Languages

Lichtblick

I've never seen Contador give an interview in anything other than Spanish. That's only a for-instance.

That makes me wonder how many of them can speak anything other than their own language. It was a surprise to hear Wiggins and Evans speaking French this year - but it shouldn't have been a surprise (?) (Don't recall LA speaking French, ever, but could be wrong about that.)

One of the funniest interviews was with Cancellara a couple of years ago, who started in French, switched to German and then to Italian all in the same interview. (The interviewer later said he was glad Cancellera hadn't switched to Dutch, too.) But he's Swiss, so you'd expect him to be multi-lingual, yes?

Question: those who can only speak their mother-tongue, how do they interact with team mates, trainers, managers, when with a 'foreign' team? Russian for instance, or Dutch?

Thanks............

greasedscotsman

Lichtblick wrote:

I've never seen Contador give an interview in anything other than Spanish.

As I understand it, Contador does speak other languages, just only gives interviews in Spanish so he can be clear on what he means. I'm sure other riders are the same.

rick_chasey

Some riders can speak a bit of other languages, but avoid speaking to the press in those for fear of mis-quotations and mis-interpretations.

Contador can speak a bit of English. Enough to get by.

But yes, I've often wondered how someone like Luis Leon Sanchez gets by in Rabobank.

I'd imagine they largely resort to English when discussing things as a team (as sky do), and perhaps on one-to-one levels resort to the nearest shared language.

andyp

Rabobank have English as their official language, they don't think it's fair to get their foreign riders to learn Dutch, which, if we're honest, is more of a throat complaint than a language.

rick_chasey

andyp wrote:

Rabobank have English as their official language, they don't think it's fair to get their foreign riders to learn Dutch, which, if we're honest, is more of a throat complaint than a language.

Right.


Out. Now.

schweiz

If you start your career as a young Stagiaire/Neo Pro with a French (or Italian or Belgian) team then you'll have to learn to speak French (or Italian/Flemish) Quite a few of the biographies of the riders who went across to the continent to learn their trade say so in their (auto)biographies (Wiggo, Millar, Joe Parkin (who was based in Ghent and learnt Flemish)) Cav speaks Italian pretty well although he probably learnt some German at T-Mobile.

I imagine there's flexibility if you are an established rider signed into a team.

They can all probably swear, encourage, insult and praise in half a dozen european languages!

hammerite

Rick Chasey wrote:

andyp wrote:

Rabobank have English as their official language, they don't think it's fair to get their foreign riders to learn Dutch, which, if we're honest, is more of a throat complaint than a language.

Right.


Out. Now.

All my Dutch customers used to say pretty much the same thing as Andy when I apologised at them having to speak English to me.

Interesting about the not speaking in a language so as not be misquoted. How many times have we read interviews/stories only for the rider to defend what they've said as it being lost in translation/mistranslated/misunderstood?

Yellow Peril

hammerite wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

andyp wrote:

Rabobank have English as their official language, they don't think it's fair to get their foreign riders to learn Dutch, which, if we're honest, is more of a throat complaint than a language.

Right.


Out. Now.

All my Dutch customers used to say pretty much the same thing as Andy when I apologised at them having to speak English to me.

Interesting about the not speaking in a language so as not be misquoted. How many times have we read interviews/stories only for the rider to defend what they've said as it being lost in translation/mistranslated/misunderstood?[/quote]

I think that includes American English as well...

esafosfina

Can't really speak for the contemporary teams, but back in the late 80s / early 90s the Belgian squad I rode for were well versed in Vlaams, French, Spanish, English and German... no-one ever had a problem communicating as you pick up the necessary lingo in the peloton... sure, you couldn't be expected to give a thrity minute monologue on Foucault, but everyone got by...

takethehighroad

According to Sean Kelly on Eurosport a few years ago, all riders know how to say basic phrases in a number of languages, in case they're in a breakaway with different languages (quite a common occurence for some riders) and they need to get them to work, or barter a deal (sprint points for mountain points etc).

Wiggins started at FDJ and was with Credit Agricole and Cofidis. Dan Martin rode for VC La Pomme in Marseille. Cadel rode for Mapei.

