A Breakdown of Bradley Cooper Speaking French - Celebrities Speaking French Reaction

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

If you want French subtitles for the French parts that I highlight, turn them on above at the bottom of the KZbin player! Who should I react to next?

[@loussaille1]

Hi! I know he's not an actor but I just heard Michael Barry speak french and was truly amazed by his level. I would never have guessed he's American, no mistakes at all and absolutely no accent, how is it possible?

[@mhs21981]

How about Boris Johnson? I don't mean the time he told the French to prennez une grip but perhaps rather when he did an interview on French tv www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D9OzSvvuCgJ4&ved=2ahUKEwiMgMWx2pP2AhUOiFwKHU-eBJQQxa8BegQIDBAF&usg=AOvVaw3X-AEmAdvIR0q27dt7ssCf

[@80swoodpanel]

Christopher Lee. I watched him in 'Dracula père et fils' back in the day and I thought that he was a native speaker (from a French Canadian point of view). Even recently, my brother, the 'Lord of the Rings' fan thought that he was dubbed.

[@auntisthenes2754]

@@mhs21981 il appris quelque chose à l'école. Au prix de l'école, y'a pas de quoi tomber sur le cul. C'est quand même la deuxième langue internationale et celle du voisin. certes, on a eu des truffes au pouvoir en France. mais à l'ONU tout le monde utilise son traducteur. Qu'on soit sûr et certain que les conneries sont bien politiques.Que les offenses soient bien traduites.

[@bigbenbbgribouille8882]

As a french, I agree. Don't try to be perfect. We appreciate the effort and the enthousiasm 😊 Some complements : - Nous disons souvent "j'ai été" à la place de "je suis allé", même si ce n'est pas complètement correct. - Truc est notre mot favori quand on ne veut pas s'embêter à chercher le bon mot ou à détailler. - A l'oral, on aura tendance à dire "c'est quoi la question ?". Mais uniquement à l'oral - "histoire" est le bon mot - "Il n'y a pas la peine" est visiblement une confusion entre deux expressions : "ce n'est pas la peine de..." et "il n'y a pas besoin de...", qui peuvent toutes les deux être employées dans le contexte. Bisous 😙

[@frontenac5083]

If I might add something, I believe “j’ai été” is perfectly correct in itself. It means “I’ve been there”, insisting on you being present in that place for a definite amount of time, as opposed to “j’y suis allé” where the emphasis is on the journey (“I went there”). For example you could say : “J’ai été à Paris pendant les vacances.” Perfectly correct. You insist on you having been in Paris for a certain amount of time. (Of course, “Je suis allé à Paris pendant les vacances” is equally correct, with an emphasis on the journey rather that the stay.) But now if you say : “J’ai été à Paris en train”, in this case we agree entirely, it’s not correct, but some people might say it!

[@ledganache]

@@frontenac5083 It's quite picky. Between _"J'ai été à Paris"_ and _"J'étais à Paris"_ of which we understand same things but frst mean "to go" and second mean "to be (there)". _"J'étais à Paris"_ is perfectly correct. _“J’ai été à Paris”_ is correct, but perfection depends on your social class. Most people says _“J’ai été à Paris”_ but from high society (ladylike) it seems incorrect, prefer _"Je suis allé à Paris"._ An example that exaggerates this would be: _"J'ai _*_mangé_*_ au restaurant."_ is (ladylike) incorrect, you should say _"J'ai _*_déjeuné / diné_*_ au restaurant."_ The reasson, even if "manger" means "to eat", It is the animals that eat, we have lunch. The class very attached to this kind of perfection is disgusted by popular expression (people = animals)

[@auntisthenes2754]

Big difference between fluent and perfect. Bradley Cooper is fluent years after he studied in France. He doesn't miss an oportunity to practice, at his own peril because he's not getting any younger. but it's pretty ballsy and an honour; Johnny depp spent years here, with a french women, with french kids and can't speak.

[@sallyhu5028]

Wow ... I'm impressed. Didn't expect Bradley Cooper's accent and pronunciation to be that good. Prefer it to Gwyneth's ... a surprise.

