QueenZone discussion #707820
did Freddie speak any Indian languages?
| Freddie's #1 Fan Forever 27.01.2006 00:13 |
Does anyone know if Freddie spoke any Indian languages. His mother has an Indian accent, but I do not know if he ever spoke hindi or some other language as a child. Freddie himself almost seemed to have a slight Indian accent as well. |
| FreeSpirit328 27.01.2006 00:39 |
I don't know if he spoke it fluently, but he spoke at least a little of the language written in his religious book....Lord knows I can't think of the name of it right now. He speaks a little of it in "Mustapha." Of course, I also don't know if it is considered an indian language either, so maybe I should shut up, lol |
| Kensington Love 27.01.2006 00:41 |
Freddie spoke Parsi,and when he entered school at St. Peter's English Boarding school in Panchgani,he learned English. His accent was always noticable in his songs,for example when he used words such as: World Love *sigh* his accent was so beautiful;) |
| Ready_Coddie 27.01.2006 01:44 |
I kind of disagree there... Freddie was a parsi & upon his stay in India would have learned both English & Hindi. Panchgani was always (and still is) a brilliant school/hostel area but during that time middle class/upper middle class could afford it as well & majority of them were hindus & would obviously take time to master english & I don't think Freddie never talked to anyone, he would have picked up considerable Bombayian hindi (mix of multiple languages) |
| mystic_rhythms 27.01.2006 12:37 |
hmm...i thought the language spoken on Mustapha was Arabic, which is a common language in the Middle East. Ah well, I'm not too good with languages anyway |
| deleted user 27.01.2006 14:01 |
me_and_my_innuendo wrote: hmm...i thought the language spoken on Mustapha was Arabic, which is a common language in the Middle East. Ah well, I'm not too good with languages anywayYeah my friend who's Indian(and a HUGE Queen fan) said it was in Arabic? |
| FreeSpirit328 27.01.2006 14:12 |
me_and_my_innuendo wrote: hmm...i thought the language spoken on Mustapha was Arabic, which is a common language in the Middle East. Ah well, I'm not too good with languages anywayIt's in three languages; English, Arabic and the ancient language from the Avesta (holy book). |
| Ready_Coddie 27.01.2006 14:29 |
however the word 'Salaam Malikum' is in hindi/urdu. Besides, IN India... it is neccesary to have Hindi as one of the subjects so I assume Freddie understood much of it... |
| Richy Mercury 27.01.2006 15:10 |
In the L.Jones book, it says he spoke Swahili. |
| it was electric7 27.01.2006 19:02 |
when you say Parsi...does that mean Farci..or persian language? |
| Freddie's #1 Fan Forever 27.01.2006 19:41 |
I didn't know anything about the Jones book saying that Freddie spoke Swahili. Is that some kind of African language? It does not sound Indian. Isn't it strange that no one seems to know these things for certain? |
| Aura Marina 28.01.2006 00:19 |
the Swahili is the language of Zanzibar (Kiswahili). Zanzibar belongs to Tanzania, Africa. link |
| Kensington Love 28.01.2006 00:42 |
R.Mercury wrote: In the L.Jones book, it says he spoke Swahili.True ;) |
| Kensington Love 28.01.2006 00:44 |
it was electric7 wrote: when you say Parsi...does that mean Farci..or persian language?persian language ;) |
| FreeSpirit328 28.01.2006 00:44 |
I don't want to seem like a know it all or a smart ass or anything...I do not claim to know everything Queen...I think I've proven that so far, lol Do remember though that during the time Freddie lived in Zan Zibar and India, they were both owned by the British...I don't knnow if that would have made a slight difference? |
| Ready_Coddie 28.01.2006 02:35 |
... person above... Freddie came in India around 1950 or so... India gained independance in 1947 so India was free, I am extremely thankful if he wouldn't have gotten Indian education or else he would cursed India in every song. India is practically a land of retards, the education is completely retarded... If Freddie was in British Boards maybe he didn't knew Hindi (Hurray!) |
| Sebastian 28.01.2006 08:22 |
Just for the record, the fact that there are five to ten foreign words in Mustapha doesn't mean anything. I can learn three or four commands in Korean and put them in a song and that doesn't mean I can speak the language. |
| Mrs. Snugglebunny 29.01.2006 15:34 |
