The Real Truth About Native Speaker Level: Is C2 Good Enough?

[@LucaLampariello]

The Study System that Will Unlock Your Potential to Master Any Language: www.lucalampariello.com/free-3-video-training/

[@LanguagesWithAndrew]

On a funny related note: most native speakers can't pass the C2 level exam in their own language (lots of technical grammar stuff most people either never knew or forgot even if they did at some point learn it in school).

[@quandmeme9970]

Most of the people are dumb and they could not pass even C1 exam with their limited vocabulary. Half of the white population is in the range of 85-100 points of IQ. The 2nd half is not much better... www.researchgate.net/figure/Sample-Itens-at-5-Levels-of-NALS-Literacy-and-Percentage-of-White-Adults-Performing-at_tbl3_237537863

[@cristianlotharrothig2341]

Most of them even B2.

[@fryrish7749]

@@quandmeme9970 By definition, an IQ of 100 is average. So half should be above, and half below.

[@evancolby2274]

I think this is an indication that the exams don't do a good job of testing language proficiency. When I took a practice C1 exam in Greek last year, I noticed that many of the questions were SAT-style questions that were really testing your ability to make inferences more than anything. I don't think it makes sense to include questions like this on a language exam because language proficiency and intelligence are two completely different things; you should be able to get a perfect score if you are a native speaker, even if you're as dumb as a brick.

[@quandmeme9970]

@Fryrish i know what it means. My point is that people in general are stupid. 80-115 points has nothing common with 'intelligence'. But the worst thing these idiots rule in the idiocracy. Tyranny of the majority.

[@VMRVid]

Perfect example of C2 vs. native: Americans don’t say “peasant” because we never had feudal history.

[@supermegaultradelicious1219]

move along now peasant.

[@andresanchez728]

I saw this comment before watching the video and thought it was stupid, americans do say peasant. Then I saw how Luca used it. The american peasant? That was weird.

[@Real_LiamOBryan]

@@andresanchez728 Yeah. We do use the word peasant, mostly when talking about actual peasants, but we generally do not use it when referring to our citizens (even our lower class), that is, unless we are specifically trying to insult someone.

[@andresanchez728]

@@Real_LiamOBryan I know. That is what I meant.

[@srcarapan]

It made me laugh because it reminded me of the film Emperor's New Groove 😂

[@dinosilone7613]

Maybe the real question to ask yourself is “At what level of social interaction would I want to be taken seriously by native speakers in my target language?” Two examples from my own experience: My father grew up in Italy and immigrated to the USA after completing the classical liceo in Rome. He went on to get a PhD in the USA, married, had a family, and lived here for over 60 years. His speech and writing were much more sophisticated (and grammatically correct) than 99% (or better) of native American speakers. But he still had an accent - it wasn't the stereotyped Italian accent, in fact wasn't even recognizable as Italian. You could tell he was “foreign born". Despite that, he was always respected at all levels of interaction. I grew up speaking Italian and our dialect, and I could communicate entirely well - with the proper accent, body language, gestures, etc. But my level was determined mostly by my grandparents, relatives and other “paesani” in our circle (in NY, mid 20th Century). So, even though I have advanced degrees and am a professional, when I spoke Italian, I sounded like a peasant (a time-shifted peasant at that!). I was fluent at that level, but when I would interact with Italian customers and coworkers, I could tell that I was being judged harshly because my language was more appropriate for a peasant than a professional. I'd rather be in my father's position than mine, which is why I'm working really hard now to get to the "well-educated foreigner” level in Italian. Not native - I'll never be that in Standard Italian. But I can at least have a large vocabulary and get the grammar right. And every once in a while, I can throw in some dialect for some "color". :). Overall, I think that's a much better goal than " speaking like a native”.

[@cubicle89]

Well said

[@PuzzleMessage]

Thanks for sharing!

[@asiam.5671]

But why are we putting a "peasant" native on one scale and an educated foreigner on another? Being proficient in a language and sounding like a native are not mutually exclusive.

[@syasyaishavingfun]

@@asiam.5671 Nobody like poor people

[@adriantepesut]

I experienced something similar practicing my Romanian with my grandmother. Certain words and the way certain vowels are slurred in her dialect made me sound awkward to the native youth when I started learning Romanian but because I starting studying as an adult it was a quick fix

[@earlworth]

"Peasant" - nearly spat my coffee out lol

[@liksomkjeks]

Not just scales 😂😂 same!

[@KilVall]

Definitely not a word a native speaker would use in that context. XD

[@eliasleq]

@@KilVall, which word would a native use, please?

[@KilVall]

Elias Mota Ferreira - There is no single word we would use, unfortunately. Luca was translating the word "contadino", which apparently doesn't have the same connotation in Italian: but using the word "peasant" sounds a bit like calling someone "slave" in modern English. We would have to describe the person as an "uneducated farmer" or something like that, to make it clear that we weren't talking about a mediaeval fiefdom.

[@santiagoarce5672]

@@eliasleq You could refer to the person as lower class, or having a low level of education...

[@tuinglessinmiedo4732]

Great video and article! In my humble opinion, reaching a C2 level and sounding like a native speaker are 2 different goals. The C2 certificate is only a tool you can use in your CV and a good way to get a job. That's it. On the other hand, sounding like a native can be a goal but having a distinct accent can sometimes give you an edge, especially when you speak the language well.

[@LucaLampariello]

Thanks for the nice words and fully agreed!

[@quantus5875]

Hard to sound 100% like a native. I really like the term "native-like" which Luca uses. Good example is his English. He has excellent speaking skills. If I met him I would guess this is a guy who lived in Italy for ~20 years and has lived in the U.S. for ~20 years (and really worked on his English). So, he is very close to native speaking capability, i.e. native-like -- so - so hard to get rid of that some of the vestiges of your native accent. Agree there is nothing wrong with having that "tinge" of your native accent. Gives you a bit of character, I think. I think speaking the language well is the better goal.