[@KhunAdam]

Love to learn what errors we Anglo speakers make in French and how to improve. For me the details on the grammatical errors are very useful - eg. histoire vs scénario .

[@chooselife1509]

Good stuff. Actually learning things from you even on a video like this. Thanks.

[@mn1178]

I’m glad that I found this channel

[@FORTDavid]

6:38 the correct form would be "Je n'y suis jamais allé"

[@FORTDavid]

11:15 we rather say "Ce n'est pas la peine d'avoir peur". But I think that most probably in French we would not express this idea this way and we would probably talk about about being confident about the script or the situation. Or perhaps we would use a softer expression like "je n'étais pas effrayé par..."

[@auntisthenes2754]

t'es mignon. Son truc tient pas mais il corrige à la fin. t'entendras jamais ta version. " t'inquiète", ça oui, à gogo. pour "ne t'inquiètes pas". mais version relax.truc de jeunes. TKT : t'inquiète.

[@BGTuyau]

Excellent points about self-evaluation and comparison with others in language learning.

[@NatureHeais2003]

Merci! Your channel is very underrated 😞

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci !

[@maureensimmonds9504]

J’aime bien les vidéos avec les acteurs même ceux qui donnent les conseilles de la grammaire. Merci pour ton aide :)

[@heididewhirst]

Oh Bradley Cooper 😍

[@laynes1232]

It's very encouraging to see a fellow French learner making mistakes CALMLY! Wow.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I like the French verb "assumer" here. Il assume ses erreurs. He takes responsibility for them, he owns them, accepts them, so he stays calm. It's not in the video, I'm trying to use it more because I couldn't figure out how for the longest time and this is perfect.

[@laynes1232]

@@FrenchinPlainSight J'adore !

[@richardpaddington4216]

Brilliant analysis, thank you.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome Richard!

[@mohammedtaqi9508]

Hi Alex, I think it would be fun if you comment on "Kristin Scott Thomas" the British actress who lives in Paris, she speaks almost perfect French!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hey. I'll take a look!

[@dwarfslapper007]

​@@FrenchinPlainSight Jodie Foster would be another good one.

[@FrankF.Y]

c'est l'fun de voir ces vedettes parler français. je découvre ta chaine et j'adore. par contre je suis du Québec et notre français diffère un peu. beaucoup plus de joual ici.

[@sergioaugusto8172]

Hi, Alex, I'd say he DID produce an /n/ in UNE BONNE HISTOIRE (notice that his tongue touched the alveolar ridge). Also, to my ears, he said UNE, not UN. He just pronounced it more quickly, typical of "careless" speech...

[@EasyFinnish]

Thanks! I enjoyed watching this video. Relax, entertaining and educational. Merci à vous!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Génial !

[@s.clignancourt1897]

Very interesting program, wonderful when language is being analyzed, compared and thought about. Hope you continue the series! A little note on the side, I am a bit puzzled why you call the person interviewing Bradley Cooper "François" (7:14) i.e. you don't pronounce the s, meaning it would be a man, but I think it should be Francoise - with the s pronounced. (No first name can get more French than that! )🙂

[@auntisthenes2754]

You know the rules.

[@Adèle9988]

I like your explainations about the interview in french . You’re pretty good and fun . I enjoyed it ( i’m french)

[@FORTDavid]

At 8:08 in that kind of interaction, most people would say "C'est quoi la question ?", this sounds a bit familiar but is perfectly acceptable for an interview.

[@ash_m_]

Cette vidéo a été très utile, merci ! Je suis intéressé à regarder plus de critiques comme celle-ci 😊

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Bien entendu Ashlee!

[@drmichaelelinski6992]

Une vidéo excellente et tes commentaires sont vraiment utiles. Merci pour toutes tes vidéos.

[@auroramarie2463]

Je suis impressionnée.

[@ladybird7845]

Jane Birkin’s French is interesting too !

[@catmay5723]

Love your channel

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thanks Cat! What would you like to see more of? I'm currently planning ideas for videos.