I wonder what language he learned first? Considering the rather heavy accent that his parents seem to have when speaking English might suggest that they did not speak English as their native language. (Of course, the accent could be just the result of the enviroment, in case they do speak English as their first language.) My point is that his parents might have taught him some other language than English at home. In any case, Freddie probably came in contact with English very early on in his life. That would explain why he spoke such good English (I am not a native speaker so I cannot necessarily judge very well, but to me his intonation etc would suggest that he learned English rather early). However, he probably was in contact with other languages too, both in Zanzibar and in India, but to what extent he learned these languages, is unknown. |
| Fmercurio 19.08.2014 04:30 |
Wooo I'm so late for the party. But his first language wasn't English and he lived between india/zanzibar for most of his first years. At least until he was 17 . So I guess he had to communicate somehow? He didn't show it to the world just like he never spoke of his roots ever. He was just freddie mercury to the public and would only hear him speak English but I'm sure he must've spoken at least 2 to 3 languages. According to his mom he spoke gujarati which is from India and I guess whatever they spoke in zanzibar. |
| luthorn 19.08.2014 08:03 |
ask his sister... I always thought his mother was Indian, father European. |
| noorie 19.08.2014 12:25 |
Actually Freddie was a Parsi so naturally he spoke Parsi style Gujerati. Along with English. That is what Parsis speak. We do not really know our original language which is the Avestan language as that is a completely lost language. He would have learnt some Hindi in school, and picked up Arabic or the local language in Zanzibar. |
| Vocal harmony 20.08.2014 09:10 |
Ready_Coddie wrote: ... person above... Freddie came in India around 1950 or so... India gained independance in 1947 so India was free, I am extremely thankful if he wouldn't have gotten Indian education or else he would cursed India in every song. India is practically a land of retards, the education is completely retarded... If Freddie was in British Boards maybe he didn't knew Hindi (Hurray!)How can you post a comment like that? claiming that most of the population of a country is retarded. i take it you've been there and witnessed this for yourself? Because a country is poor, it doesnt make those who live there any less able. The unfair structure of the country is such that those from a poor background dont often get a chance to progress past basic education. Those in the upper classes do. Those who progress through education in india usually become very successful in their chosen career. The British NHS, and private medical system too, is staffed to high levels of ability by people from india. The blanket coverage of most of a countries population as being retards, is in its self a retarded view i think. |
| noorie 20.08.2014 12:25 |
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| McFluid 22.08.2014 08:40 |
I always wondered (as a not native english) if Freddie was seen like a foreigner talking a good english. To me he doesnt sound very British (like Brian), he sounds like an international perfect english speaker. |
| RafaelS 24.08.2014 15:35 |
McFluid wrote: I always wondered (as a not native english) if Freddie was seen like a foreigner talking a good english. To me he doesnt sound very British (like Brian), he sounds like an international perfect english speaker.I was asking myself that question too. From what I've heard from native english speakers, Freddie had a posh english accent. |
| mooghead 24.08.2014 16:00 |
The answer is no. This is a Queen fan site. We would know what languages he spoke.. after all the documentaries and stuff that we know about him. Please let this be the last thread. Freddie spoke English. |
| luthorn 25.08.2014 20:31 |
RafaelSomma wrote:Freddie could speak with any accent he wished. he had a perfect pitch, so even if he grew up with 0% knowledge of English, he could have made himself sound native in very little time after mastering the vocabulary and grammar.McFluid wrote: I always wondered (as a not native english) if Freddie was seen like a foreigner talking a good english. To me he doesnt sound very British (like Brian), he sounds like an international perfect english speaker.I was asking myself that question too. From what I've heard from native english speakers, Freddie had a posh english accent. |
| The King Of Rhye 26.08.2014 02:47 |
Fmercurio wrote: Wooo I'm so late for the party. But his first language wasn't English and he lived between india/zanzibar for most of his first years. At least until he was 17 . So I guess he had to communicate somehow? He didn't show it to the world just like he never spoke of his roots ever. He was just freddie mercury to the public and would only hear him speak English but I'm sure he must've spoken at least 2 to 3 languages. According to his mom he spoke gujarati which is from India and I guess whatever they spoke in zanzibar.As I always understood it, English is spoken pretty much all over India............so he very well could have grown up speaking it mainly.... |
