This Man Has the Best Chinese of Any Foreigner Who’s Ever Lived

[@carljonathan3804]

They were both speaking the same language, but Julien's chinese made me hear Xiaoma's american accent in his chinese. This is insane!

[@codeine_ninja]

ikr? he so good

[@Trancefreak12]

@Kalevipoeg Your anecdote about your wife reminds me of an experience that my mom had in Taiwan. She moved from Taiwan to the USA at age 26 in '89. 20 years later during a visit in Taiwan, the cab driver remarked that my mom must be American because the way she spoke had already changed from the way everyone else spoke there.

[@drummersnare6276]

I’ve always heard xiamos accent it seems like he doesn’t even try to sound Chinese and only cares about learning the language

[@vicchavez6570]

Yes!! That Julian is spot on!!

[@SJPDurham]

Xiaoma seems to be hesitating and Julien’s accent seems stronger.

[@cozymode70]

This is where the term "speaking fluently" really shines, quite literally Julien's pronunciation sounds like a wavy stream of words with so much dynamics and natural intonation, it's crazy!

[@oileengrace8228]

Most Chinese in Beijing speaks like this. There are different accents when speaking Mandarin Chinese, just like there are different English accents.

[@cozymode70]

​@@oileengrace8228 I was referring to the audible contrast between Xiaoma and Julien, two non natives speakers.

[@lucasm4299]

@@cozymode70 Yup I understood you

[@muhammadputera6593]

@@lucasm4299 but you're not Oileen wtf

[@barry8867]

As much as we admire this guy’s insane mastery of Chinese, are we just gonna ignore the fact he speaks fairly good English for someone who’s never lived in any English speaking countries

[@jeremyurday37]

For me as a practitioner of english idiom, could said this guy domain the language better as much native speakers.

[@Jejjing]

@@jeremyurday37 you need to work on your English lol

[@JunyanNiawesome]

Yes I was thinking that too!

[@georgerussell2947]

@@jeremyurday37 you talk like you learned all the English words but didn't learn grammar or what the words mean

[@armoricain]

Fuwei Yang, I had the same reaction as you did at how flawless his English was also! I am French too, I have lived in the USA for 37 years, and I can say that English is tantamount to my first language now as I have spoken it longer than I have my own native language, French, although I still speak it with my wife...

[@joelthomastr]

Can I just say, it's a pro move from Xiaoma to have a deep conversation with someone in Mandarin. Sure his videos have clickbaity over-the-top titles, make of that what you will. But he's not a charlatan just ordering food and making chitchat for clicks. He legit speaks Chinese.

[@luf4rall]

He's basically at a native speakers level

[@eksibaklava1434]

Tbh even if he wasn’t that fluent his food order videos are massively entertaining

[@jojag5]

@@eksibaklava1434 I agree with this completely. For any white person to have even a rudimentary knowledge of Chinese is impressive and surprising. Most people in China Towns across will probably go their entire lives without ever encountering a white customer capable of ordering food comfortably in Mandarin. Xiaoma has already made several videos featuring languages in which he is not fluent, and they are still entertaining.

[@wdvnge]

@@jojag5 so you saying there is lot of black or hispanic people ordering in chinese? Because i dont rly understand why say it like that. I would assume its pretty rare for them to hear non chinese speakers of their language no matter the skin color.

[@jojag5]

​@@wdvnge You have a strange interpretation of my comment. Saying that it's rare for white people to speak Chinese does not imply that it is common for black or hispanic people. Not really sure why you took it in that direction. To be clear, there's a lot of non-native Mandarin speakers out there who aren't Chinese, but most are Asian. For example, form Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia etc. Not particularly uncommon to find people from those countries who can speak Mandarin as a second language. It's very rare to find non-Asian people who learn Mandarin. There's a reason these people are so shocked when they see Xiaoma. Probably the first non-Asian person they've ever seen speaking Mandarin.

[@redcar9949]

Ok this is on a new level. I literally cannot tell he is a foreigner, he sounds like he's been in Beijing since 50 years before he was born

[@EgoJinpachi_]

maybe he was

[@uuuu281]

Let alone he use cheng yu precisely. 见仁见智 His Chinese is on different level. better than authentic. sounds like an educated Chinese college student.

[@仇大锅]

As the matter of Chinese accent, he is much better than dashan.

[@TolumniaMC]

Two foreigners conducting an interview in neither of their native languages… I am so beyond impressed and amazed

[@Joseph3391399]

It's like any immigrant speaking English in America really... but Mandarin being 100x harder 😂

[@xenotypos]

@@Joseph3391399 Not to mention that aside from mandarin, that french guy seems to also speak english very well, not much accent.