[@dodgermartin4895]

In my American college, I had a woman from Japan as an English professor. She had a PhD in English, and taught Americans. But she also spoke with a heavy Japanese accent. I was the native speaker and she was the non-native. Even though she knew every bit of English grammar to perfection, nobody would ever mistake her for a native speaker.

[@enesgulcek]

The one, who didn"t like the video, is probably the Danish Professor.

[@JohnnyTheGreek91]

Probably the American peasant

[@carlknudsen3814]

Rød grød med fløde

[@FinancialHealth-ku1ry]

Always aim to use as few words as possible; this creates clarity. You could have written: The Danish Professor disliked the video

[@meatmoneymilkmonogamyequal5583]

that's funny, you made me laugh!

[@asiam.5671]

@@FinancialHealth-ku1ry Sure he could have but it wouldn't have conveyed the same meaning. So why would he want to? I'd venture a guess that there was only one dislike back then and that's what Enes referred to. His only mistake, really, is the commas, which we don't use with defining clauses.

[@thedavidguy01]

Luca's point about cultural references changing in time is important. I'm American but when I hear much younger Americans speak I often don't get the cultural references, such as to music or movies or internet memes. It would be bizarre to claim I am not a native speaker even if I don't completely understand another American.

[@SilviaKay]

I used to wish I was a native speaker of English, but now I don't really care. It is an unrealistic goal and I think it's much better to learn to embrace your own cultural identity (while appreciating others).

[@joannechucheerup]

Silvia Kay true, but I still wanna reach a certain competence of English. At least after watching this vid I won’t have a ridiculous idea that wanna be a English native speaker . XD

[@HingYok]

Same here.

[@Kasiarzynka]

Yes but to everyone who still wishes they were English native speakers when they aren't: English is really easy to learn, especially with all the movie/tv show/music industry being available all over the world and big parts of Internet being English - if you are looking for some international community onlinr, you're most likely to find it in English. The grammar can sometimes be complicated (specially tenses are to some students) but at least it doesn't have noun/adjective genders like, well, most of European languages at least. So speaking any other, not as popular as English language, gives you an advantage of speaking something you'd probably struggle to learn otherwise.

[@thisguylearnsitalian3904]

Yeah, I think it is cool when people have accents, and I am an native English speaker

[@dodgermartin4895]

I agree 100%. I am an American living in French Belgium, and I have no desire to sound Belgian or French. I can't hide it, people can spot Americans a mile away. My only desire is to understand and to be understood, and I consider it a win when natives can understand me and I can understand them.

[@lty9523]

i cant stop laughing every time he says peasant 🤣🤣 no hate luca ur amazing but it’s just hilarious

[@1rsalc]

Luca your French impression was great! On a serious note. You are absolutely right: being a native includes cultural references and customs... things that have been acquired over many long years.

[@daysandwords]

4:30 - 4:50 - Would anyone else love to see Luca just do a "Language Stereotypes and Impressions" video once a month hahaha. That French guy "J'ai pas envie...." hahaha, so good. The point you make about time is a good one too. I grew up on a diet of a 1917 Australian poem (I won't go into why), but I had this 80-ish page poem all but memorised by the time I was about 10. There are words in there that I still sometimes use but only as a joke because I know that 80% of native English speakers don't understand them; those words have basically vanished since 1917.

[@JulieStudies]

Days of French 'n' Swedish - Which poem? Since I’m in my late 50s, betcha I understand or even still use some of the language 😜🤣 Luuuuved studying Aussie history and poetry back in the 70s.

[@daysandwords]

@@JulieStudies Yeah maybe so but you wouldn't be in the 80%, you're in the 20%. The Glugs of Gosh by CJ Dennis. It's 100% free in the Australian poetry archives online.

[@AnthonyLauder]

This recent series of videos from Luca has been amazing. A real gold mine of valuable insights and advise.

[@LucaLampariello]

Thanks Anthony! Always way too kind ;-)

[@buenvidanadz1969]

I've experienced switching to a language to which I'm a native speaker at, making me a native speaker of two different languages in different times. As a kid, I've always expressed myself in Filipino (Standardized Tagalog="Tagalog" in layman's term)--talked,cried, argued, and everything else that involves colloquial expression; all of those in Filipino). However, when I got to 4th grade, I was transferred to a public school and everything was almost expressed in Cebuano. I was already an L2 speaker of Cebuano during that time but I was not a "native speaker" (I don't express myself nor even talk to myself in Cebuano). During those times of heavy immersion to the language, I gradually transitioned into a Cebuano native speaker. At this point in time, I think I'm a native speaker of Cebuano even though Filipino and English were my first languages :D

[@ad-spiritus]

You’ve improved your English pronunciation, Luca. I remember a lot of little things sticking out as odd in your older videos. Your accent doesn’t immediately call attention to itself anymore. This is the most American I’ve heard you sound. 👍 Good work :) Quite close to native-like pronunciation indeed. Also, if anyone in the comments doubts that you can truly achieve a native-like accent in English, look up Accent’s Way by Hadar on KZbin. She sounds genuinely like a native. I was shocked when I learned she wasn’t, and I am one!

[@arubisudesu]

Wow, she sure is amazing and inspiring. Thx for sharing!

[@JulieStudies]

Spiritus Fenix - Not that “American” English is a benchmark or anything, especially since millions of native English speakers are not American....😜😜😊

[@erwinmoreno23]

He has spoken since he was a child. I think what you hear is the accent of someone who speaks many languages and sometimes it interferes with even your native language pronunciation. As an american, his english has always sounded quite the same to me

[@ad-spiritus]

Julz S ....Since he is speaking American English with an American accent and that’s been the English I’ve heard him try to emulate any time I’ve ever heard him speak English, .....yes... it is precisely the benchmark. It’s quite useful to know that you you’re reaching the very goal your aiming toward. Is something giving you the impression that he is trying to sound British or Australian here? Really?

