Susan_xian Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Hi, nice topic this one! I love it!I am italian mother tongue but I studied English & French at high school, I used to work with languages in my early "office" days, & then I spent some years in my native country, Brasil, when I was 25 ys old (I went back to Italy with my family when I was only 11 month of age, so I didn't learn portuguese at that time) and obvioulsy I learnt to speak portuguese fluently. French has always been my favourite language. I loved to speak, to study it although its grammar is difficult (even for a neo-latin spoken mother tongue language) and I always had to be very keen and attentive to some of its rules, but I gave to French a special devotion to it. And when I learnt portuguese, which is a gorgeous language, it gives you enormous satisfaction either to understand it or to speak it, well, it happened the same thins as to Mika with italian and spanish: portugues kicked off french from my brain and I completely lost it. This happened almost 20 years ago. The nice thing is that when listening to Mika's interviews in french, his songs in french and reading all articles in that language, French came back in a quite consistent way and now I have both, portuguese and french in my mind again. I cannot tell you how Mika's speaking French because to me he speaks beautifully, but I can tell you how he speaks italian: he's great. He almost does not have an accent, at least he has not the typical accent of british people speaking italian: 3 of my children's professors are british, and they all speak the same, with same accent which is very charming, I must say, I love it, but Mika has not. Of course he makes mistakes, but they are very charming mistakes italian people start to love and to imitate. I think that since he has such a good hear to music and languages are preeminently a question of intonation and musicality (grammar too, of course) he has a natural predisposition to learn them and to pronounce them practically without accent and using the correct intonation. Thank you for sharing your experiences! it's really interesting! I think you are as amazing as Mika! How can you speak so many languages? Glad to know you have your French back. Maybe language is like riding bicycles, you can never really lost it once you get it. Sometimes it just need to be woken up? So it seems Mika has almost no foreign accent at all either in French, Spanish or Italian. I think you can never understand how hard it is to manage even one foreign language for Chinese people. You european people are really amazingly good in languages! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alireine Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Thanks for this interesting topic About his French, as Guylaine said, he doesn't have any foreign accent to me, British or other, he sounds 100% French from France, the only thing is that in a way you can hear like a child speaking, not because the sentences are too simple or something like that, but in the tone he uses. If you notice his voice is generally lower when he speaks in English. And about mistakes, there are some grammar ones (which generally make him super cute to the ear of French speaking ppl), sometimes he doesn't know a special familiar word used by others, but really there aren't many and there are less and less with time. I agree with you Camille I don't hear any English accent or "bad" pronounciation when he speaks French, he simply use different melody and rythm when he speaks than what we use in France. And it's true that he speaks more with a high voice in French (I'm happy not to be the only one thinking that ). I think there is a Mika French, exactly as there are Canadian French, Belgian French, South of France French, Parisian French, ... And it's true that he still does a few mistakes when he speaks. For example he often forget to use the "subjonctif" tense when he should, he sometimes still mixes "pronoms compléments COD" with the "pronoms compléments COI",... As a French teacher I always want to correct him (but I can control myself for that, as I'm not sure he would appreciate that I correct him ). But he is improving a lot, especially now that he is at The Voice I can hear that he improved between Spring 2013 and what we can watch now on TV for The Voice (that is, what was recorded in November 2013) I think he studied French again to be prepared for the shows, especially everything concerning music. So I wonder if when someone gets emotional switches to the language od his childhood? My husband is fluent in French (not as good as Mika though ), but he switches to arabic everytime we have a fight which is a problem as I'm really not good in arabic Edited January 26, 2014 by Alireine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan_xian Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thanks for this interesting topic And it's true that he still does a few mistakes when he speaks. For example he often forget to use the "subjonctif" tense when he should, he sometimes still mixes "pronoms compléments COD" with the "pronoms compléments COI",... As a French teacher I always want to correct him (but I can control myself for that, as I'm not sure he would appreciate that I correct him ). . My husband is fluent in French (not as good as Mika though ), but he switches to arabic everytime we have a fight which is a problem as I'm really not good in arabic the COD et COI is impossible for me to grasp. I always get confused. :naughty:speaking about the fight between you and your husband, maybe it's a good thing that he scream something you don't quite understand at you when he got angry. Just kidding anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicóla Ronaa Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Please don't ask me to find it, but I watched an interview he did here in America and I swear he kept dropping into an American accent. I'm not even sure he realized it. I would rewind and watch again to make sure I heard it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan_xian Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Please don't ask me to find it, but I watched an interview he did here in America and I swear he kept dropping into an American accent. I'm not even sure he realized it. I would rewind and watch again to make sure I heard it right. I think I found in many interviews too! I mean the American accent. i'm using ipad so it's hard to post it. i'll post it later when using computer. I think it is because his father speaks American English and he lives in London. So he is familiar with both and doesn't have a very stubborn accent. It depends on the enviroment. If the journalist speaks in an American way, he will be led to the same way he speaks and vice versa. For foreigners like me, his English is easier to understand than either pure british or american. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchAnnie Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't forget that Mika can also sing in Dutch very well. [YOUTUBE]mNuBeGFJrfc[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan_xian Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't forget that Mika can also sing in Dutch very well. [YOUTUBE]mNuBeGFJrfc[/YOUTUBE] wow! I know he speak a little Dutch at the gigs, right? He also sings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimjims Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't forget that Mika can also sing in Dutch very well. [YOUTUBE]mNuBeGFJrfc[/YOUTUBE] Omg he is so cute!!! He feels really flushed when he is singing with his LOVELY opera voice and everyone claps, you can tell by how he rubs his finger against his chin. ITS ADORABLE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Please don't ask me to find it, but I watched an interview he did here in America and I swear he kept dropping into an American accent. I'm not even sure he realized it. I would rewind and watch again to make sure I heard it right. I also remember on a very old show with Jo Whiley, he pronounced "tomatoes" a la american Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan_xian Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't forget that Mika can also sing in Dutch very well. [YOUTUBE]mNuBeGFJrfc[/YOUTUBE] Oh you post a video here I guess? Damn the stupid ipad! I'll use my computer tomorrow to check it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 - it seems to me his accent was more british when you was younger, now it's more american. Am I wrong? I suppose it can also change according to the period: when he comes back home it could turn into a more british one again... No definitely not more British when he was younger. This video is from 2007 and he sounds more American than British. I think he spent a lot of time in the US between 2004-2006 and when he became famous he tended to switch back and forth depending on who he was talking to. That didn't last very long though and he began to sound exclusively British to me (I mean he always has a bit of an American accent but it doesn't seem to change so dramatically anymore.) Mika's mother is not a native French speaker. Her French is heavily accented with American. As in, my French accent is better even though I can barely string a simple sentence together in French. Kumazzz posted a video the other day of her speaking French. I will look for it later if someone doesn't post it. I am sure Mika has this American influence in his accent because he learned to speak English from his American accented parents while he was speaking French exclusively to his peers. When he arrived in the UK his English accent was probably 100% American and it was only later he developed a British accent from his peers. I have South African friends whose kids were born and raised in Germany but they speak English with an English South African accent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceebs Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Interesting topic! I, too am fascinated with languages. Since we are involving the rest of the Pennimans here, I noticed in that interview that Mika and Yasmine did for the launch of the Swatches, that her accent sounds very American to me. Did anyone else notice that? The British accent is not as strong as his. She seems very lovely and sweet btw. That family just fascinates me. So many cultures and experiences. Truly children of the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 that's what i thought... from the few times i heard his mom speak in french, it didn't sound like it was her mother tongue at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I noticed in that interview that Mika and Yasmine did for the launch of the Swatches, that her accent sounds very American to me. Did anyone else notice that? The British accent is not as strong as his. Yes she's 5 years older than Mika so her American accent seems to have "stuck". I had quite a few British friends when I was a kid but they arrived before they were 11 years old so they completely lost their Scottish and English accents. One girl had an older sister and the sister still spoke with a Scottish accent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwendin Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Mika's mother is not a native French speaker. Her French is heavily accented with American. As in, my French accent is better even though I can barely string a simple sentence together in French. Kumazzz posted a video the other day of her speaking French. I will look for it later if someone doesn't post it. I am sure Mika has this American influence in his accent because he learned to speak English from his American accented parents while he was speaking French exclusively to his peers. When he arrived in the UK his English accent was probably 100% American and it was only later he developed a British accent from his peers. I have South African friends whose kids were born and raised in Germany but they speak English with an English South African accent. I suppose this is the vid I agree, her french is so not native. And your explanation makes a lot of sense, kids manages to learn many accents perfectly, so he did with all the accents he heard as a child (My french prononciation sucks as much as my old teacher's one ). Then environnement and people you meet affect it so you can switch to one to another according to the situation. Learning more than a language as a child helps your mind to be more talented to learn languages even as a grown up. And I wonder how much languages help to learn music and music helps to learn languages. Cause the more your brain work out, the more it can easily learn stuff... Edited January 26, 2014 by Elwendin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I suppose this is the vid There was an older video where Paloma and Mrs. P were working on the props for the 2010 tour. I think this one is from 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyaboutmika Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I'm a language freak, although I'm terribly in French, the only foreign language I know except English. btw my native is Mandarin Chinese and I learn all English and french in this country, never live oversea. For a language freak, Mika is always an interesting topic. My questions is his french accent. it's sounds to me very french french! But I found on a Chinese website that