[@notaname8140]

@@Joseph3391399 "harder" really depends on what language you're coming from, Japanese speakers often report that English is one of the hardest languages to learn and Mandarin is a lot easier because they have so many similarities, whereas for most Europeans, English is an extremely easy language to learn because it's so heavily based in Romance and Germanic languages, but Mandarin would be extremely difficult because it's nothing like any language here

[@ThisisFerrariKhan]

@@xenotypos he probably speaks English a lot living in China. He probably doesn’t get to speak french as much because even Africans are learning Chinese now, so unless he’s in France or Quebec, he’s speaking Chinese dialects and English.

[@OtomoTenzi]

@@xenotypos Yes, I think he even said that he also taught French and possibly also English to Chinese mainlanders (and vice versa) when he was living/working overseas in China... If I ever needed a teacher to learn either of those 3 languages; I know that Julien would be the one that I could trust 100% !

[@mamzy1465]

Please make a Chinese course Julien! Your work ethic and level of mastery is so inspiring. Thanks Xiaoma as always!

[@TheFuronghua]

Omg, I am Chinese, this guy’s Chinese is perfect, literally no accent

[@Rilows]

Right dude he’s so well-worded, he speaks so natively, it’s insane. I’m blown away by his Chinese, I can’t believe it. It’s such a pleasure to listen to him talk. Anyways, it’s a pity I don’t speak Chinese

[@jaredf6205]

He still has a slight French accent in both Chinese and English.

[@henryunderhill5417]

@@jaredf6205 not in mandarin

[@andrewdunbar828]

Sounds like a northeastern China accent but not a strong one like a Beijinger.

[@jane_shi]

@@andrewdunbar828 He actually has a strong Beijing accent and it's quite impressive

[@timandmonica]

Wow. His pronunciation and tones really allow you to see the difference between them. This was very cool to listen to.

[@darrylkassle361]

Honestly he makes him look/sound like a noob. Xiaoma would not be offered or allowed to work as a host as his overall Chinese is not good enough. His accent and tones rule him out

[@seealexrun7649]

@@darrylkassle361 if he lived in china like julien his tones and accent would be a lot better

[@rickwierenga3766]

I mean. Some people are motivated but 10 hours a day learning .. is on a different level for 5 years. That was the part of this whole hour conversation that chocked me the most and made me realize that there is always someone working harder then you do hahahah

[@holliswilliams8426]

You have to bear in mind most people don't have this time to dedicate to a language. I am a physicist so unfortunately although I like Spanish I can't spend 10 hours a day on it.

[@rotac1249]

i've never even worked for 10 hours straight on anything

[@Fulingua]

I'm one of those people who saw the picture and thought "oh this is the foreigner who was on TV all the time!" but couldn't remember his name. I'm sharing this video with all my friends who are currently studying Chinese because it's truly inspiring. Thank you Xiaoma!

[@bearfruitstyle3152]

His speaking is so fluid it’s so pleasant to listen to!! I gotta learn a new language asap! I love this channel!

[@mvrs9527]

In France we often says that we are not very talented for foreign languages. That guy proves it's not true for everyone! He is so brilliant! Bravo Julien, je vous admire!!

[@Kolvatn]

i haven't seen many french speaking other languages than french xd (j'suis canadien) he's clearly prooving french speaker can be talented xd

[@hukijiki1828]

@Curtis not really, actually we spend way more time learning english than german, also usually we have to choose between learning spanish or german, and even those who choose german are rarely fluent.

[@MohammadAli-uf3cg]

@Curtis yeah I am a native german speaker and speak a lil bit of French too but on my exchange to Paris I noticed French students have a really hard time learning German.

[@joemiller947]

His english is native-level as well

[@thomsa45]

@Sensei Chromosome more speak english than german

[@alberteinsteinthejew]

Julien: [speaks Chinese] Me: ok he's a Chinese guy Julien: [speaks English] Me: holy**** he's French!

[@JakeLoeppky]

Underrated comment. So relatable and funny.

[@_MrTrue]

I don't like your profile picture.

[@SenorJuan2023]

@@_MrTrue It's all relative.

[@josuke21]

@@SenorJuan2023 lol it's Albert Einstein without moustache

[@417Owsy]

@@josuke21 no its albert einstein with nicolas cage's face XD

[@TheFifhtEye]

"I was a professional cellist" this is actually quite important in relation to how his accent and pronunciation are this spot on. Cellists tend to have an abslute or close to absolute hearing. I would bet money this is a factor in here.