[@ad-spiritus]

Alvis Yu I know! She helps me believe maybe I can reach my pronunciation goal in my foreign languages. You’re quite welcome! :)

[@rodritel88]

This is so accurate I could say it's a very important lesson to be taught when you are learning a language. It's awful knowing that a number of people confuse being at a C2 level and being a native speaker and for that reason they quit learning a language! I think don't even we can reach a c2 level in our own language if it's not through proper courses or studies, so for me it doesn't matter the level of your target language you are but the eager you are to learn it, and knowing more about other cultures, places or customs helps a lot. Cheers! Gracias Luca, te mereces más seguidores macho! ^_^

[@KevinAbroad]

Luca, I love that you addressed the issue of "native-speaker"! Nativeness is not the synonym of "fluency"!

[@escrituratalks]

Most of people studying foreign languages will probably never reach the "native level" of fluency, and that's totally fine! You don't need to sound or act in exact the same way as a native speaker in a foreign language would in order to have a good experience with the language. I have a good level of English and French, I still have my accent, but I don't see any problem with that, people are able to understand me. I think the main goal is to be able to communicate the ideas you have in the foreign language.

[@bofbob1]

I'm like that too. The amount of adult learners who can perfectly acquire native phonology is so small that in linguistics it's an open question as to whether everyone can achieve that level if they just work at it long enough, or whether certain people are just predisposed for it (genetics etc.). This is all very subjective of course, but for me a good place to be is when your accent is no longer identifiable with your own native language; i.e. when you still have an accent, but people don't think right off the bat "oh, he's French", or "oh he's American", or wherever you happen to be from. That's my "Goldilocks" zone: hard enough that it makes me want to work harder at it, but not so hard that I lose all motivation.

[@iconn12]

No that’s not fine it sucks I wish I could take surgery or something to change my awful voice.

[@guillermohernandezquintana3649]

The relevant challenge in a second language is fluency and "connection". Establishing the bridge for interacting with ideas, enhancing the collective value from a mere transactional communication. At this point, the richness of each experience matters, and team cognitive process emerges through a common identity or purpose. As you mentioned, body language, intonation counts as much as the message (7_38_55 rule from Albert Mehrabian) for achieving this goal, in other words, a true storyteller. Metaphors, stories, idiomatic expressions are so powerful in effective communication, and a good sample of it is your comparison: Abroad professor living a long time in the country, vs. a native peasant. The teacher has more tools for verbal and written communication, but from the cultural approach never at the same level of natives. Thanks for sharing.

[@judylenomak404]

Im from philippines and working in taiwan and currently learning mandarin and english as well. Im watching ur videos every single day and im learning alot from it. Thanks much LUCA😊

[@joannechucheerup]

judylen omak hiiiii I’m taiwanese, i like to watch his vids as well. How’s the life there? Wish you good luck on your language journey. :)

[@мирвовсеммире-ы1и]

i'm from the philippines too.. i've learned to speak spanish through the internet.. right now i'm working on my russian.. in my experience the best way to learn a language is through comprehensible input, that is, constant exposure to comprehensible input..

[@judylenomak404]

@@мирвовсеммире-ы1и wow nice! Im planning to learn spanish also im doing part time job in the hotel here in taiwan and sometimes we have spanish guest and there are already spanish words that we are using in the phils😆 so it really exciting to learn

[@judylenomak404]

@@joannechucheerup thanks for that. I enjoyed my work here in taiwan but im still struggling learning mandarin .its quite interesting to learn😆😆

[@kelseybeyer7882]

Peasant 😂😂 Luca that’s a term for people in the old world not the US

[@Historyboi-vn7gd]

He probably studied British English

[@chester6343]

It's a term for the people who lived outside the castle walls in England lol, when people say peasant I think ripped clothing and sleeping on straw beds. Funny af when he said peasant

[@liveforever4190]

American here: it wasn't the best word choice but perfectly understandable and inconsequential. I dunno, I would have said a "a country bumpkin" (no offense to any bumpkins watching this, much love). That's what I would have said, but perhaps there's a more scholarly term lol

[@PapaB4947]

Also an American here, and I definitely didn't think twice about the word peasant being used as seeming odd at all. People have various walks of life and those walks are most often among different people and different roads so the manner in which people spesk undoubtedly will also be different. So let a peasant live. Lol

[@judeyeoman318]

@@Historyboi-vn7gd the word peasant is also out of use in britain (except in history lessons😂)

[@deepdarkmidnight]

I do want to reach a C2 level in German but I don't want to sound native, just because I like my own accent in the language.

[@petehuda7457]

Ist doch super

[@appleslover]

That's weirdly beautiful

[@nobodyjusnobody1554]

Whats your accent?

[@DarkEagle-]

Das macht für mich absolut keinen Sinn

[@OGmaximilian]

@@nobodyjusnobody1554 Bavarian

[@harryramsaymusic]

Luca, this was great! Loved the language "impersonations". I really appreciate all of the "tips" videos that you put together, but if I had one wish, it would be to hear more of you actually speaking the languages you've learned. Your accents in the various languages always sound so spot-on, and I have to admit that I feel far more inspired when I see you switching languages rapid-fire in conversation with Matthew Youlden, or going into various topics in quite some depth with Richard Simcott across ten or so languages (about half of which I can understand, but that's what subtitles are for). This is what initially moved me so much about the online polyglot community - not as some cheap party trick, but as the ultimate expression of the decades of work that you've put in. It comes across like you're having so much fun with it, and for me, when I see it, that's what drives me to hit the books and study - not more generic videos like "the benefits of learning a language". Please don't misinterpret this - it's not a complaint. I appreciate everything you're doing! Just wanted to express my excitement for your speaking videos. Groetjes uit Nederland!