[@jayjay8490]

I loved this.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Great Jackie. What resonated the most for you?

[@jayjay8490]

@@FrenchinPlainSight The way you picked out some aspects and explained them, and the confidence Bradley has when he speaks French, i wish to have that.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@jayjay8490 That's a great long-term aspiration. A lot is about personality and how you are in your native language? Do you see similarities between his personality and yours?

[@ellieg7160]

Really enjoyed this video - thank you! I recommended your channel to an English woman I met just yesterday.... we all need some cards or something to hand out :)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ah bless you Ellie.

[@MegaLozenge]

Wow this is great. I was sitting in a bar during Fête de la Musique and this journalist stuck a camera under my nose and asked me a bunch of questions. It is really hard when you have some pressure like that. I ended up blabbering and repeating myself mostly.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Oh yea. It takes a LOT of composure to not relapse (?) back to a beginner speaking level! 😂

[@ladybird7845]

Mick Jagger enjoys speaking in French ! He said once, that he appreciates his private life « quand il peut faire la poubelle » probably meaning « sortir la poubelle ».

[@auntisthenes2754]

he's got a property not far from Tours, it got people speaking there..They unfortunately "blacklisted" him. A bit too rock and roll and bouncers didn't recognise him. En français, il est tricard ! unwelcome.c'est rigolo (funny) parce qu'il aurait pu revenir mais je crois qu'il est vexé.

[@ladybird7845]

@@auntisthenes2754 Son château se trouve près d’Amboise. Il s’y trouve très souvent. Il y a passé tout le premier confinement ( voir la très amusante vidéo présentée par Jimmy Fallon ) en faisant entendre sa musique depuis le studio installé dans l’ancienne chapelle pour le plus grand plaisir du voisinage. Il est toujours très apprécié là-bas.

[@auntisthenes2754]

@@ladybird7845 Incroyable ! je le voyais plus près de Tours. Château c'est un peu pompeux, mais grande propriété. n'empêche qu'il s'est fait virer de boite comme un malpropre et que ça a fait rigoler le quartier. le videur était pas fin mais la rock-star devait être bien imbibée. il se pourrait que la vallée des rois version française, ce soit un poil rupin. c'est mon expérience aussi.

[@auntisthenes2754]

@@ladybird7845 hihi, je vais me chercher ça; J'aime bien les potins d'où j'ai habité; à part d'où je viens.

[@aie_aie_]

Une analyse du français de Timothée Chalamet ?

[@thaleis]

I love this kind of videos. There are some more interviews (on KZbin) with others English-speaking natives actors or singers with different levels of French language you could use for more videos like this one : jazzy singer Melody Gardot (in the show Thé ou Café) or actors like Freddie Highmore (who have done the show Quotidien too) and of course there are Thomothée Chalamet and Jodie Foster in various tv promotion appearances...

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I've since done 2 more including Jodie Foster Celebrity French Breakdowns: kzbin.info/aero/PLe_Nu_f_BWDfsqJSKpLcBUA6kAvgpAAK0

[@ARather42]

I don't make the same mistakes and BC! but I like that he is calm and that he throws in French sounds et so even though he is making mistakes he fakes it really well!

[@ngounchantha792]

Hi Alex, good to see you. I'm learning French nearly 1year and I realize that French language is difficult. La langue française est difficile

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Continue ! Si c'était facile tout le monde le ferait :)

[@Chris-od5wj]

Really interesting video, thanks! Would love to see more :D

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Great to know Chris. Good to see you back in the comments! What resonated with you?

[@Chris-od5wj]

@@FrenchinPlainSight My ear didn't hear them, but some of the mistakes are obvious when they are pointed out. I find it too easy to get tangled up translating and miss the moment. He didn't, made his points in the best way he knew at that moment (we are all better when no one is around). I think I will take away from this, the other person will likely understand what I'm trying to say and will correct me if they have patience

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@Chris-od5wj Ah that makes me so glad. Once we get out of our heads we can get into the conversations more :)

[@awkad]

We can say "histoire" in stead of scenario. It's not a mistake and every french person will understand and even use that very word sometimes. But most of the younger people in France will say "scénar" when speaking about films or video games stories. For example: "T'as vu le dernier David Lynch ?" - "Oui, et j'ai absolument rien capté au scénar". "Have you seen the latest David Lynch movie?" - " Yes I have and to me the story was a mess" . Something like that.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup pour les informations clées !