[@sakumar]

Agreed. Also, Chinese is a tonal language, so if your hearing is tuned to distinguishing tones you'd have an advantage in learning Chinese.

[@MellonVegan]

Perfect pitch is not something you can learn. You're born with it.

[@Андрей-ш7в5д]

Doesn't matter if he was cellist or factory worker. He was gifted by nature with that talent. Same as Xiaoma. But this factor doesn't play big role between Xiaoma and Julien. Julien speaks better because he live in China last 20 years and every day speaks Chinese language . Xiaoma practicing Chinese in China town USA. He is even more talented than Julien but he is practicing another 14 languages. Julien only focused on Chinese lang. Plus he is older than Xiaoma.

[@hemikiwi817]

i have noticed over the years that musicians or singers tend to have an ability to mimic a native accent.

[@user-zl9cv7gb5u]

@@MellonVegan relative pitch is however, and chinese tones are relative

[@yeet--]

this is a certified hood classic.

[@swayze279]

Cheesy beans baws in yo jaws

[@MICUTU511]

I'm dying mate :D . the word friend I think is similar to the other one :D

[@connerross612]

My algorithm is so crazy i went from a Drakeo the Ruler video to this one.

[@fall3nkid323]

@@connerross612 yo algorithm different

[@colereed7411]

@@fall3nkid323 the algorithm hit different

[@hannahmcginty7420]

as a professional classical singer I'm with Julien; we're used to practicing a LOT *and* in the case of singers, we're literally trained in perfect diction. I can basically make any sound. He is absolutely right; when people ask me about music, this is what I say: there is not room for mediocrity in classical music. You literally will never have a job. Perfection is expected. Always. Forever. It's a burden but it's a particular skill set and perspective as well.

[@enriqueali]

Technical perfection may be ONE of the goals in classical music (and not particularly the most interesting or meaningful one), but how often is it actually achieved? I guess a case could be made for Heifetz (violin), Michelangeli (piano), Fischer-Dieskau and Schwartzkopf (lieder).

[@hannahmcginty7420]

@@enriqueali do you work in the field? Cause technical perfection (or akin to) is achieved literally daily by everyone. Your listing of random musicians is really comical honestly. All I can say is that technical perfection is the baseline upon which all of the other goals of artistic expression are expected to balance atop of.

[@yooskkitagawa]

This is absolutely true. I trained as an opera singer from a young age and now I'm doing linguistics. It comes very naturally to me.

[@mathilde1212]

@@enriqueali many many musicians would have this obsession, and they work to have it. after the technicalities come the personal way to deliver the plays, maybe you talk about those musicians because you love them better ?

[@planetary-rendez-vous]

I've always felt how weird for music to need litteral perfection but I mean you can't perform if it's not... Other arts are surely not like this. Maybe it has its own advantages. Maybe I can try learning languages huh.

[@gentleeyes]

Speaking French, English, and Mandarin, this man can talk to people on every continent, and generally most people in the world! Boss moves.

[@realtonysolo]

He just needs spanish and hindi he'd be set.

[@Nesggy]

@@realtonysolo and Arabic

[@AJ-ds5gf]

No. English, Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and German. THEN he's set.

[@泡面斯基]

@@AJ-ds5gf he doesn't need learn Hindi because most of Indian people can speak English

[@OtomoTenzi]

@Betta Warrior Well, good point but Portuguese is mostly spoken in like only a few select countries or regions tho... Plus, most Dutch or Norwegian people can already speak English pretty well. But still I can see your point, and I'm not saying that it could hurt to know a few more languages tho!

[@kidtrunks2568]

I have a lot of respect for old people, grandparents, etc. It's really cool to see a young person such as yourself spending time with your grandmother and cherishing her life's stories. I am European-American, but I rarely see people our age have this kind of respect for the older generation here in the US. Cheers.