[@flutefreak8290]

Nice video! It took me a while to accept the fact that I'll never become a native German speaker, but it's actually a refreshing, calming feeling once you just accept it. And it's true...those moments where you somehow pass for a native even for just a few seconds/minutes are quite fun :)

[@bomanson]

Those precious moment...

[@Makrania]

Francesco Camuglia It’s very comforting indeed, as Luca mentions, when I realized how precisely one speaks, it’s possible to have the best of all worlds. As with any skill, the better it becomes, the more valuable it is, without taking away our identities.

[@kamilkarwacki9590]

Its not true, i moved to germany when i was a kid and learned the language and pronounciation in around 6 years. As an adult you can still learn it. Observe other people very closely, work on your pronounciation, try expressing your feeling with common idioms and it will become natural to you

[@Pedro-sk2ub]

My goal is native-like fluency

[@sheco97]

I've recieved many good comments from native English speakers about my English, my accent and all so hella yeah, it's totally worth it! what's been really frustrating for me lately was my academic level. I learned English as a hobby long time ago, but people these days are obsessed with reaching C2, are obsessed about the CEFR in general. I took some English tests online and my scores always vary. sometimes I get C1 many times B2 and I even got B1 once even tho it doesn't really reflect my actual level. I've decided to stop caring about it and embrace all the progress I've made over the years. I'm learning Spanish now and I hope that I don't get into this loop again of "am I good enough? let's check my CEFR level". thanks for the video!

[@MetaMM]

Let me tell you, Luca. You're the best!! I wrote already a few comments on your other videos but before I even saw your name, I thought what a lovely way this man speaks English, so smooth like butter. Then I realised you're Italian, wow!! I speak Italian, my late husband was Italian, I lived in Milan many years and now back in Indonesia. I never met one who speaks English as smooth and fluent and so correctly as you. There was one and I thought he was the best. Now you are way more as in perfection. I'm so impressed!!

[@LucaLampariello]

"So smooth like butter" - sounds interesting =)

[@MetaMM]

Luca Lampariello Like hot knife to butter I meant 😀

[@JulieStudies]

Meta M -“smooth like butter” sounds sexier 😜😁😁

[@MetaMM]

@@JulieStudies 😅

[@fanslifejapan255]

Great video. One more point I would like to say is the need to become a “native speaker”. Culturally speaking, the perspective that a foreigner see a country is always different than a native, no matter how much you try to absorb the local culture. But there’s nothing wrong with that. I treasure the mixture of my international knowledge. On the other hand, those “natives” are always interested in how they are seen by the foreigners too!

[@cubicle89]

It's tricky with people who have mixed heritage and grew up in a multicultural setting. I was born and grew up in Greece but my father's from Australia, which I only ever visited a couple of times when I was a kid. My English is native-like but I could never pass off as a native speaker, and people who learn I'm part-Australian are very surprised that I have a neutral-sounding accent and not an Aussie one. Well, I never grew up surrounded by Australian English. It's actually something that's been bothering me because "nativeness" has a lot to do with identity, as you very rightly point out. I'm also reminded of language school across the world where mere nativeness is enough to be employed as an English speaker (regardless of skills or knowledge), whereas people who might otherwise be perfectly native-like and great teachers do not get a place under the sun. I'd love you to make an episode about the emergent status of English as an international second language and what this means for natives and non-natives.

[@kookosowy]

You're extremely inspired! Thanks for videos! BR from Poland!

[@marcelosoto-quiroga1965]

Quite right, Luca. Two amazing examples of this (they're widely known celebrities) are actor Viggo Mortensen and actress Anya Taylor-Joy... both share similar life histories, since they lived their childhood, although in different years, in Argentina. They went to elementary school in that country and lived more or less up to teenage there. So they both speak Spanish with a strong argentine accent, apart from their mother language English, of course (Mr. Mortensen also speaks Dutch thanks to his father). Moreover, they are quite embedded in the Argentine culture, i.e.: they like foods, books, and they're even fans of football (soccer) clubs from Buenos Aires. Not even an argentinian could guess they were not born in that country just by hearing any one of them speaking.

[@putinisakiller8093]

Viggo's father is Danish. He is from Denmark not the Netherlands.

[@CrisOnTheInternet]

This is a perfect follow up for Jan's latest video. Through language learning I want to embrace new cultures without losing my own.

[@dantabaken6840]

well-done!!! I observed that Luca has a systematic approach based on a psychological point of view when he explores different aspects of learning foreign languages. i would say that Luca is a linguistic psychotherapist who corrects unrealistic expectations.

[@danieldamaceno9641]

Linguist here. It does NOT matter if you don't sound like a native speaker, because of accents, body or facial expressions. It is only a problem if people can't understand you. In my opinion (not as a scientist), accents even make you look cooler, because that means you speak other languages. On top of that, speaking C2 is something that most of native speakers don't or will ever achieve, once it is a high sophisticated level of the language, mostly used in universities. Native speakers tend to speak around B2.

[@juanmanuelmoramontes3883]

Yes, about the accent thing just ask Sofia Vergara how'd it go 🙂

[@icydelight3693]

It seems kinda depressing to me that a native speaker speaks around a B2 level. I think most people who have attented a good high school usually reach c2!

[@disappointedenglishman98]

No, this is not right. If you have a foreign accent in your English, then you simply learnt the language poorly. It is nonsensical to claim that native speakers only speak their own languages at an intermediate level. That is simply untrue. All non-mentally subnormal native speakers speak their languages at an advanced level. Whether C2 tests are appropriately put together to test for the right things is another question entirely. To suggest that if you get to B2 you have an ability to speak, understand, read and write equivalent to native speakers is ridiculous. Try reading a book or watching a film with that level.