Lance speaks French, but he's so bad at it he rarely speaks it. It sounds like someone reading back to one of those tapes "Teach Yourself French"

esafosfina

Without coming across xenophobic... certain nationalities do make more of an effort to speak other languages than others... the French and Italians fall nastily into that trap...

RichN95.

esafosfina wrote:

Without coming across xenophobic... certain nationalities do make more of an effort to speak other languages than others... the French and Italians fall nastily into that trap...

The worst of all though, in life in general, are the British.

Do riders ever pretend not to speak a language just to avoid talking to the media?

Richmond Racer

esafosfina wrote:

Can't really speak for the contemporary teams, but back in the late 80s / early 90s the Belgian squad I rode for were well versed in Vlaams, French, Spanish, English and German... no-one ever had a problem communicating as you pick up the necessary lingo in the peloton... sure, you couldn't be expected to give a thrity minute monologue on Foucault, but everyone got by...

and I bet that all of the necessary swear words were learnt in all of those languages?

esafosfina

Richmond Racer wrote:

esafosfina wrote:

Can't really speak for the contemporary teams, but back in the late 80s / early 90s the Belgian squad I rode for were well versed in Vlaams, French, Spanish, English and German... no-one ever had a problem communicating as you pick up the necessary lingo in the peloton... sure, you couldn't be expected to give a thrity minute monologue on Foucault, but everyone got by...

and I bet that all of the necessary swear words were learnt in all of those languages?

Very quickly indeed RR!

esafosfina

RichN95 wrote:

esafosfina wrote:

Without coming across xenophobic... certain nationalities do make more of an effort to speak other languages than others... the French and Italians fall nastily into that trap...

The worst of all though, in life in general, are the British.

Do riders ever pretend not to speak a language just to avoid talking to the media?

Rich... TBH I don't know of anyone that purposely avoided the media by doing that... although at times certain riders would go all 'amnesiac' when the DS told them something they didn't want to hear!

With regard to the British pros I raced with/against I can only recall one that was incapable of a second language, and he suffered for it! I had to translate for him and it got to the stage whereby I got the shits with the constant translation and started making stuff up just to get him off my back! (No names, but belated apologies to him!) :oops:

RichN95.

esafosfina wrote:

With regard to the British pros I raced with/against I can only recall one that was incapable of a second language, and he suffered for it! I had to translate for him and it got to the stage whereby I got the shits with the constant translation and started making stuff up just to get him off my back! (No names, but belated apologies to him!) :oops:

I didn't mean British cyclists, I meant as a nation as a whole.

ms_tree

Cavendish speaks Italian because he lives/lived in Quaranta. LLS - I read - has made an effort to learn English. I thought the general consensus that most riders know all the swear words in all language! :roll:

esafosfina

RichN95 wrote:

esafosfina wrote:

With regard to the British pros I raced with/against I can only recall one that was incapable of a second language, and he suffered for it! I had to translate for him and it got to the stage whereby I got the shits with the constant translation and started making stuff up just to get him off my back! (No names, but belated apologies to him!) :oops:

I didn't mean British cyclists, I meant as a nation as a whole.

Guess you're right mate...

No_Ta_Doctor

RichN95 wrote:

esafosfina wrote:

With regard to the British pros I raced with/against I can only recall one that was incapable of a second language, and he suffered for it! I had to translate for him and it got to the stage whereby I got the shits with the constant translation and started making stuff up just to get him off my back! (No names, but belated apologies to him!) :oops:

I didn't mean British cyclists, I meant as a nation as a whole.

It's actually a problem for Brits to learn foreign languages unless they're fully immersed - just because wherever you go* people will answer you in English. Films, songs, it's all in English. Took me bloody ages to learn Danish, but that's a pig of a language.




*except France

thomthom

Lichtblick wrote:

(Don't recall LA speaking French, ever, but could be wrong about that.)

Lance speaks french fluently.

Richmond Racer

ThomThom wrote:

Lichtblick wrote:

(Don't recall LA speaking French, ever, but could be wrong about that.)

Lance speaks french fluently.

We're talking Paris,France not Paris,Texas

andy_wrx

Watch 'Overcoming', Bjarne Riis attempting to talk to Ivan Basso in heavily-accented pidgin-English...