[@sayusaymee7722]

I don't know Chinese but you can hear the level of expertise (if you will) between the two. Xiaoma still has an American undertone but Julien I couldn't tell if I closed my eyes and heard his voice for the first time. 14:20 Yeah _"I hear a little something"_ too 😆 17:40 He basically adopted another art form (57:45), from playing cello to learning chinese (reading, writing, learning tones). He's very passionate about his craft, whatever it may be at the time (15:42 19:56). 1:12:23 Shout out to Moses aka Laoshu 🥺❤️ -still not over his loss- *For those in the comments:* it's about his _tone_ and the flow of his words, you can _hear_ he's been at it longer....which he has. 🙃 Xiaoma is still great at what he does, no one is denying that...wouldn't be here if he wasn't. Smdh

[@shalee8066]

His Chinese is better than 99% of native speakers. 😂

[@g8le]

You don't know chinese but you can still hear these dialectal differences? Yes I'm sure u can

[@cruelladevil1001]

@@g8le * yes the "Level of expertise is quite noticeable Negative much..🙄

[@eliassanchez420wakenbake]

Xiomas Chinese is as good as his English. That’s just how he speaks.

[@CobraJeans]

Did moses past away i didn't know loved him watch his videos from time to time What append do you know how he pass he was so young

[@mafuyubot138]

his chinese is inspiring me to get back into studying

[@gringuss]

Yeah same, I haven’t done any study in about 3 months but now I want to get back into it

[@OnlyInhuman90]

Why would you wanna learn Chinese one of the most useless languages in the world

[@soldier-0415]

@@OnlyInhuman90 you good?

[@isabelle441]

@@OnlyInhuman90 Not useless. It’s a huge language and many people speak it.

[@ThomasSeeds]

@@OnlyInhuman90 -300,000 social credit

[@shredderspencer1122]

What an entertaining and educational video! It is indeed a out-of-body experience hearing you guys talking. Julien’s Chinese is even better than mine and me is a native Mandarin speaker. The perfect pronunciation of the standard Mandarin, the use of idiomatic expressions, and the thinking in Chinese are legendary. Xiaoma’s Chinese is perfect, Julien is... It beyonds perfect.😂 I enjoy this video and thank you for inspiring me hone on my English.

[@csadams404]

hey xiaoman, love this video. nice to see you tackling more cultural / sociological / expat-life related topics and getting the chance to hear about Chinese comedy scene, thoughts of a host on entertainment industry in china for a foreigner, etc. for those of us who are interested in the 'lifestyle' aspect of diff countries, it can be hard to get good info about china that is balanced and not super polarizing

[@thoop6795]

This is insane. Makes xiaoma sound like the student and Julien the teacher lol

[@Naessey]

I love your channel and followed you for some time. Watching you learn new languages is probably my favourite part. Have to say, I love your commitment to always learning and noticed you speak about Dashan many times. I finally checked him out. Wow, wow and wow. It’s obvious you and Juliet are fluent. But damn, Dashan is on another level. Incredible. I work in teaching and a Chinese teacher I work with said Dashan is by the far the most authentic and fluent foreigner she has ever heard. I asked her what the difference was and her response was that ‘he includes so much Chinese history/tales in his conversation’.

[@nchouleen3175]

He’s fluent in my ancestral language …. WOW Julian definitely made us hear the combination and difference between both of the same language and accent

[@justhyped9933]

Does fluency mean that he even doesn't have an accent. That's the part where most of the people fail

[@yuans0028]

Julien speaks Chinese better than most Chinese natives. The way he talks is just elite style that few Chinese natives without elite education could dream of. It is self-evident that the way he studied Chinese is just "Shi Zi" class - a practice that ancient Chinese intellectuals followed for thousands of years. The "Shi Zi" class would learn and read for decades to satisfy the desire to be knowledgeable to the extent of extremity.

[@austinsowers2974]

What is shi zi?

[@KKIcons]

That's right! That must be why he sounds so pleasant to me. It must remind me of the scholar characters from my favorite historical dramas.

[@SenorJuan2023]

@@austinsowers2974 shi zi happens.

[@xuexizhongwen]

@@austinsowers2974 I assume he means 士子, which in ancient times referred to scholars/ intellectuals.

[@teebo_fr_en_it]

Only learnt a few words of Chinese but I am fascinated by the language so I come to these videos often. As a Frenchman having lived in the UK for over 25 years, I have a reasonable grasp of English. Julien says his English is not as good as his Chinese, wow, f...me, his English is fantastic! (Even if American). His French substrate is discernible BUT you have to pay attention. I am in awe. Inspiring.

[@TaelurAlexis]

What I love about this interview is that he was so authentic and real about his learning journey. You can’t expect mastery at anything if you half-ass it and only dedicate 15 mins a day. This was such a good interview, just an exceptional human. This is definitely motivational when it comes to my own journey learning mandarin.

[@danielarevalo7013]

Thank you Xiaomanyc for continuing to provide us with high quality content. Greetings from Bogota, Colombia, South America.