[@disappointedenglishman98]

Tommy, C2 doesn't even approach the level of a native speaker. A C2 speaker might know 10,000-20,000 words and understand texts that are not heavily colloquial and not on unexpected subjects, and might understand language that was sufficiently close to an arbitrarily determined standard. That would be a low level of ability compared to a native speaker who might know 50,000-100,000 words, understand colloquialisms and even slang expressions never encountered before, as well as non-standard speech and non-standard pronunciations. Some learners clearly wish to overstate their abilities or even claim they exceed the ability of native speakers.

[@icydelight3693]

@@disappointedenglishman98 I mean sometimes learners are indeed bilingual. There are some learners who know a lot of words. Some of them are university researchers and they spend their time reading articles in English, so it makes sense that they know the language really well. I would not consider the slang a part of the language, because it's something local. As an Italian native speaker I don't speak my local dialect for instance. Anyway a c2 speaker understands complex texts, the articles that they have to read are about complex subjects, that a 10 year old native speaker probably would not understand. A friend of mine scored 222/230 at the CPE, so not only she is c2, but she is in the top range of the c2 speakers (A level). In the listening part she had to listen to an Australian person talking about the inner structure of a car (the parts of the engine, the brakes etc etc). It was unexpected and challenging. I would have had troubles listening to that even in my own language because I am not familiar with the subcect. This friend of mine is Italian and she lives in Italy, but she only listens to English music, she watches only Enligsh TV shows, she has read many books in English and she has made 3 years of university out of 5 in English. And like all of us, she started studying English at 6 years of age. In high school they made us read Shakespeare, they brought us to New York, she went to Ireland for the summer to perfect her English. So I wouldn't say a c2 speaker is not even close to a native speaker. An other friend of mine is c2 in English, she learnt English here in Italy and lives in England since 2015. She was accepted at the Kings College and she is at the 5th year of medecine, with great marks. She understands everything people say to her and people don't even notice she is not native. She probably speaks better than many native speakers who would not be able to understand a university lesson. She already had this level of control over her English 5 years ago, before she moved to England. Staying there just allowed her to perfect the accent. So I really believe c2 speakers can be close to a native speaker when it comes to ability. However I believe most native speakers are easily c2. Those who are not are those who have a poor education and have always lived outside the city, not knowing the grammar and having a limited range of words. In Italy there are many native speakers who are not c2 due to their lack of culture. Some non native speakers speak Italian better than them and just as well as a native with a good CV. Sooo all I am saying is: let's not underestimate native speakers, who are mostly c2, unless they have a poor education, but let's not understandimate c2 foreign speakers, because they can be really good. PS: I am not talking just about English, my opinion is based also on Italian. I have seen foreign people with a better understanding of Italian than some poor uneducated Italian people who probably would not get c2 it they tried to.

[@kurtchander8123]

Thanks Luca. Important video and wellt thought arguments. It is a nice feeling to be mistaken for a native speaker, but you are right that sooner or later your real identity will be revealed, so it’s always a question why strive to be taken for a native speak if you are not one. Look forward to your next videos.

[@catherinelearnslanguages3713]

Love the point about identity. So important! Language isn't just a collection of words and grammatical rules.

[@ibakarol815]

Overall, very informative video. Keep up the good work✊✊

[@LucaLampariello]

Thanks! =)

[@bernardozordan704]

The point made at 4:30 ish was just amazing. I had never actually noticed those things! Could you make a video about the different body language and mannerisms you noticed in each of the languages you studied (or maybe your 5 best languages idk), that would be super helpful! The french one just cracked me up 😂

[@cyruszahed2955]

That would be such an interesting thing!

[@arys8133]

1:00 I had this in the back of my mind for a while. As a receptive bilingual growing up my first language was spanish it wasn't until I started school where I started to transition into english and purely english. However my parents never stopped speaking to me in spanish, so I developed a native-like comprehension. Since language adquistion is divided into 4 parts (Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing). Wouldn't I still have my status of "Native" since I did in fact grow up with the language and could understand near perfectly, read very well, but my speaking and writing were no where near my comprehension. This mean I have dominated the 2 of the 4 language skills as a native speaker would. But this example is so perfect a "peasant" could grow up to be illerate meaning not knowing how to read or write and thus growing up with 2 out of 4 of the language skills as I had, but clasified as a native as I would be classified as a heritage speaker. I have no clue if it's even possible to reclaim your native language in situations like these, so I keep it real to myself and accept myself as a heritage speaker and know that I lost my native status which hurts me deeply. Just makes me wonder.

[@factorynew8835]

I'm not good at showing appreciation. But thank you for being a genuine Polyglot, you inspire me and I will keep learning just like you do.

[@JaViste]

Took in mind! No Magic No miracle Just do it as your hobbies as well. ♂️

[@GentleJohn]

Good video, although we don't really have "peasants" here in America. Serfdom is more of a European thing.

[@Makrania]

Gentle John A peasant and serf are not necessarily synonymous. A peasant is a farmer who works on land that is owned by someone else. Sharecroppers are an example of peasants. Serfs are people whose movement on land is restricted by law. While peasants can be serfs, liberating the serfs would still make them peasants until they engage in other occupations. Of course, there is a very long history of such institutions in America.

[@someinteresting]

I'm guessing common knowledge, too, is a European thing, not American.

[@RicardoPietrobon]

@@MakraniaI guess "peasant" is just not a word that Americans will use that often. So, it just sounded a bit off.

[@TheAnarchist99]

@@RicardoPietrobon he probably meant a farmer or a person that lives in rural area of the US and didn't have access beyond basic education

[@Big-guy1981]

I think he just meant "lower class".

[@viejitaaa]

So, I'm curious--in how many languages have you been mistaken for a native speaker?

[@karliikaiser3800]

I guess not so often, I can hear his foreign accent whilst he´s speaking english and also noticed it while he spoke german.

[@ricardo53100]

I have met Luca in person and I would say his level in English is certainly native speaker of American English. He could pass for an American who lived overseas most of his life.

