be a bit smoother from my point of view. Whereas Craig Bond's Spanish was quite fluent and more than passable, and you could tell he'd practiced saying it like he has a mastery of the language.

Wiz is right and I'd say "ask men" must not have seen YOLT or they'd have known that he was more than passable in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, which are all Oriental languages last time I checked, and a first means he received top honors and was near or at the top of his class in said languages. How can he then be "just passable?". The person who gave that response there is a clueless moron.

And I still think the "cunning linguist" line of Moneypenny's was just way out of place. Something better fitting for a porn film. I'm sure Lois did not approve.

Aziz_Fekkesh

Bond is already a Renaissance Man of sorts (being packed with so much random knowledge), that knowing more languages wouldn't be much of a stretch.

Perdogg

linglingqi wrote:

Who would like to see Bond show off more of his language skills in future films?

Craig's Bond had a clever line in Spanish in Quantum of Solace, but what other languages would you like to see him speaking?

Also, in what other films have we seen Bond speak in another language? I can only think of Brosnan "brushing up on a little Danish" in Tomorrow Never Dies, and Dalton saying "beautiful" in Pashto or Dari in The Living Daylights.

As a Chinese-speaking Caucasian, I always get a kick out of eavesdropping on conversations without anyone realizing that I understand what is being said. I also enjoy saying something just as I'm about to leave - some of the reactions are priceless. It makes me feel sneaky, almost Bond-like! Has anyone else had similar experiences?

I searched for similar topics with the keyword "linguist", so I hope I'm not duplicating anything! Thanks :)

The scene in TND is cut out when shown on BBCA.

Baltimore_007

Surprised I haven't seen this before. I read many years ago that the actual Ian Fleming creation or character was able to converse in French and German (to an adequate level) as well as some Arabic. Certainly no level of Italian or Spanish as we have seen in previous Bond releases, and not only that, but Bond has managed some Portugese, Chinese and of course undertook a course of Japanese as we learned in You Only Live Twice ?

It was damn strange seeing Bond (Craig) having an almost fluent conversation with someone in Spanish in Quantum of Solace, albeit only a few sentences, although he struggled with Italian, but may have got by with a few words here and there. We have seen Bond before in this native tongue, but only with a few random words. Just seemed a great leap in linguistics after watching before

It seems they're breaking away with the capabilities of the original Fleming character and just adding more languages to Bond's resume with each passing release. I didn't mind a few random words in a foreign tongue, but when Bond utters near paragraphs in another language, maybe questions have to be asked

Stop trying to make Bond more than he is maybe. Getting by in the already stated German and French is all very well, but when Bond becomes a walking-talking multi-translator, it's getting to the point where it appears too much sometimes

battleshipgreygt

thelordflasheart wrote:

I'd like to see the following in a Craig film: a woman says something about Bond (perhaps complimenting him) in French to another woman, thinking he doesn't understand. Then he starts speaking French to her, and when she looks surprised he simply says "My mother was French."

But of course that would enrage certain people because then we'd be finding out "too much" about Bond... ;-)

That's quite funny, but I don't think Bond would ever bring up his mother.

jason_bourne

Based on stock knowledge it's not surprising to hear Bond good but not fluent in Spanish considering he is fluent in French. Both are Romance language, and when I studied basic French and Spanish in college, I noticed the subtle similarities in syntax ( or whatever linguists call it) and helped me to learn both at the same time. He knows Italian so it would be easier. In QoS, he just gave a fake explanation about winning the lottery, and got the room. I think Bond didn't expect the receptionist to have a debate with him in Spanish.

I might be dreaming but I wish I'll hear 007 speak Tagalog (my native language) in a Bond movie in my lifetime; even a simple greeting will do.

LicencedToKilt69007

TheWizardOfIce wrote:

LicencedToKilt69007 wrote:

I love it when Bond shows his languages skills, it's a good point to see his (many) abilities. My all time favourite is Brosnan speaking German (TND).

- "Guten Tag, kan Ich Ihnen helfen ?"
-"Ja, Mein Büro hat ein(es) Auto reserviert" ;
-"Ein Moment, bitte"

When you say 'all time favourite' I presume you mean for comedy value as this is by far the worst if you ask me. Brozza sounds like a 7 year old reading it for the teacher off the blackboard (which is probably pretty near the mark - I'm guessing there was most likely an idiot board off screen). The bit later on when he says 'dont let her push you about' is equally stilted.