[@Yes-bm4vn]

I don't know what it is but even though I don't have any interest in learning Chinese I still watch every single video of yours and it's a blast.

[@gorilaogorila835]

XD

[@El_Soldado]

Same here. I'm learning Spanish, but his videos are still entertaining and motivating.

[@iamgusdv]

Absolutely great content Xiaoma, thanks for this interview. Julien provided some amazing insights that can be applied to any area of life

[@GlobalLocals]

How much we can absorb of foreign languages and cultures is incredible. Julien’s Chinese might be perfect, but his English is also very impressive!

[@holliswilliams8426]

yeah his ability to communicate in English is good

[@seanrota3359]

Totally, I'm from New Zealand and this guy obviously has an American accent, very talented.

[@ThePilot_USA]

Xiaoma's chinese is insane but the difference between him and Julien is that Xiaoma's brain still sees 2 languages, still distinct in its matter while for Julien, french and chinese is virtually one language.

[@brendon2462]

How do you know this?

[@ethanquenum4778]

@@brendon2462 He's been in his brain. That's some Elon Musk shit.

[@brendon2462]

Can you elaborate further I'm genuinely curious?

[@jscordoba3]

I kinda get what you're trying to say, though I look at it slightly different. I know french a bit. But when I think to say a simple word like cheese/fromage, my brain has to translate cheese to fromage. And if a French speaker says fromage, I'm translating in my head to cheese. Even though I'm proficient, if I was a master then when a French speaker said Fromage, I wouldn't have to think about what it is. Fromage to me would simply be what it is to a native speaker, Fromage.

[@yyclept]

julien speaks three languages, but keep in mind our guy has a far wider repertoire

[@monkeynorn]

Saw Julien for the first time on “Chinese Bridge”. He was one of the judges. I was taken aback by how fluent his Mandarin was/is. His pronunciation is also flawless and accent-less.

[@gringuss]

Julien is such an interesting guy and so engaging to listen to, I could spend 10 hours a day listening to what he has to say

[@newbris]

He really is. His intensity serves him well.

[@jingweicao7284]

What touches me is not how well he speaks mandarin - he understands and appreciates the chinese culture - tolerance and inclusive of all the cultures

[@samdobie6748]

China is one of the most racist countries on the planet.

[@northstar2621]

@Cat Pundit They are talking about Julien. He's tolerant and open-minded.

[@IgorCerain]

Thanks Xiaoma. I’m going to start learning chinese. I’m from Spain and I’m musician too. Felicidades por tus videos, son entretenidos y animan a la gente a aprender nuevos idiomas.

[@hockysa]

I hadn't really noticed Xiaoma's accent till now hearing Julien's accent side by side

[@holliswilliams8426]

I noticed he had an accent after listening for a few seconds and only studied a small amount of Mandarin.

[@SwordmasterChanneling]

Julien speaks Chinese so professionally. Yeah professionally. His Chinese has Chinese idioms, idiomatic expressions, profound words, and well thought-out structures and many more. His Chinese is concise and easy-to-follow but sounds smart as well. So, "saying he is speaking Chinese fluently" doesn't do his chinese justice. He is speaking high level, professional chinese with perfect chinese accent. a Chinese well-educated University graduate who majored in literature or broadcasting could probably has the potential to speak chinese like that, but he or she would still need tons of training to become so eloquent in chinese like him. I am a chinese native speaker. that's what i think about his chinese.

[@Diego_Borges]

Amazing interview. It was great to hear Julian perpective of learning a language.

[@完成-t4j]

Damn

[@darian5428]

who's*

[@MYERZ08]

*than

[@MrMctastics]

Very motivating

[@MrOoglebog]

@@Jess-737 It's not that deep.

[@HouseMDaddict]

My first language is English. I understood English rules and parts of speech better by learning Spanish than I did growing up speaking English/learning English in school. Why? Because when you learn your native language, there's a lot slang and there are a lot of shortcuts you learn growing up with the native language. When you study a second, third, fourth, etc language, you usually learn the rules FIRST and then the slang comes way later. There's more structure when you learn a second language, therefore, you're probably going to speak it better than a native, naturally. It also might affect how well you understand your native language, when you learn a second language.

[@brybabe5017]

It seems like the highest form of respect for a culture is to learn their language, because it’s difficult it takes dedication. I respect them so much. I’m Latin American and I wish I had this type of dedication when learning Spanish. My family does but my parents don’t really have one specific reason they didn’t teach my siblings and I. My grandparents spoke to us and we’d answer in English. I do feel grateful for any amount I do understand and can speak but I’m not confident in it enough to speak it, so I still answer in English.

