6. Thiago Silva

[NikkiCFC 7,580]

4 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I didn't realise but his wife and kids can all speak English fluently which should help him pick it up far quicker than what would usually be the case.

He probably knows basics and tbh on the pitch you do not need more. I am surprised when I see someone does not speak English with all the movies and music... I think it should come naturally for most people even without trying.

And Silva can already speak with half the squad in different languages.

[Tomo 21,681]

1 hour ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I didn't realise but his wife and kids can all speak English fluently which should help him pick it up far quicker than what would usually be the case.

Yeah as someone who is trying to learn Spanish it's so much easier out in the field so to speak than it is in the classroom.

[Superblue 6,331]

22 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Yeah as someone who is trying to learn Spanish it's so much easier out in the field so to speak than it is in the classroom.

Fair play mate. It's something I've never had interest in doing but I have lot of respect for people that learn a new language.

Being able to drop German after 2 years was a godsend for me and scraping a low C in French in my GCSE's felt like I'd just committed a robbery!

[Superblue 6,331]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

He probably knows basics and tbh on the pitch you do not need more. I am surprised when I see someone does not speak English with all the movies and music... I think it should come naturally for most people even without trying.

And Silva can already speak with half the squad in different languages.

I think the bottom part is key to helping him settle in quickly and help lead and mentor players. Mendy, Zouma, Azpilicueta and Kante all speak French. Rudiger, Kovacic and Jorginho Italian.

The only player I think nearby him that won't be able to converse with him fluently is James but as you said I'd be amazed if he doesn't know or pick up the basics very quickly.

[Jase 43,479]

When was the last time we made a big deal (not in a dramatic way) of a new player not speaking English?  

[Superblue 6,331]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

When was the last time we made a big deal (not in a dramatic way) of a new player not speaking English?  

It doesn't happen very often. The main ones I can think of in the last few years would be Jorginho, Diego Costa and Hazard.

[Tomo 21,681]

20 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

Fair play mate. It's something I've never had interest in doing but I have lot of respect for people that learn a new language.

Being able to drop German after 2 years was a godsend for me and scraping a low C in French in my GCSE's felt like I'd just committed a robbery!

I actually enjoyed German in school but I dropped it because when I took a trip to Germany around age 13 I wanted to improve my German in the field but the natives just default on you and speak clear English

So for that reason I decided to try French (as that can come in handy in not just France but a fair chunk of Africa) but I couldn't get to grips with it atall.

[Superblue 6,331]

4 minutes ago, Tomo said:

I actually enjoyed German in school but I dropped it because when I took a trip to Germany around age 13 I wanted to improve my German in the field but the natives just default on you and speak clear English

So for that reason I decided to try French (as that can come in handy in not just France but a fair chunk of Africa) but I couldn't get to grips with it atall.

Until he passed away earlier this year my granddad lived in Germany for 30 years. He coached Jonah Barrington, the squash world champion in the 60's/70's and Germany then poached him to coach their Olympic badminton squad and he decided to never come back.

As a kid we'd go to Germany regularly to see him and part of me wanted to do German as a result but I just couldn't get to grips with learning a new language. My sister can speak broken German and my brother is more useless than I am.

Having said that my granddad couldn't speak much German himself and I can't ever remember seeing him speak any. Typically English, expecting people to understand him despite being in their country!

[Jase 43,479]

35 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

It doesn't happen very often. The main ones I can think of in the last few years would be Jorginho, Diego Costa and Hazard.

Jorginho and Hazard eventually learned it and spoke decent enough.

Costa never bothered to, which reminds me of Tevez who I believed barely spoke English at all during his time in England. 

[Superblue 6,331]

2 minutes ago, Jason said:

Jorginho and Hazard eventually learned it and spoke decent enough.

Costa never bothered to, which reminds me of Tevez who I believed barely spoke English at all during his time in England. 

I don't think Aguero has made much effort either. 

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I don't think Aguero has made much effort either. 

Yeah. I remember he was interviewed during an F1 race and the whole thing was kinda awkward. 😅

[Tomo 21,681]

6 minutes ago, Jason said:

Yeah. I remember he was interviewed during an F1 race and the whole thing was kinda awkward. 😅

I do wonder how they would feel walking around England or going to a restaurant.

When i'm abroad i know i have the safety net of not being too far away from an English speaker and have most things (like menu's, directions, airport announcement's) translated, they don't have that luxury. I guess it doesn't matter for footballers as they could hire a full time translator if need be but for an average foreigner moving here must be quite intimidating.

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, Tomo said:

I do wonder how they would feel walking around England or going to a restaurant.

When i'm abroad i know i have the safety net of not being too far away from an English speaker and have most things (like menu's, directions, airport announcement's) translated, they don't have that luxury. I guess it doesn't matter for footballers as they could hire a full time translator if need be but for an average foreigner moving here must be quite intimidating.

Can always use Siri.  

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

8 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

It doesn't happen very often. The main ones I can think of in the last few years would be Jorginho, Diego Costa and Hazard.

Jorginho could speak English before we signed him though? I am certain of that and in the build up to buying him it was mentioned IIRC by some journalists. So could Hazard just not particularly fluently. Belgiums second languages are predominantly French or Dutch depending on the area I think but a huge percentage also speak English. So its not as if he spoke none. 

Costa was probably the only one who didnt make much of an effort with that but again I think he would of had limited English at least. Plus half the guys there like Ramires, Oscar, Filipe Luis, Willian all spoke Portuguese as well as the several Spanish speakers in the dressing room so its not a big deal.

Silva will be fine. He has several Italian speakers such as Emerson, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic and Rudiger there. Plus Kante, Giroud and Zouma all speak French - Ziyech as well Moroccan Arabic will obviously be first language but French also spoken commonly there too so maybe got a bit.

The language barrier would be an issue if there was no other players who speak other languages he speaks but there are a lot. Plus he will pick some up if he hasnt got some already considering his wife and children speak English as well apparently? Just another petty issue that is being severely overlooked. 

[NikkiCFC 7,580]

15 hours ago, Tomo said:

Yeah as someone who is trying to learn Spanish it's so much easier out in the field so to speak than it is in the classroom.

How do you learn? You have teacher or? 

I started my Italian course on Duolingo back in March when quarantine started and I should complete it soon. It is great app but to become fluent much more is needed. 

[Tomo 21,681]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

How do you learn? You have teacher or? 

I started my Italian course on Duolingo back in March when quarantine started and I should complete it soon. It is great app but to become fluent much more is needed. 

I went once a week to classes. In my opinion constant convo with a fluent speaker is the best way. Learned more in a month in Spain than I ever did in class.

[MoroccanBlue 5,197]

When’s he back? 

[lucio 5,391]

2 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

When’s he back? 

Not injured so probably Wednesday