4EverBonded wrote:

Just copied from askmen.com website; do we think these are all accurate?:

Bond became a 00 at the age of 38
In each movie, we learn a little more about not only Bond, but also his background -- and it all amounts to what would be a very impressive resume. A decorated serviceman, Bond attended the University of Geneva, served in the Royal Navy and later joined the special forces. While there, he was successful in several key missions across the globe. Still needing a challenge, Bond joined MI6 at the age of 30, and 8 years later received the prestigious 00 status, granting him a licence to kill for his country. More than just a typical action hero, the cerebral Bond holds a degree in Oriental languages, is fluent in English, French, German, Italian, and Russian, and can get by with passable Greek, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_200/233b_special_feature.html#ixzz2Nq2jggBM


(and sorry for not adding to my previous post ...)

Seems like standards at Cambridge are slipping if a degree in oriental languages only means you are 'passable' in Chinese and Japanese.

@TheWizardOfIce : I meant my favourite, certainly not the best. I just liked the style of Brosnan saying it. BTW, I learned Moore IS a cunning linguist in real life, this thanks to watching a Persuaders interview.

TheWizardOfIce

LicencedToKilt69007 wrote:

TheWizardOfIce wrote:

LicencedToKilt69007 wrote:

I love it when Bond shows his languages skills, it's a good point to see his (many) abilities. My all time favourite is Brosnan speaking German (TND).

- "Guten Tag, kan Ich Ihnen helfen ?"
-"Ja, Mein Büro hat ein(es) Auto reserviert" ;
-"Ein Moment, bitte"

When you say 'all time favourite' I presume you mean for comedy value as this is by far the worst if you ask me. Brozza sounds like a 7 year old reading it for the teacher off the blackboard (which is probably pretty near the mark - I'm guessing there was most likely an idiot board off screen). The bit later on when he says 'dont let her push you about' is equally stilted.

4EverBonded wrote:

Just copied from askmen.com website; do we think these are all accurate?:

Bond became a 00 at the age of 38
In each movie, we learn a little more about not only Bond, but also his background -- and it all amounts to what would be a very impressive resume. A decorated serviceman, Bond attended the University of Geneva, served in the Royal Navy and later joined the special forces. While there, he was successful in several key missions across the globe. Still needing a challenge, Bond joined MI6 at the age of 30, and 8 years later received the prestigious 00 status, granting him a licence to kill for his country. More than just a typical action hero, the cerebral Bond holds a degree in Oriental languages, is fluent in English, French, German, Italian, and Russian, and can get by with passable Greek, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_200/233b_special_feature.html#ixzz2Nq2jggBM


(and sorry for not adding to my previous post ...)

Seems like standards at Cambridge are slipping if a degree in oriental languages only means you are 'passable' in Chinese and Japanese.

@TheWizardOfIce : I meant my favourite, certainly not the best. I just liked the style of Brosnan saying it. BTW, I learned Moore IS a cunning linguist in real life, this thanks to watching a Persuaders interview.

Well each to his own although I'm at a loss to understand why you like Bond to deliver his lines like C3PO.

Superintendent

0013 wrote:

And then again in FYEO to the carriage driver in Cortina. I wonder if Roger's wife Luisa had some influece in that. Perhaps he learnt a little Italian from his wife.

Roger Moore speaks Italian very well:

0013

Superintendent wrote:

0013 wrote:

And then again in FYEO to the carriage driver in Cortina. I wonder if Roger's wife Luisa had some influece in that. Perhaps he learnt a little Italian from his wife.

Roger Moore speaks Italian very well:

Indeed he does, but I'm more impressed by his drawing skills!

linglingqi

Wow, both his language and drawing skills are impressive! Do we know if any of the other Bonds are proficient or fluent in another language, perhaps German, French, or Spanish?

Thunderfinger

He doesn t speak Arabic in TLD, but Afghan.

RichardTheBruce

To bring this up to date, Bond introduces himself as Mickey Mouse in Italian for SPECTRE.

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