[@franmoreno441]

he could definitely pass for a spanish. I wouldn't realise that spanish isn't his mother tongue, at least in a normal daily conversation

[@LucaLampariello]

Mostly in English, French, Spanish - but it also happened with German, Russian, Portuguese and recently - to my surprise, I might add - it started happening in Polish as well! Obviously being mistaken for a native speaker does not imply that I actually speak like a native speaker, or that I sound like one for that matter. It is just a perception that people have, especially if the interaction is short. The longer this interaction gets, the more evident it becomes to natives that I am not one of them. I don't think that sounding like a native speaker is that big of a deal, but it has brought about a lot of joy and fun in my life, and speaking a lot of foreign languages has allowed me - and still does! - to have exhilarating experiences everywhere I go.

[@LucaLampariello]

@@ricardo53100 Thanks for the nice words Rick! I still remember that long and interesting conversation we had about the "American way of life", Prague, Europe, languages..and all the rest =)

[@James-vx2wm]

I love what you covered here and I feel like it’s rarely discussed in such detail

[@christophiluslovingchristb5441]

I, an English-speaker from birth, am learning Spanish. I was thinking today as I was hiking and listening to some Spanish exercises, as an English-speaker, I have deeply rooted memories of my earliest childhood days, Christmases, outings with my friends, growing up! As a person in my 40s learning a new language, I will never have the childhood memories of traditions & family interactions that I did as a boy. I'm getting better at the language but the language wherein a person is raised is their heart language. As a masters level therapist I can see that language is a window into understanding other cultures & vice versa. I want to provide services in another person's heart language as it is more meaningful to them. So, I agree C2 is an admirable goal but an indigenous speaker is always rooted in their culture more than one speaking the language anew.

[@TypicalRussianGuy]

''The peasants, though...'' Lol :D

[@keith6293]

Love your content as usual. I'm learning a lot from your videos so thank you Luca !

[@tacticmovement2273]

That's incredible how do you manage the language, man you're a genius, according your experience and knowledge of english I guess that everything is true. Thanks for your advices Sir.

[@francescarub7485]

That's so true! Very good job Luca!

[@franmoreno441]

Enhorabuena por el video ! hahaha que buena la imitación de diferentes nacionalidades. Es curioso que la expresión corporal que acompaña a las palabras sea también un rasgo común de las personas de un país o zona geográfica. Estaría muy bien un video de tu experiencia en eso Lucca !

[@alankent]

GOOD POINT! I was born and raised and lived my entire life in the usa. So many of the people I have encountered with the same existence as mine are incredibly ignorant of the vocabulary and nuances of "American" english. I constantly feel a need to hand out thesauruses.

[@SeanSmithD]

There are a varieties of English (and every other language). The customs and experiences of English speakers vary greatly between different sub cultures. A 'better' or 'native' speaker is a somewhat useful categorization of skills, but as a graduate school educated person, I use simpler language with someone without that level of education, and often because our cultural differences, I am often lost in parts of their conversation. I think your danish speaker example is probably able to deal with uncertainty in conversation as well or better than many native speakers. English has become part of his culture, and he has become part of the larger English culture and shapes the language as it goes forward.

[@lridor01]

I think too many people concentrate on native proficiency when native speakers of major languages from different countries speak the language differently for example English in US, UK, Canada, Australia; Spanish in Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Cuba; French in France, Quebec, Belgium, Francophone West Africa, Mahgreb; Portuguese varieties in Brasil, Portugal, and Angola. The best is to learn the standard version of the language to a B2/C1 proficiency level and adapt to the local idioms of the native speakers from that particular country, region, or city where you will live or with the natives you will daily communicate.

[@MischaDerGrosse]

Hi, Luca! It would be nice if you could share your ideas how to maintain the language on a high level, how to maintain this language feeling? Because if i don't learn German even for one day, I find out that i can find words not so fast and so exactly Thank you for your videos !

[@azuregriffin1116]

Most English speakers would say 'so quickly and so precisely'. 'Exactly' would be used before a verb or noun to emphasise it ([this is] exactly my point), to agree (yeah, exactly), or in a lab (this is three centimeters exactly). Fast would be an adjective, but you need an adverb there, and fastly sounds clumsy to our precious ears, so we'd say 'quickly'... or 'speedily', if you want to give a whimsical sense to it.

[@MischaDerGrosse]

@@azuregriffin1116 thank you for feedback! which languages do learn? =)

[@yujo8105]

1. Native speaker is different from foreigner who tries to sound like a native speaker 2. foreigners can speak more eloquently than a native speaker does 3. but the native speaker still can have some advantages(knowledges about facial expressions, custom and cultural references etc) 4. foreigners cannot know all the cultural references, and can't have the same experience which native speaker had(going to school etc) 5. When you learn a new language not only focus on how they speak but take a good look at on face, hand gesture, expressions with eyes and body etc 6. Given naitive speaks have their own expericen in specifi time and specific space, we cannot be in that time and space so you cannot replicate. 7. 100%

[@iconn12]

WHY YOU SO RACIST ??? You discourage many people who start their journey with the language. Don’t ever tell anybody that because it’s bullshit and you should be ashamed of yourself.

[@Ec00-r6r]

All love and appreciation for you well done❤ from Iraq❤

[@hikaronoronha2375]

Excellent video Luca, you are so funny, and show us a lot of different ways to think about languages, thanks a bunch

[@LucaLampariello]

Thanks for the nice words Hikaro! =)

[@hikaronoronha2375]

@@LucaLampariello wow, it's a pleasure to read an answer from Luca, I like so much of your Job :)

[@benalexender3046]

Thanks from Egypt 🇪🇬 you are awesome man

[@ricardo53100]

Excellent explanation of the difference between a native speaker and C2 level. One clarification. In the USA (and probably Canada as well) we do not use the term "peasant" to refer to a rural dweller or someone who works on a farm or ranch. We would refer to the "peasant" as a farm hand or ranch hand. Cheers,

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

Paysan?