| ParisNair 30.08.2014 07:16 |
Like Noorie says, Parsis speak Gujarati as their "native" language (because they settled in Gujarat, India, when they were persecuted and driven from their original homes in present day Iran by Islamic conquerers of the time). So there is a very high probability that he at least understood, if not spoke, the language, since he did spend quite a lot many years in India and with family in Zanzibar. And the fact that he was educated in India means that he definitely couple communicate in Hindi. English medium schools are very common in India (I studied in one myself) and India has the largest number of English speakers after the US (more than England lol). For the member who called Indians retard, I wish he/she was still here on the forum so I could kick their ass online. |
| ParisNair 30.08.2014 07:38 |
@Vocal Harmony - I know you mean well, but "The unfair structure of the country is such that those from a poor background don't often get a chance to progress past basic education. Those in the upper classes do." Which country (dealing with any level of poverty) does not have this situation? It's not a situation unique to India. It is certainly unfair but not unnatural. In India , what we do have, is an age-old social order which has historically made it difficult for certain sub-communities within the Hindu community (and also other religions, possibly due to the shared traditions) to come out of their backwardness. But this challenge and situation was acknowledged by our nation builders right at the time when we gained independence from the British, and affirmative action had been put in place. The merits and de-merits of these affirmative actions are open to debate, but the fact is they have made a huge change in the Indian society, and even though there is a long way to go for us in this matter (you cannot change 1000s of years of tradition and mindset in only 75 years, not in a country of our size and population), the benefits have reached a lot of people and transformed their lives and that of their future generations. I would not be able to explain this more without you having the proper cultural context. What I can tell you is, discrimination on the basis of social status is almost non-existent in urban areas, and very rare (compared to earlier) in even rural areas. And any incident of such discrimination makes big news and is legally a crime. The so-called backward classes today have a big voice and strong presence in the nation's political space and they are no more "marginalized". By the way, the poorest of the poor (and the richest of the rich) in the country today do not belong to any specific social group, or should I say, belong to all the social classes. |
| mitzykatt 15.11.2014 05:16 |
In an interview, I heard him reply in French, since Roger's 1st wife was French, possibly all of them spoke it?~ |
| thomasquinn 32989 15.11.2014 05:40 |
it was electric7 wrote: when you say Parsi...does that mean Farci..or persian language?Farci = Parsi. It's a matter of different systems of latinizing the spelling. Same thing with Palestine / Filistine, Phoenicia / Punica, Peking / Beijing etc. |
| noorie 15.11.2014 11:34 |
^^^^^ Sorry, but that is not exactly true. Parsis originally came from Pars (the local name for Persia), and are of pure Persian origin. When the Arabs conquered Pars (Persia), they were not able to say the letter 'P' (there is no such sound in Arabic), so they called the people (the original Persians they conquered) Farsi instead of Parsi. Farsi is the language spoken by Iranians today, which does have its roots in the ancient Persian language but is different. Iranians today are a mixture of the Persian and Arab races. |
| thomasquinn 32989 16.11.2014 07:11 |