[@saveUyghurs]

A real shame, same for me and my mother tongue Bengali. It’s important to speak your mother tongue to have a good sense of your cultural identity and maintain relationships with family. This is a real tragedy in my own life

[@topperhatschire]

My mother's father was an Italian immigrant but he died when she was very young. She doesn't know the language at all and I have been fighting to recover it. It will be my 4th language when I am fluent

[@holliswilliams8426]

This is a shame when this happens. When I was in Bolivia one of the people we were we with was from the US but one of her parents was Mexican, her Spanish was actually worse than mine.

[@christopherstein2024]

I never learned my mothers lower German mother tongue but as long as my grandfather lives I might try to learn it when I get to make a vocabulary.

[@El_Soldado]

​@@topperhatschire ¿Que idiomas hablas?

[@kaitlynwood4441]

I'm amazed at both his ability to speak Chinese in such a manner and his inability to blink while doing so! Julien rarely blinks!

[@RealNameNeverUsed]

Meanwhile Xiaoma...blinks so hard 🤣. Such contrast between the two

[@luc_xott]

His years on television are showing!

[@angellintv]

Omg, I am Chinese, this guy speaks better than me...

[@dianellaBAILI]

I‘m a bit “deranged” myself and enjoyed this interview immensely. To get to know another culture so well through the total mastering of its language is something I can relate to, totally. Came across this video by chance. Super happy. 🙏🏽

[@alyax2026]

I started self-studying Chinese a week ago, and I'm very hungry to learn it

[@ShakeruShien]

Then get off these videos and go study

[@alyax2026]

@@ShakeruShien you got me Ling Ling... (2setviolin citation)

[@IkeOzurumba]

加油！

[@lucapennazzi]

You should go eat something then. Always learn on a full stomach.

[@artofvale_1122]

how's going

[@victoriamaunder7058]

I’ve always (as being half Chinese already) been so inspired to learn chinese and this really makes me want to learn (read and write) seeing him speak like that and have a career in China is so inspiring

[@andreasglaesel3811]

I wish my english (as a german native speaker) would be as good as Juliens... but his mandarin... unbelievable

[@jsheuhellfire]

I am Chinese American, this video is blowing my mind, truly amazing job by both of them

[@foxprose20]

Didn't anticipate spending over an hour listening, but this was worth every minute. Fascinating insights and highly entertaining.

[@dennisreeve8859]

It is not often that I am able to appreciate quality conversation from individuals regarding interrelated topics! My brain thanks you.

[@enriqueali]

So no one's going to comment on his practically total fluency in not just Chinese but also English?

[@sweeperboy]

It's crazy how he is fluent in both Mandarin and English as well as of course French. If he added Spanish fluency to that, he'd be able to speak to most of the world in some way...

[@スノーハッピー]

Well it's very common for continental Europeans to start off with a base of being fluent/ near-fluent in their mother tongue plus English just from normal schooling and watching tv shows and playing games before they turn 18. That's not to say they didn't put a lot of work into learning those two (or more) languages, but it's very common. And then if they learn new languages from there, then they become trilinguals, quadrilinguals, and so on

[@RemplacementTV]

almost everyone is fluent in english nowadays, because of the cultural imperialism and soft power

[@holliswilliams8426]

@@RemplacementTV Not really. I work in a department in the UK with many foreigners and most of them don't speak English this well, this guy's English vocabulary is good. Most of them couldn't hold an interview in English for this length of time and hold interest.

[@jwv6985]

Sounds to me like he is the best with the language because he wanted to be, and had the work ethic to make it happen. He was 100% dedicated to it. Obsessed. Love it!

[@abigirlll]

WOW. This is so cool. Thanks for making videos like this happen!

[@Doomsdaystomp86]

Great interview, thanks for the exposure Xiaoma!

[@TheNetBenji]

Very good insight from Julien at 41:53 about how nowadays, in America and in China, most of the pressure to censor oneself comes from peers ("cancel culture") rather than from authorities.

[@mr.b111]

Cancle culture is initiated by the authorities/media complex

[@Jkawalsky1]

his accent is crazy good but then he drops phrases like 见仁见智 into conversation. So legit!