[@bigbenbbgribouille8882]

"Scénar", ça commence à dater... on emploie plus souvent le terme histoire.

[@alannohlgren]

By Al, means, please do continue with your series on celebrities speaking French. I'm not up on which Hollywood actors do or don't speak French. But as a musician, I became aware of a beautiful rendition of the Antonio Carlos Jobim Bossa Nova classic The Waters of March (or Les Eaux de Mars in this case) by jazz vocalist Stacey Kent. It's beautiful musically, & impressive in terms of her eloquent French. She's British, so I get the impression that she's been taking holidays in France depuis un très jeune âge. Perhaps you can come up with more examples of her singing or speaking in French. Thank you!

[@auntisthenes2754]

I suspect Damien Rice is fully adapted.

[@sarcasticallyrearranged]

I totally misread the title of the video and thought it was a video of him speaking French. Didn't realize it was a breakdown video. I need more coffee!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Haha. What were you searching for when you found it?

[@jojoaugustus1383]

Hey :). You could try Charlotte Rampling. Her French is good also

[@thomasmiles340]

Thanks. I'd love it if you would do a video on British actress Jacqueline Bisset. Cheers.

[@auntisthenes2754]

She's astouning even at her age.

[@thebrowneesfilm2]

Je suis d’accord.

[@thomasmiles340]

@@thebrowneesfilm2 Thanks for the comment. A great French film with Bisset is "La Ceremonie" avec Isabelle Huppert and directed by Claude Chabrol (often called the French Alfred Hitchcock). Cheers.

[@thebrowneesfilm2]

@@thomasmiles340 I have always wondered why she did not do more French films especially since all she has ever gotten from Hollywood is junk and her French films such as “ La Nuit américaine » et « La Cérémonie » are of such a higher quality. I have my very own Jacqueline Bisset story. It is a Sunday afternoon in 2014. There is a movie called “The Two Faces of January” adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name showing at the Sunset Five in West Hollywood where I live. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Dunst and Oliver Isaacs but since it has already been dubbed a failure, nobody is there except for myself and wait… could that be Jacqueline Bisset with a friend that I passed on my way to my seat? I don’t think much about it until I am exiting the parking structure and OMG, I lost my ticket and the car behind me is honking. Where can it be. Oh maybe it’s in the trunk. So I exit the car. And there she is in the driver’s seat of the car behind me. Maybe this was Kismet. “Oh Jacqueline” I say. “ I am so sorry” and then switching gears “ I’m your number one fan”( not really) and “ I think you are an incredible actress (not really). She was extremely polite, especially under the circumstances and, since the coast was clear behind her, she suggested that we both reverse and then take another exit. I watched her reverse with exquisite precision and drive away with her friend. It was then the I found my ticket in my pants’ pocket where it had been all the time. Kismet indeed!

[@thomasmiles340]

@@thebrowneesfilm2 Thanks for that great encounter. She always talks to fans on the street, always signs autographs (and takes her time, instead of just scribbling something in a hurry). But what sealed it for me was when you describe how she expertly maneuvered her car in reverse. She once said that Steve McQueen told her she was a good driver. And your story attests to that!

[@WoodyGamesUK]

Something about the use of "la-bas": We normally say "la-bas" when talking about a place/location that you can see, if you're pointing for example (over there). But to refer to a place in general as "la-bas" is not very French, like in "I studied there". The correct French would be "J'y ai étudié".

[@thebrowneesfilm2]

Elle est descendue là-bas dans le midi!

[@garthly]

As someone who studied French 60 years ago, but never got the chance to use it except as a reader, I was a bit surprised at all BC’s use of “tu.” Is that normal in interview situations?