a French teacher of some Chinese student says his french has british accent actually. Are there any native speakers? what's ur opinion? becuse I'm a french beginner and I don't want to be misled. And what about his spanish? I read on our FAQ that he speaks english and french and has knowledge in spanish. But in wiki it says he speaks both french and spanish fluently. And it is also in this interview http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Magic-Mika-Singer-talks-Twitter-bullying-and-drinks/42139.html So I guess he speak spanish? That's a fascinating topic for a thread, thanks a lot for starting it I'm a language freak too I'm French , I love English and I learned Spanish too and I love to use both with Mika fans Mika's French is fluent but sometimes influenced by English and I find it easier to understand in English than in French . He speaks French very fast and he has an accent I can't define when he does It's not really British to me, more like French but he doesn't articulate all the words and eats up parts of them if that makes sense Well that's how I hear it. I understand him fine And he sometimes makes grammar mistakes or uses familiar words in French which is cute His Spanish is really good But learning Italian made him mix up Spanish , Italian and English a few times leading to very funny misunderstanding , like when he said " I'm pregnant" on stage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwendin Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 There was an older video where Paloma and Mrs. P were working on the props for the 2010 tour. I think this one is from 2012. were they in a kind of warehouse preparing stuff and especially a giant kind of doll? And all the interview was in french... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyaboutmika Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thanks for this interesting topic I agree with you Camille I don't hear any English accent or "bad" pronounciation when he speaks French, he simply use different melody and rythm when he speaks than what we use in France. And it's true that he speaks more with a high voice in French (I'm happy not to be the only one thinking that ). I think there is a Mika French, exactly as there are Canadian French, Belgian French, South of France French, Parisian French, ... And it's true that he still does a few mistakes when he speaks. For example he often forget to use the "subjonctif" tense when he should, he sometimes still mixes "pronoms compléments COD" with the "pronoms compléments COI",... As a French teacher I always want to correct him (but I can control myself for that, as I'm not sure he would appreciate that I correct him ). But he is improving a lot, especially now that he is at The Voice I can hear that he improved between Spring 2013 and what we can watch now on TV for The Voice (that is, what was recorded in November 2013) I think he studied French again to be prepared for the shows, especially everything concerning music. My husband is fluent in French (not as good as Mika though ), but he switches to arabic everytime we have a fight which is a problem as I'm really not good in arabic Yes, that's exactly it , he uses a different rythm and melody , you found the words I was looking for , thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alireine Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 :naughty:speaking about the fight between you and your husband, maybe it's a good thing that he scream something you don't quite understand at you when he got angry. Just kidding anyway. I agree Omg he is so cute!!! He feels really flushed when he is singing with his LOVELY opera voice and everyone claps, you can tell by how he rubs his finger against his chin. ITS ADORABLE!!! You have to know that he does that on purpose, this thing with his finger He knows nobody can resist his charm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikasister Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree You have to know that he does that on purpose, this thing with his finger He knows nobody can resist his charm All what he does in on purpose he knows very well how drives us crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceebs Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 All what he does in on purpose he knows very well how drives us crazy Whaaaaatttt? Don't destroy my illusions! I like to think that much cuteness and charm is totally spontaneous! My parents were visiting last weekend, and I was watching The Voice on my tablet. I showed it to my Mom when Mika was talking, and I said, "Isn't this the most beautiful man you have ever seen in your life? " She said he was lovely, but then, "If you were married to a man that gorgeous, you would spend all your time fighting over mirror time. He'd be in the bathroom more than you. " I said, "No, he just looks that good naturally. ":naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikasister Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Whaaaaatttt? Don't destroy my illusions! I like to think that much cuteness and charm is totally spontaneous!My parents were visiting last weekend, and I was watching The Voice on my tablet. I showed it to my Mom when Mika was talking, and I said, "Isn't this the most beautiful man you have ever seen in your life? " She said he was lovely, but then, "If you were married to a man that gorgeous, you would spend all your time fighting over mirror time. He'd be in the bathroom more than you. " I said, "No, he just looks that good naturally. ":naughty: Well, most of what he does in on purpose. Dont tell me this is spontaneous and I'm off topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milly Brown Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Yes she's 5 years older than Mika so her American accent seems to have "stuck". I had quite a few British friends when I was a kid but they arrived before they were 11 years old so they completely lost their Scottish and English accents. One girl had an older sister and the sister still spoke with a Scottish accent. What I've heard, as a rule of thumb, after you are ten a part of your brain that is there to pick up and learn langauges and accents shut off. So it is possible to speak a second language like a native if you are under ten, but not after ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceebs Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Well, most of what he does in on purpose. Dont tell me this is spontaneous and I'm off topic I know......I know...... I can't help it. Wow. Imagine being on the recieving end of that gaze..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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