[@absolutezero6190]

What is that? I tried looking it up but got nothing

[@Jericho9696]

If I just listen to the audio, I could’ve never guessed what you would look like

[@DJParadoxNYC666]

I am BLOWN away at how perfect they sound although i know zero Chinese. Amazing! I think I’m your neighbor too I’m in the LES. If i run into you I’ll be speaking Spanish or German :D Spanish is my mother tongue and I’m currently learning German passively.

[@luf4rall]

If Julien never broke his arms he would've never become a Chinese celebrity.

[@OtomoTenzi]

Xiaoma and Julien, you guys are without a doubt the coolest Chinese language teachers on KZbin!

[@Eruptor1000]

Bruh I don't speak Chinese at all but this dude sounds legit 😂

[@dovakinlink]

I'm a native Chinese speaker, but if I just listen to Julien's voice without seeing his face, I'd be convinced he's Chinese.🤣

[@gabea.458]

The most important thing he said in my opinion is that people complimented him for being talented, but in fact, he was putting in 10 hours a day of practice. That has more to do with his accomplishment than talent. It's a great message for younger people, and why I think sports are a great example. You can't claim to be a victim, not put in the work or rely on others and get results. The pandemic has shown a lot of people would rather be taken care of rather than have the freedom to chase a dream. Do what this guy did. Overcome adversity and go get what you love.

[@NathanHedglin]

100% agree. So many were jealous of my accomplishments and some even told me God just gave them to me. They didn’t see me working 80 hours per week towards my goals. They didn’t see the sacrifices I made they were unwilling to make. They only saw the result and wanted to steal or devalue my success with calling it “luck”. You don’t get lucky doing nothing. Even one has to buy a lottery ticket to win.

[@OtomoTenzi]

Now that sounds like some REAL WISDOM right there!

[@mariotaz]

@@NathanHedglin Well put

[@patzchan1900]

You can never run out of people that motivate you to stick in learning a language to fluency!

[@breezeh1127]

Wow!! Wow!! I literally cannot tell the difference between his speaking and a native speaker!! His whole voice changes!! This was awesome!

[@alexnaranjo9313]

Yooooo, hes so good its sounds like xiaoma is just learning

[@make_the_world_better_place]

The guy speaks better Mandarin than many Chinese people in my view. He does sound like a Chinese host.

[@dyVal]

I lived and worked in Singapore as an IT consultant for 5 years. But my chinese can last for about a 3 minutes phone call. LOL And these guys are making my senses go crazy. WOW To be a linguistic is my second dream job.

[@bumblebee9623]

Mr. Julien has zero foreign accent when speaking Chinese. His accent is mostly northern Chinese accent(or Putonghua). What an inspiration for anyone who's studying a foreign language.

[@abeurakadabeura]

OMG you interviewed my favorite foreigner speaking Chinese!!

[@hyperplayability6290]

holy that is incredibly impressive as someone who grew up speaking chinese at home

[@aquielos]

I am totally amazed of Mr. Julien who speaks incredibly good Mandarin!

[@jpaugh64]

Listening to this guy talk about Chinese tongue twisters has convinced me that I haven't _really_ learned my native language!

[@elianaspeaking]

I’m an ABC and my Chinese is getting better just listening to and watching you guys!

[@mujan166]

Julian inspired me to improve my Mandarin Chinese, and with this interview, he also motivated me to study English. When the video was first published, I only watched the part in Chinese. When they started speaking in English, I realized that Julian also speaks English, which gave me the motivation to take learning English seriously. A year and a half after starting to learn English, I returned to this video, and I can say that now I understand a lot more. Julian is undoubtedly a great idol for me.

[@dakotadellafera5850]

Wow Julien! I am American and I don't speak any Chinese, but you can hear Julien speaks so authentically! Like his accent sounds like he was born and raised there! And I can totally hear Xiaoma's American accent.

[@abdirahmanmahdi9458]

So I guess the difference that everyone can tell is the way Julian is speaking fast with a perfect accent while xiaoma is taking pauses. The other dude is not even thinking about any words but you can sense that Xiaoma is trying to figure out words at some times.

[@althea6748]

Just shows how one's passion really goes a long way. I wish to have the same thing too! Great video btw!!

[@mattbattaglia4213]

Dude is incredible at english, too. Insane language skills. He must have lived in an english speaking country.

[@starlessnight1164]

This is basic English for Europeans lol...

[@TheZenomeProject]

@@starlessnight1164 Actually, no, this is not the typical English skill for Europeans. His accent is almost natively American...VERY slight French accent. That rarely ever happens.