[@jzgame1]

Actually it's a good point you're making there that I didn't pick up before reading your comment. I'm french and we usually say "vous" in an interview situation but I imagine there could be 2 reasons why interviewers might say "Tu" to him, first when speaking French with foreigners we usually say "Tu" in order to simplify the understanding, "vous" could be for a group of people or for one person as you already know and by saying "Tu" we're kinda making sure the foreigner we're talking to knows we're talking to or about him as an individual. Second reason I see is that Bradley Cooper's french is very unformal in the sens that he kinda speaks like we would speak in a relaxed environment, that's mainly cuz, as he said it himself, he wants to be understood and to just be able to have a normal conversation in French so he must have mainly learnt french speaking it and listening and he then proceeded with time to pick up some expressions he heard that were useful or stuff like that. To get back to the subject, that unformal french he has and that laid back convo style of his when he's speaking french might also lead the interviewers to have a more laid back conversation with him and in that sense to use the "Tu" way easily than with someone responding with a very formal and uptight french. (:

[@carlmotiwalla9985]

What is that flag under the French one in the background?

[@ShowandTellknitting]

acted his way through parts of this making typical French facial expressions or typical sounds to round out his act. He's too adorable not to admire, isn't he? My fave French actor is Fabrice Luchini. Alex, if you're looking for someone to highlight, he has notable diction, even amongst the French. Merci!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

That's funny. I just watched Dix Pour Cent's episode where Fabrice Luchini was the star. I liked how he spoke.

[@ShowandTellknitting]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Oh, if you haven't seen his films, *Paris* is my fave because of one scene where I don't want to spoil it. He's great in everything I've seen. His real life story is amazing, too.

[@georgiabrass]

Histoire is totally correct

[@michaelscottii6927]

Merci pour cette vidéo...la vidéo me donne plus de confiance !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Excellent! Je suis très content pour toi !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Tu peux dire aussi : "Merci pour cette vidéo... Elle me donne plus de confiance." pour éviter la répétition de "vidéo" :)

[@michaelscottii6927]

French in Plain Sight Merci...les pronoms sont un peu difficile mais je les pratique !

[@nadiaalcosh2071]

عطينا شخصيه ناطقه باللغه الفرنسيه

[@brazilbella4223]

Salut! Je m'appelle Chika, j'suis Nigérianne. Bradley said pa encore... shouldn't it be pazencore? (Liaison)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Salut. That's one of the liaisons I hear 50% of the time and 50% of the time I don't hear it.

[@loussaille1]

As a french native, I'd say that pronouncing the "liaison" between "pas" and "encore" sounds more "soutenu" than without so congrats @brazilbella for hearing this subtelty!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@loussaille1 Thanks for bringing that up! I hear both and never knew what was more correct in the eyes of purists. However, I'm learning that adding liaisons is generally seen as more correct? "trop important" without liaison is more common, but I hear politicians saying the liaison sometimes, for example.

[@kaerithmallock]

"j'ai jamais allé, encore" Je n'y suis encore jamais allé

[@gikaradi8793]

If you are BC you can talk in Chinese (mandarin) and everybody will praise your French

[@not_a_human_8739]

Im just wondering how the heck I ended up here... Im french.

[@claudrebille178]

J AI JAMAIS ALLÉ LA BAS ?? WRONG ..SHOULD BE .. Je n Y suis jamais ALLÉ. Y .. THERE J Y HABITE ... I LIVE THERE

[@ladybird7845]

Hope Brad’s grandmother is not débile !

[@stupidostupido7694]

Bradley Cooper's French is pretencious, ya know press junket level to sell the movie. Sure, it sounds charming to non-French speakers, but it isn't proper, even when he is trying to speak informally. OTOH, Jodie Foster's French is on the next level, native proficiency level.

[@loussaille1]

As a native french, I politely disagree. I think it's really nice to see a very famous actor or actress make the effort of speaking our langage because we all know how difficult it is to learn all the more so that they have access to interpreters if they want to. (And please correct my english I'd be glad to know if it's correct)

[@happytraveller2122]

From reading all the positive comments from French natives...my impressions are that they APPRECIATE the effort not ridicule it.

