{"id":434,"date":"2022-08-04T03:46:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T03:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/declansoftware.com\/blog\/?p=434"},"modified":"2022-12-07T22:37:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T22:37:53","slug":"how-well-does-johnny-depp-speak-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.declansoftware.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/how-well-does-johnny-depp-speak-french\/","title":{"rendered":"How well does Johnny Depp speak French?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Johnny Depp does speak French. But not fluently. While his accent is great, he is clearly not confident speaking French in public. His fluency is seriously constrained by a lack of a broad working vocabulary hence his nervous halting manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Johnny-Depp-and-Vanessa-Paradiss-French-Actress\"
Johnny Depp and French actress Vanessa Paradis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However there is no doubting that Depp adopted an excellent strategy for learning French – as the French themselves say: “La meilleure fa\u00e7on d’apprendre une langue \u00e9trang\u00e8re est sur l’oreiller<\/em>.” (‘The best way to learn a foreign language is on a pillow’). When Depp was 35, he started dating the French actress Vanessa Paradis<\/strong>. The relationship lasted 14 years, during which time they had two children – Jack<\/strong> and Lily-Rose<\/strong>. Both children are reportedly bilingual in French and English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the extended period of exposure to French, we most definitely can’t say that Johnny Depp is fluent. It is however interesting that he has a very good accent. This contrasts with his small French vocabulary which severely constrains his fluency. This is a classic sign of an adult who has been immersed in a foreign language but has not made an effort to actually learn it. Unlike children, most adults do not organically accumulate vocabulary purely through exposure, and must make a concerted effort to expand their working vocabulary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also should be mentioned that at 35 years of age – the age Depp started dating Vanessa Paradiss – the returns to immersion have waned considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depp’s good accent but limited fluency contrasts with Bradley Cooper<\/a> who has a great vocabulary but just an OK accent. He studied French academically and only profited from a six-month stint with a French host family in Aix-en-Provence to acquire a French accent. And of course in terms of accent Johnny Depp also benefits from being musically inclined which most definitely helps in acquiring a foreign language accent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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