Obviously all these allegations of Hamilton's about Riis running the doping at CSC must be true, because there's no way you could DS or coach with that much of a language gap...

knedlicky

ThomThom wrote:

Lance speaks french fluently.

Don't know about that ...
during LA's last TdF, in 2009, there was an interview with him by a young trainee journalist published in the French press. The trainee had to conduct the interview in English, asking the questions in English, and LA answering in English. Both Q and A were then translated for publication.

The last question the trainee asked LA was :
Last question, why don't you speak French?"
and LA's answer was
"I speak a little bit but it's still not very good. I know some words but only very simple ones. Evenso I like the French language"

Smarmer !

rick_chasey

knedlicky wrote:

ThomThom wrote:

Lance speaks french fluently.

Don't know about that ...
during LA's last TdF, in 2009, there was an interview with him by a young trainee journalist published in the French press. The trainee had to conduct the interview in English, asking the questions in English, and LA answering in English. Both Q and A were then translated for publication.

The last question the trainee asked LA was :
Last question, why don't you speak French?"
and LA's answer was
"I speak a little bit but it's still not very good. I know some words but only very simple ones. Evenso I like the French language"

Smarmer !

He speaks French fine. Speaks a bit of Dutch too.

BelgianBeerGeek

greasedscotsman wrote:

Lichtblick wrote:

I've never seen Contador give an interview in anything other than Spanish.

As I understand it, Contador does speak other languages, just only gives interviews in Spanish so he can be clear on what he means. I'm sure other riders are the same.

Isn't this the reason Wiggo moved away from giving interviews in French? Some of his quips and wry observations really don't translate, so he gave up. No matter how fluent you are, you don't always get the idioms etc. If it was me I would only stick to "yes" or "no" answers in another language. The press are only looking for ways to misquote or misinterpret you anyway. When Steve Cummings the other day said he wanted to kill Flecha the interviewer was really taken aback. And he said that in English.

esafosfina

Years ago, when the Kellogg's town centre crits were being televised Frank Hoste gave an interview in English (which he speaks fluently...) and he was asked how dangerous the circuit was... 'Coz he was amped after the finish the fluency kinda let him down a bit... "Ja, it was very dangerous in the corners with the skinny tyres on the cobbles in the village here...". The village referred to was: Bristol!

andyp

Frank Hoste has gone further up in my estimation of him.

rick_chasey

Can always spot a Dutch speaker when they answer anything with "ja" before giving their answer, even (or even especially) when their answer is no.

knedlicky

Rick Chasey wrote:

knedlicky wrote:

ThomThom wrote:

Lance speaks french fluently.

Don't know about that ...
during LA's last TdF, in 2009, there was an interview with him by a young trainee journalist published in the French press. The trainee had to conduct the interview in English, asking the questions in English, and LA answering in English. Both Q and A were then translated for publication.

The last question the trainee asked LA was :
Last question, why don't you speak French?"
and LA's answer was
"I speak a little bit but it's still not very good. I know some words but only very simple ones. Evenso I like the French language"

Smarmer !

He speaks French fine. Speaks a bit of Dutch too.

Okay, I take it back. I found this video after his third victory in 2001 and felt quite surprised.

http://www.ina.fr/sport/cyclisme/video/1767398002009/plateau-duplex-lance-armstrong.fr.html

In it, amongst other things, when the interviewer refers to something LA apparently said during the TdF (that cycling had definitely moved on from the period of doubt which cycling had passed through in the previous years because of doping), LA replies that one only has to look at this year’s Tour where there were many controls and there was only one positive, then adding the sport is trying to do a lot to counter doping.

I’ve looked at it a few times, and can’t decide if LA’s face shows some apprehension as the question is posed and as he first goes to answer. Or whether I want to see some apprehension.

FJS

I guess it really depends on where young pros start out and base themselves, France, Flanders, etc. There's quite a few Australians who started their career and lived in Flanders; Robbie McEwen and Alan Peiper for instance are absolutely fluent in Dutch. Perhaps with the current fashion for riders to base themselves in Spain, Spanish will be on the up as key language in the peloton

ms_tree

ThomThom wrote:

Lichtblick wrote:

(Don't recall LA speaking French, ever, but could be wrong about that.)

Lance speaks french fluently.

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