How many languages does Xi Jinping, Putin and Merkel speak? | Are they Bilingual ?

World leaders are, by description, some of the most influential people in our world. Their opinions and choices shape our lives both now and in the future. It is why we’ve to hope they know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about.

Though what languages are they speaking inside? For the sake of transnational relations, shouldn’t all our world leaders have at least a working understanding of more than one language? Then there are the languages some of our world leaders speak.

Vladimir Putin

From what I have read, away from his native Russian, Putin can express himself more or less in German and English. Putin’s English is” good enough to correct his translators” in some cases. In his Soviet security services (KGB) career, he spoke German and English. Also, whenever he travels to Germany or German-speaking countries, he constantly opts to use German and has used it in sanctioned functions.

When it comes to English, it’s unexpected that he shifted between English and Russian during one broadcast interview with American director Oliver Stone and even during a visit to his Kremlin office. In 2013, he also chose to speak in English at the Bureau of International Expositions. And that is what I know so far.

Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel is one of the most redoubtable, recognizable numbers on the international political stage. She serves as Germany’s Chancellor and is allowed by numerous as the unofficial leader of the EU. Merkel’s language skills are impressive; in addition to being proficient in German, she is also competent in Russian, having finished at least part of her education there. Merkel also speaks English fluently when giving German addresses.

Donald Trump

Though some would argue that he has command of the English language, English is Trump’s native dialect. Moreover, he’s a proud monolingual speaker.

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron, as France’s president, is a firm supporter of French first in all matters, to the extent where English is used in France concurrently. He has stated his aim to make French the world’s first language after taking the position of chairman in 2017. While Macron is not limited to speaking just French, he prefers to do so. Macron is also bilingual (French and English) and speaks it well when necessary.

Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping has been chairman of the People’s Republic of China since 2012. He has some English knowledge and has heard to speak it occasionally, though he generally sticks to his native Mandarin.

China has such a diverse linguistic landscape that the native Beijing dialect and the native Shanghai dialect, for example, are incomprehensible to each other. Subtitles are used in Chinese television channels and advertisements so that viewers of all linguistic backgrounds may follow along. Regional distinction is so strong that a trained ear can tell the difference between two Chinese accents from different towns.

Boris Johnson

He may come across as a bumbling idiot, but the present Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is no fool when it comes to languages. Johnson is believed to be fluent in French, Italian, and Latin, in addition to English.

He studied Ancient Greek alongside Latin in the academy and has a decent understanding of German and Spanish. And then it was us hoping that those who are monolingual would have a bit of a different sense, a bit further learning, and empathy for the world around them.

Pedro Sánchez

Pedro Sánchez is one of our more recent international leaders. Sánchez, who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018, has a lot on his plate to deal with in the business world.

The Catalan movement’s independence appears to be a never-ending source of unrest in the country, and Sánchez himself appears to be necessary to clear the way for the growth of Spain’s far-right. His linguistic abilities, on the other hand, are fantastic! Sánchez speaks English and French in addition to Spanish.

Scott Morrison

Sánchez’s firm is a newcomer to the world leader’s club. Scott Morrison has only been Australia’s Prime Minister since August 2018. Although he looks to be monolingual, some Australians claim he has difficulty speaking English. Morrison is a reserved Australian who has only a few memorable outbursts.

Shinzō Abe

Shinz Abe has been the Prime Minister of Japan since 2012. Abe only speaks Japanese, which is unsurprising for a tone-patron-ultra-nationalist. He does, however, have to communicate in English with a bus prompter, which isn’t always helpful.

Narendra Modi

India’s high minister Narendra Modi lately started his alternate term in office, presently working on uniting the country and fixing its structure, which is no small task! Modi is fluent in both Hindi and Gujrati in his language skills and has a working knowledge of English.

We hope that our world leaders know better than anyone that understanding other societies and ways of life are pivotal to perfecting our global connections. Likewise, we suppose they see the significance of language in perfecting communication. So the question is, why don’t more of them speak multiple languages?