[@frontenac5083]

@@happytraveller2122 Absolutely correct! Each time a foreign celebrity is answering questions in French, they garner huge amounts of sympathy, no matter their French level.

[@wendigo1919]

Well, Jodie Foster studied at a prestigious French school for many years, so yes, her language skills are superb. Bradley, to my knowledge, lived and studied in France for only 6 months, which is nothing. His grasp of the accent is very good, and his flow is very good, and he manages to get across his point perfectly. His grammar could definitely be improved, yes, but I don't find that surprising because French grammar is very complicated. You cannot compare the two... Actors are, however, known, to pick up accents well, as is apparent.

[@michelpilon8171]

Ça vaut pas la peine; c'est pas la peine..

[@dklimenok]

It is not the first time that I try to listen Bradley Cooper speak French. This time I did. But no, I am sorry, no. It is so painful to hear. He cannot utter a sentence (literally, not a single phrase!) without mangling the grammar. For me, when you cannot cope with être and avoir, or le and la, there is something deeply frustrating in this overconfidence.

[@claudrebille178]

Débile apples to a person J ai fait mes études à AIX .... NON NON ...N It should be ... j ai étudié à AIX pendant 6 ans!

[@nineteenfortyeight]

It was 6 MONTHS , give him some slack!

[@FORTDavid]

Well in that kind of conversation/interview people could say both, even if "j ai étudié à AIX pendant 6 ans!" sounds a little more formal. An unnoticed thing in the video is using "Aix" which is the shortened form of "Aix en Provence"

[@auntisthenes2754]

'ai fait mes études à Aix " est parfaitement correct. Débile pour une personne est très insultant, pour un fait, une partie de la personne, beaucoup moins; parle de mains débiles, c'est un peu dur. Une débilité est un handicap. Débile, pour une raison qui m'échappe fait partie du vocabulaire débutant/ intermédiaire. faut croire que les profs sont pas fins. d'ailleurs, les jeunes utilisent moins le mot. Con sert à tout. moins poli, mais tous usages.

[@claudrebille178]

@Real Aiglon why be agressive ? I don t understand aggressiveness

[@auntisthenes2754]

@Real Aiglon okay, then, don't trust mine digested as it is, see my reference. A bit stuffy for foreigners, will fit nicely for you to stick where the sun doesn't shine

[@johnheffernan2422]

So basically Bradley’s French sucks. C’est dommage!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

In some ways, yea it's not that strong. In others, he's better than most. It depends how you define quality of one's language ability. The importance of each the following 3 pillars to you will determine that: Grammar and therefore precision, or communication, or pronunciation.

[@johnheffernan2422]

@@FrenchinPlainSight I actually tried to delete that comment but for some reason it stayed. I regretted making it because the video of Bradley being interviewed by Laurence Ferrari about “The Hangover” was one of my main inspirations for going back to studying french after being away for so many years. After nine years of study at the local Alliance Francaise sometimes I get a bit cocky. But what brings me right back to earth is watching an episode of “Dix pour cent” sans sous titres and not understanding a word! Thanks for your excellent videos.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@johnheffernan2422 it can be so easy to become discouraged after watching a show like that. Even just hearing natives for a few hours. But, all you can do is keep on moving forward, managing your expectations along the way. Actually, I've found that NOT aiming to speak like a native is freeing, and has allowed me to be happier and thus progress more smoothly without the weight of expectations I'll probably never meet. I'm still ambitious and I still improve all the time but I'm more free to enjoy it :)

[@Alex-tx2em]

@@FrenchinPlainSight You have good insight about how not putting yourself under pressure to attain native fluency actually improves your journey to learning the language like a native, especially with all the grammatical mistakes they don't seem to care about making outside of a schoolroom setting.

[@fabiesque]

Bradley's French is a bit of a fraud....ahahahha but hey, for an American CHAPEAU!

[@MUSCU1964]

As french i understand his french,and apprreciate it. Not a fraud at All...! And even french do mistakes.so what! It s not an exam!