What you're saying is quite true, but also entirely separate from what I wrote. The Parsi/Farsi/Farci/Pharsee difference is a matter of spelling as well as pronunciation. Farsi is written in a Persian-Arabic alphabet, and when words from said language are 'transplanted' to the west, they are transliterated into the Latin alphabet. However, some consonants are not an exact 1:1 match between the languages (as with the non-existent 'f'-sound you refer to in Arabic*), so there are multiple options, resulting in different transliterations like, as I mentioned, the famous Beijing/Peking. So I'm not talking about the Arabic pronunciation, but solely about the western transliteration. If you're going to get really technical and analyse the difference between the words Parsi and Farsi as used in different parts of the world, you'll find that some regions in Asia distinguish between the two (Parsi = people of Persian extraction, especially non-Islamic Persians, Farsi = Persian language), some use either Parsi or Farsi in both senses (so to mean the people and the language) and some use an altogether different word for the Parsi people while using either Farsi or Parsi to refer to the language. * interesting side-note: Arabic does have a soft 'th' (similar to the Scandinavian thorn, written as 'þ'), so you can ask yourself the question why they softened the P to an F, rather than a P to Th shift, which is also conceivable. |
| rimbaud23 23.11.2014 00:56 |
Parsis come from the Gujarat region of the subcontinent as that is where their Persian forebears settled when they came from Iran. As such they acclimated and were absorbed into the socio-cultural fabric of the Gujarat region, adopting the language, food and dress. Their native language is Gujarati, albeit with a few idiosyncratic changes originating from their Pahlavi (Middle Persian) native language. Their surnames names are usually either a.) South Asianized Persian ones like Naoroji (Nowrouz) or Godrej (Gudarz), b.) occupational ones adopted during the Raj like Contractor, Solicitor, Doctor, Petit, Printer, Daruwalla, Saklatvala or even Sodabottleopenerwalla! or c.) local Gujarati surnames shared with the Hindu-Muslim population like Patel, Modi, Kapadia, Mistry or, in Freddie's case, Bulsara. Parsi surnames like Bulsara, Bharucha or Anklesaria are actually derived from Gujarati cities like Bharuch, Bulsar or Anklesar. Freddie's paternal family originated in Bulsar, which had (and continues to have) a large Parsi-Zoroastrian community. To cut this short though, Freddie's native language was Parsi Gujarati and he most likely spoke it at home. He most certainly knew basic Hindustani at the very least as his family reports him as having sung to Indian music that they played at home. My guess is as good as any that that music played was more likely than not movie music from old Bollywood classics of the 40's and 50's. Btw, with regards to Freddie's accent. Parsis were one of the first Indian communities to develop close relations with the English and were among the first to adopt English as a second language. This gave them a proclivity to Anglicization that many other Indian communities lacked. To the point where for many Parsis, English is as much a native language, if not more so, than Gujarati or any other Indian language. As such, Parsi English is often reputed to be of extremely high quality albeit with an accent as Parsis are native Gujarati speakers after all. This coupled with Freddie's education at a posh Anglo-Indian boarding school near Bombay catering to India's elite helped mold his unique accent. Freddie Mercury basically had a very colonial Anglo-Indian RP accent. The kind of accent Nehru, Jinnah and, to some extent, Gandhi had. An accent any upper-middle class Indian educated in elite colonial/postcolonial English schools would have had it. Having lived in England for a while, Freddie's accent naturally evolved into a somewhat more crisp English accent, albeit a very perfect one compared to his more blue-collar British peers, the one you could only get in rigorous colonial schools. But traces of an Indian accent are still pretty discernible to an attentive listener. If you hear his interviews from the 70's, you can notice a definite Indian twang. In the 80's, its still there but less obvious, given its being hidden by a more prominent British sound. |
| YourValentine 27.11.2014 10:00 |
A couple of years ago Freddie's sister visited the convention and was asked that question. She said that Freddie and herself spoke Suaheli as their native language and English as the second language. She did not mention Gujarati but certainly he must have picked up some Indian language in boarding school. |
| Sebastian 27.11.2014 23:52 |
AFAIR, what she said is that they both spoke mostly English, but sometimes they'd speak Swahili with their parents. |
| AssDudeRule 02.12.2014 07:01 |
Ready_Coddie wrote: I kind of disagree there... Freddie was a parsi & upon his stay in India would have learned both English & Hindi. Panchgani was always (and still is) a brilliant school/hostel area but during that time middle class/upper middle class could afford it as well & majority of them were hindus & would obviously take time to master english & I don't think Freddie never talked to anyone, he would have picked up considerable Bombayian hindi (mix of multiple languages)agree |