[@bilc3868]

4:28 😮 that was so accurate 4:44 omg 😱 I Follow "Solange te parle" and she speaks like that. 6:44 👍🏾

[@maneld2702]

Native Spanish speaker from Barcelona here. His '¿Pero qué te pasa, macho?' was spot on 😂

[@der_Allsehende_Seher]

As a native in the USA allow me to take a machete to the thicket: Dr Henry Kissinger, whether or not you like his politics, is amazing. While he has a German accent, he does not make MISTAKES in English. My voice teacher, the late Cantor Moshe Taubé had an accent: He was from Poland, saved by Oskar Schindler, and spoke six languages. His German needless to say was perfect, and he taught me exclusively in that language! Once after a Synagogue service (before I was his student) I had made him angry. He said: "I believe I am entitled to an apology!" I am good at English, of course. *In a million years I would not have been able to formulate that phrase, "I believe I am entitled to an apology" off the cuff as he did.* Natives, for all their restlessness(!) don't know everything either! ALSO: proficiency is the goal. Remember: NOBODY to my knowledge ever asks a great concert pianist what he/she did BEFORE they learned their music!😊 As a pianist, I can honestly say nobody ever asked me that either, they seem to either enjoy my music or tell me their opinion of THE PERFORMANCE.

[@pierreabbat6157]

I'm a native speaker of English, French, and Spanish, and in English I've been told I have a Romance twang, and in Spanish I've been told I sound like someone learning Spanish. (I don't have much opportunity to speak French.) The guy who told me that in Spanish is Salvadoran, so when I visited my aunt (also Salvadoran) I talked a bit and she pointed something out. I'm guessing the Dominicans and Colombians think I sound like a Salvadoran, but the Salvadoran hears most of my accent as "no accent" and the slight deviations as "North American". I didn't learn to speak Spanish when I was a kid; my parents both spoke French and they and relatives gave me lots of books in French, but only my mother spoke Spanish. But I've found native speakers of Spanish who didn't understand "puerro" or "albaricoque". My next language is German, which I started learning from a Berlitz book when I was a kid. That is not the same as reading La Conquête de l'énergie or Babar or Tintin and does not count toward nativeness. My father learned German as a second language and didn't speak it much around me.

[@edresmn7869]

Hi Luca, I have been impressed by your videos, techniques for a long time, and I have a lot of respect to you. However, I feel a bit sad that you did not give Arabic a chance. It is a rich language and you will have a lot of joy learning and speaking it. if you decide to learn it one day, I am happy to help practice with you the language free :)

[@gordonchong3580]

I find Luca's eyebrow-raising use of the word "peasant" to be rather heartening. I've long admired his language skills and sage counsel but even he stumbles like a mere mortal. I am a well-educated enough Canadian but the C2 exam would scare the daylights out of me. But the good thing is that I will never have to take the exam. In my experience so many language learners are so focused on "learning for the exam" it impedes their ability to achieve near native-like fluency.

[@mikereisert2803]

Please a Video of you imitating the gestures of other Language speakers. Your German example was accurate (and that coming from a German), as well as the Spanish example. But your French one almost killed me mdr😂

[@cyruszahed2955]

The french exemple was a bit caricatual but not incorrect haha and I'm a native speaker from paris

[@beatleplayer1011]

The funny thing is I have many of those example professors at my school. And the Italian professors and post docs all have the MOST Italian accent ever - but we all love it - their English is almost perfect grammatically and vocab-wise (aside from adverb order) but the accent is like I’m in Florence

[@viniciopilger254]

Seriously, I don't care as for speaking like a native, because I find it so cool when I see someone who speaks Portuguese with a foreign accent that I don't even think it's a matter of speaking well or not, it's just who you are.

[@leifrsubtil]

I was born in Brazil and my family always spoke English and Portuguese with me. I have learned English since I was born and I think in English. I also speak Portuguese, as fluent as English. Am I a native speaker?

[@ColinSampaleanu]

Nice video in many ways. The only thing I would really quibble about is your claim that a native speaker needs to be born in a country. My feeling is that a person that immigrates into a country at a relatively young age will learn the local language (without trying, like any child) at a level that is "native", i.e. indistinguishable from that spoken by someone born there. I am an example. I was born in Romania, but came to Canada (in the 70s) at the age of 7. My older brothers were 9 and 11. None of of speak with any accent whatsoever in English vs our Canadian-born peers, and in fact our English is better than our Romanian, since we have spoken much more English in our lives than Romanian. When we speak to other people, they don't know we were born outside of Canada unless we tell them. My Romanian is good, but it's probably only C2 or so. In Toronto, where half the people were actually born outside of Canada, you will find many people like us. Plus the whole gamut, including people who came at a slightly older age, perhaps 13-15, and speak English really really well, including using all native idioms, but perhaps still have a little bit of an accent. Past a certain age, it's hard to lose it.

[@Makrania]

Colin Sampaleanu I have a similar migration story, as I was born in England to Indian and Pakistani parents, then spent several childhood years in Pakistan, and moved to America by age 10, in the early 1970’s. My cousins who were born in England and then immigrated to America by age 10, never lost their British accents. In mine, one can trace influences from all three cultures.

[@luxikuisesti231]

One of your best video Luca actually 1️⃣

[@adelsayed4698]

I adore your way of tackling such topics... Wooooow mouth watering topic to widen my gaze 😄

[@learner9641]

I don’t know why people get stuck in things like level :/ just learn guys You can do It :)

[@dfk09]

I don’t care if he said “peasant” or not, he still said some useful information. I would be very happy If I can speak Portuguese as well he can speak in English.

[@axelbatalha2830]

I'm a native portuguese speaker (from Brazil). It's not that hard, I believe. Keep going.

