Speaks French Quotes

• I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.

  Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

  Horse, War, Italian

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• Bon chance, mon ami," Dante called softly. Levet allowed himself a small smile. A vampire who could speak French. He couldn't be all bad.

  Alexandra Ivy

  Vampire, Chance, Speak

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• He may well speak French and Latin and half a dozen languages, but since he has nothing to say – what good are they?

  Philippa Gregory

  Latin, Half, Dozen

  Philippa Gregory (2011). “Philippa Gregory's Tudor Court 6-Book Boxed Set: The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover, and The Other Queen”, p.90, Simon and Schuster

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• Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French.

  P. G. Wodehouse

  Men, Looks, Faces

  "The Luck of the Bodkins". Book by P. G. Wodehouse, 1935.

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• Many Europeans think that all Moroccans speak French, but no. I had to make an effort to learn it when I studied French literature at the university in Rabat.

  Abdellah Taia

  Thinking, Effort, Literature

  "No one is capable of freeing oneself from society". Interview with Rebecka Bülow, logger.believermag.com. October 7, 2014.

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• I studied French forever, and when do I ever speak French? I clearly should have studied Spanish. I wish I had stuck with music, because that would still be great. I really wish I had learned to surf earlier in my life.

  Edward Norton

  Should Have, Forever, Wish

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

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• Even if I'm in Japan and I don't speak Japanese and the woman facing me doesn't speak French but she's dressed in Rykiel, and she recognizes me, then we have a common language right away.

  Sonia Rykiel

  Japan, Common, Language

  Interview with Rebecca Voight, www.interviewmagazine.com. November 22, 2008.

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• In France, everyone speaks French 'cause they think it's cool. Gives 'em, gives 'em an excuse to smoke.

  Scott Thompson

  Thinking, Giving, Ems

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• I speak French with timidity, and not flowingly--except when excited. When using that language I have often noticed that I have hardly ever been mistaken for a Frenchman, except, perhaps, by horses; never, I believe, by people.

  Mark Twain

  Horse, Believe, People

  Mark Twain (1992). “Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays, Volume 1: 1852-1890”, p.1020, Library of America

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• I don't like people who speak French in public places. This includes the French.

  Ian Shoales

  People, Speak

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• I love Russian, because it's delicious to speak like that. If you have to speak French, you can also do that, because it's not difficult. Accents are a cool thing to do. And I love doing them.

  Hector Elizondo

  Accents, Difficult, Things To Do

  "Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo talk The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement". Interview with B. Alan Orange, movieweb.com. August 12, 2004.

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• In the province of Quebec where I come from, we speak French and the only cosmopolitan city is Montreal. Every time we tackle the subject of immigration and racial tension, it's an issue that concerns Montreal. Also, in Quebec, we have this added issue that we want people to speak French, because French is always on the verge of disappearing to some extent. I work, play and do everything in French.

  Philippe Falardeau

  Play, Cities, Issues

  Source: collider.com

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• I can speak French but I cannot understand it.

  Mark Twain

  Speak, I Can

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.41, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• John Kerry speaks French fluently. Democrats are saying he's one in a million. A war hero who speaks French, isn't it more like one in a trillion?

  Jay Leno

  War, Hero, Democracy

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• I think I get really into comfort music: '60s stuff, '50s stuff like Frankie Avalon. I love it - such simple songs, but so well written. That, and old French pop. I love that, because I don't speak French. It's all just pop music! But I love it because it just makes me focus on the melodies.

  Michael Benjamin Lerner

  Song, Thinking, Simple

  "Michael Benjamin Lerner of Telekinesis". Interview With Cory Casciato, music.avclub.com. March 17, 2011.

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• Once I chanted the Hare Krishna mantra all the way from France to Portugal, nonstop. I drove for about twenty-three hours and chanted all the way. It gets you feeling a bit invincible. The funny thing was that I didn't even know where I was going. I mean I had bought a map, and I knew basically which way I was aiming, but I couldn't speak French, Spanish, or Portuguese. But none of that seemed to matter. You know, once you get chanting, then things start to happen transcendentally.

  George Harrison

  Mean, Funny Things, Feelings

  "The Mantra 'Keeps Me in Tune with Reality'". Interview with Mukunda Goswami, www.beliefnet.com. September 4, 1982.

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• People say that I can't speak French. C'est pas vraiment placé. I'm getting better every day. I just have to keep practising. That's the truth.

  Kevin O'Leary

  People, Get Better, I Can

  Source: www.macleans.ca

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• I love languages (I speak French and Spanish and have been studying Russian) and accents; so one definite dream role would be being able to combine those elements into a character.

  Sundra Oakley

  Dream, Character, Able

  Source: www.nerdprobs.com

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• Eleanor Roosevelt's very helpful to a lot of children who cannot speak French, who do not write well. And Marie Souvestre is fierce. She tears up students' papers that are not, you know, perfect. And Eleanor Roosevelt goes around, again, being incredibly helpful to children in need, children in trouble. And her best friends are the naughtiest girls who are in trouble. And she is a leader. And she is encouraged to be a leader. And everybody falls in love with her. She's a star.

  Blanche Wiesen Cook

  Girl, Falling In Love, Stars

  Source: www.pbs.org

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• Eleanor Roosevelt loved to write. She was a wonderful child writer. I mean, she wrote beautiful essays and stories as a child. And Marie Souvestre really appreciated Eleanor Roosevelt's talents and encouraged her talents. Also, she spoke perfect French. She grew up speaking French. She's now at a french-speaking school where, you know, girls are coming from all over the world. Not everybody speaks French.

  Blanche Wiesen Cook

  Beautiful, Girl, Children

  Source: www.pbs.org

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• The whole military structure in Haiti that existed until the early 1990s was put in place by the American occupation. At the top there were Southern white officers, who led an army that crushed the indigenous resistance - the cacos. A high-ranking U.S. officer said when he arrived, "To think these niggers speak French!" Later, Haitian officers attended the notorious School of the Americas at Fort Benning. The threat from the U.S. is something that is always hanging over people's heads: If we don't behave, we'll have occupation again.

  Edwidge Danticat

  Military, School, Army

  Interview with David Barsamian, progressive.org. October 1, 2003.

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• I don't speak French, but I took it for five years growing up. So, if I were in a situation where I had to be, like, 'Excuse me, pineapple dog house red, what time is it library?' - no problem.

  Eugene Mirman

  Dog, Growing Up, Years

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• Accents are very sexy. American girls who speak French are very attractive to a Frenchman. Anything exotic or different is attractive.

  Gilles Marini

  Girl, Sexy, Different

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• all the French speak French - even the children. Many Americans and Britishers who visit the country never quite adjust to this, and the idea persists that the natives speak the language just to show off or be difficult.

  Olivia de Havilland

  Country, Children, Ideas

  Olivia de Havilland (2016). “Every Frenchman Has One”, p.31, Crown Archetype

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• My own view is that one cannot be religious in general any more than one can speak language in general; at any given moment one speaks French or English or Swahili or Japanese, but not 'language.

  Susan Sontag

  Religious, Views, Language

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