[@holliswilliams8426]

Apart from the accent, his English is good. There are many Europeans in the department where I work and most don't speak English this well. Actually some of them speak it surprisingly badly considering they have to present and write papers in English.

[@starlessnight1164]

@@holliswilliams8426 Your anecdote doesn't mean fuckall. My point is that his grasp of English is absolutely the fucking norm among English speaking Europeans. Ones that hold fluency level. It's not special in any way shape or form.

[@keanancupido]

It's so brilliant to see two non native Chinese speakers speaking full on Mandarin 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@AccountInactive]

Guys he's not sleeping. It's a tic caused by weather and allergies, especially if he wears contacts. It's a subconscious thing. I do it to sometimes. It can also be an anxious/nerve thing.

[@Iregretmostofmyposts]

So cool to hear other people say this. I am a fluent Spanish speaker and my accent is almost indistinguishable from a native speaker but its a whole language - there are a thousand topics that I just can't talk about. When it comes to the day to day or a topic I've spoken about before then it's no problem. But what if I had to talk about economics, or mechanics - there is no language there. At least from English to Spanish you can draw on some commonalities in the language - but Chinese or another non-romantic language? You'd be like a baby learning all new terms. Much respect. Amazing.

[@hlim431]

Classical music is a perfect launch pad... as it's a pursuit where there is NO WHERE TO HIDE. Classical musicians are use to "stand and deliver" so Julien's work ethic was already well developed.

[@Aevilbeast]

The cross really reminds of another kind of stand-up in Japan called "Manzai". In that, you have a straight man and someone who reacts, and it's usually fast-paced and involves a lot of humorous "cross-talk" and anedotes between the two (although it doesn't have to be just two, it's just that's the most common), as well. I'm guessing that Chinese cross talk was the origin of Manzai. Which would make sense as there are a lot of thing culturally that began in China and Japan eventually adopted and changed to fit their culture.

[@deniaigenio9599]

You guys are great! I have been learning Mandarin on and off since 2011. Like Xioma stated in another video, you have to listen. I watch movies with out subtitles, that way I can recognize some words. I learn the 2008 Olympic song with the PinYin.

[@redsteddi]

I love how Xiaoma interviews so politely

[@hyoneeyed9450]

as a english and chinese speaking foreigner, i approve the french guy has very good beijing chinese.

[@Trakusenpai]

Julien is an inspiration. This is the second interview of his I've heard and he really reminds me of Luca Lampariello when he explains in detail!

[@hr473]

Julien looks like a ancient n forgotten vampire. And the way he perfected chinese, doesnt allow me to move on with this thought

[@Pillzxyz]

his translations are very on spot, as a chinese i can understand from both english and chinese this is so fun to watch

[@enriqueali]

The difference in intellectual ability and focus between these two becomes more and more apparent the longer the interview goes on.

[@mhm2908]

This guy never blinks. An exceptional talent too!

[@baqi007]

Everyone else *noticing how incredible Juliens Chinese is Me *wondering why Xiaoma blinks so much

[@anbuprodigy5122]

So true, probably just habit

[@relic4948]

LOL I JUST REALIZED THAT To be honest he probably has a fan or some bright lights for the camera facing towards him so he’s blinking because it’s irritating his eyes

[@ajh.4131]

I notice he does it in other videos too. It could be a tic (Tourette’s Syndrome). I have a friend who blinks (also rolls her eyes uncontrollably) like that too and she told me they are tics.

[@Bill-l7g]

I think Xiaoma feels a bit intimidated and maybe even depressed about actual skills in comparison he’s talented but it’s not a fair comparison and he really shouldn’t compare himself , Juliens is an exception, even amongst native speakers

[@colorfulflowers574]

Well, his pronunciation is so native and smooth ☺

[@aribanahonarukas1641]

Omg I've been watching your channel a lot and idk any Chinese but I watch a lot of Chinese drama and tvshows and I never really heard any difference in your Chinese but now that hear julien in a side to side comparison I can definitely hear a difference, he sounds just like the people in the cdrama I watch 🤣

[@bigapplechinglish]

thx...enjoy this ep w/ Julien...haven't seen him in a very long time...

[@Newtination]

Julien's comprehension of the language is next level. He's definitely the best. If I had to choose a 2nd foreigner (from US, at least), it'd probably be Lele Farley in the past few years his development has been tremendous. Great vid.

[@TheZenomeProject]

Dashan is still #1 to me for Chinese skills, but Julien is super, super close. Having comedic skills in Chinese separates Dashan, IMO.