[@sunoysanyal9806]

Am I a native speaker? My mom is from Turkey and my dad is Indian, now they both are professors and have c2 level English. We speak English at home since it’s the only language we all can understand but since we don’t live in an English speaking country half the time I don’t speak in English. I am a bilingual person. So the question stands: Am a native speaker?

[@Kojitsu]

Yes you are a native speaker in 2 languages because you grew up using them. Native bilingual.

[@naverich4603]

The question I have is: what about those who want to write novels in English? You want to be able to flex the language to your will but at the same time you don't need to speak like native speaker....just write and considering the fact that most natives don't pass C2 test BECAUSE of grammar...well..you have to reach C2

[@skullkssounds1938]

Everyone: Native speaker Luca: P E A S A N T 😎

[@Bfolks84]

Luca is a perfect example of what he describes in this video.. his command of American English and accent is so nuanced I did a double take the first time I heard him like “ 😱he’s not American??” But then I heard him use phrases or words that a native speaker wouldn’t use .. not that they’re wrong ...but just sounded learned from education; formal as opposed to acquired natively. For instance the use of the word “peasants” in his analogy... the word use is correct grammatically and lexically.. but it sounded so unnatural to my American English ear. I would’ve used “blue collar”. There are other instances in his other videos as well. I suspect it comes from reading a lot of English literature. But don’t get me wrong... he definitely has mastery over English and I will strive to get my French and Spanish on par with his English level!!

[@slowlearner4341]

Merci, Luca. Ce sujet, ce que vous vient de toucher a cette vidéo, contient quantité inimaginable de détails et d'elements. C'était trés dynamique et attirant, votre présentation.

[@edithjimenez4517]

¡Sos el mejor mentor de idiomas!

[@adriancarrillo5034]

Yes, and by doing this (adopting like native behavior or expressions) we can see think in a different way or at least feel hehe. Yes, It is like being a second language learner, a native, and a foreign language learner. the process of acquiring a language is different for each case. In fact, some just acquire it and others learn it.

[@mauuvillani]

i could tell you were italian in the first few seconds you started speaking haha i got some italian friends and your accent are pretty distinctive i love the video btw

[@tomatrix7525]

I think he actually made the point accidently with the use of peasant. This is an outdated old english word, not used by natives unless referring to history.

[@espartaco2028]

I personally believe, for myself and many others, there´s a deep psychological need to abandon our own identity and take on another, like a foreign agent, to be seen as NOT foreign. I´m talking about acceptance. When you combine this psychological need to belong, perhaps like me, whose had a disastrous socialization from age 5 to 25, you desire a redo, a change to do it all over and be accepted by a target society. I don´t want ¨just¨ to be C1 level Spanish. I want to become Spanish! I want the impossible--All the admiration and interest of me being different and yet, not to be seen as different. It´s a frustration we cannot hope to accomplish because, the accomplishment would make us realize that we aren´t happy inside ourselves. We let other´s opinions paint who we become. The coolest fckr in the world is the foreigner who doesn´t want to be seen as the culture of their study. If I can realize this now, I´ll be so much happier in Spain! Again, like the LGBT community, we thought we wanted equality but, what we really needed was attention, to be accepted and for the older ones like me, to find an apology from a world who treated me like shit. Then again, unfortunately, I´m not special. Everyone has been mistreated but we are still scared and maybe language! Maybe moving to a foreign country! It´s not about the language. I know that much.

[@mcmerry2846]

Nice comparison right there, I think similar. Furthermore, level test are subjective measuring the real speaking proficiency of the people

[@rosiebowers1671]

lmfao your French impersonation was so on point, I'm dying.

[@gusjoagomez]

Me gustó el:. "¿Pero que te pasa macho!!!???" 😄

[@juancas0736]

ma che cazzo stai facendo?

[@Mateo-et3wl]

in my opinion, and i'm surprised you didn't mention this ;), native speaker and C2 are not points along the same continuum. you don't pass C2 and keep going until you get to native speaker. there's a real question of register for the C2 exams. it's primarily an academic use of the language, showing skills of reasoning and transitions between ideas, summarizing and arguing, etc. a native speaker may or may not ever have the need (or ability) to do any of that. it might help to think of C2 as "academic fluency". these exams were created as a way to filter applicants to universities and certain jobs which is why they dwell so heavily on a specific set of skills.

[@camilotello3296]

Perhaps the video I liked the most

[@andreteixeira8546]

The opposite is one of the most tragic things that someone can experience: being a native speaker that others always assume to be a foreign. Quite common in Asia among those who were born in, let's say, Japan, and are monolingual, but do not look like the average Japanese person.

[@arnoldsuarez6718]

Excelente video Luca👍

[@NoEvilpwbr]

Do u figured it out by yourself? Seriously, its truly impressive, almost like the discover of the wheel. Congrats

[@xavialguer1769]

Gracias tío!! Impresionante como siempre...

[@ShyamSyangtan]

that genture part was hysterical 😂 I liked that since I do that too while learning this english language. It helps me to remember vocabs and make me think in English.

[@tedc9682]

Very good video. I'm far from C2 level in Chinese, but Luca makes the subject very interesting.

[@RhythmnOfThought]

I find (at least the start of) the video to be pretty discouraging to people who want to learn languages very good and can't get my head entirely what the motivation for it was. It's an interesting video nevertheless.

[@kennywesley]

To encourage all second language learners: the goal should be to be understood, not to sound like a native. Natives make grammatical mistakes all the time and do not know the meaning of every word in their native language... Be encouraged!❤

[@iconn12]

Bullshit YOU ARE BEING RACIST

[@misiekkkPL]

To experience the culture I like to listen to online radio stations. I found this incredible country station it's called 96.3 real country. If you like this type of music it's a great way to soak into language

[@lucasmateus1846]

Good video as always. Greetings from Brazil.