Players Learning the Language

I'm playing as Manchester City and three of my four signings from the first season still haven't picked up even a basic grasp of English at the halfway point of my second season.

They seem to be performing well enough though so is the matter irrelevant?

It just bugged me seeing that they were struggling with the language at the assistant analysis screen everytime I play a match.

as long as they as performing then i guess its not a big deal. however it will definitely effect their abibilty to gel with the squad.

ive had it take 3 seasons for a player to speak english before

They are probably on the verge of learning the basics.

It doesn't really matter anyway. If they have been there for a season or two then it really doesn't matter.

Cheers guys, doesn't seem to bother me or Gourcuff as he continues to bang in 30 yard screamers.

Well, players tend to have a reputation for being thick when it comes to learning languages. [a man like Leonardo is the exception, not the rule]

And to be honest there isn't a lot of language to learn if all you need to do is kicking a ball, communicating very basic instructions with your teammates [who often speak another language themselves] and answering to a bunch of similar questions every week.

I've got a young italian player I signed when he had just turned 16. He has been at the club 3 and a half years and still can't speak basic english.

If he hasn't learned now I don't think he ever will.

ive had it take 3 seasons for a player to speak english before

Ditto. I've had Edin Dzeko take 3 seasons to learn basic Italian.

I thought it was rather unrealistic until I saw the post-match interview with Tevez this week. He's lived in England for over 3 years and his English is basic, at best.

I've got a young italian player I signed when he had just turned 16. He has been at the club 3 and a half years and still can't speak basic english.

If he hasn't learned now I don't think he ever will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdzTdwNm4L0

Beckham hasn't learned it yet and he's lived in England for 30 years.

Beckham hasn't learned it yet and he's lived in England for 30 years.

Hahaha .

Maybe they all speak some other language so they don't need to learn English

I just wish it was easier for those who speak Romance languages to pick up other romance (latin) languages, ie French can learn Italian quicker than say German or Polish.

Maybe they all speak some other language so they don't need to learn English

Of course, but you'd expect any player of any nationality to learn the language of the country he's based in after a few years.

Beckham's Spanish, for example, isn't fantastic - but he's able to speak and be understood.

With the time, funds and private tutors footballers have access to, there's really no excuse.

I just wish it was easier for those who speak Romance languages to pick up other romance (latin) languages, ie French can learn Italian quicker than say German or Polish.

It's an interesting topic, more on the linguistic side than on the strictly FM-related one.

In general I agree having a common background (e.g. Latin) can be a valuable tool when approaching a new language, but it also has its drawbacks.

E.g. if an Italian wants to learn French or Spanish [or the other way around], the affinity will help him not to get totally "lost" in the new language, but sooner than later it will become an hindrance.

Romance languages have a very complex verbal system, and in order to actually speak it properly, you'll have to learn the whole thing, regardless of you knowing the "cousin" version of it. Same goes for a very nuanced-yet specific vocabulary

The risk is relying too much on the affinity between the languages, falling for false friends and impromptu translations [the infamous "Spanish=Italian+many "s"" theory, or the embarrassing Scandinavian sex-bakery mishaps with "bolle" and "morgenbrød"].

And the result, besides hilarious misunderstandings and oddly sounding sentences, is often a pidgin language rather than actual learning.

On the other hand, when you start learning a new language from the ABC, and almost everything sounds and looks foreign and scary, the learning curve is steep in the beginning but will get better later on.

But well, since football players don't need to be proficient speakers, but just need enough easy sentences for basic interaction and interviews, we could indeed make the learning process shorter for related languages.

However we should then also keep into account how people from some countries struggle more than those from other countries when it comes to languages...

P.S. sorry for the partial OT

It's an interesting topic, more on the linguistic side than on the strictly FM-related one.

In general I agree having a common background (e.g. Latin) can be a valuable tool when approaching a new language, but it also has its drawbacks.

E.g. if an Italian wants to learn French or Spanish [or the other way around], the affinity will help him not to get totally "lost" in the new language, but sooner than later it will become an hindrance.

Romance languages have a very complex verbal system, and in order to actually speak it properly, you'll have to learn the whole thing, regardless of you knowing the "cousin" version of it. Same goes for a very nuanced-yet specific vocabulary

The risk is relying too much on the affinity between the languages, falling for false friends and impromptu translations [the infamous "Spanish=Italian+many "s"" theory, or the embarrassing Scandinavian sex-bakery mishaps with "bolle" and "morgenbrød"].

And the result, besides hilarious misunderstandings and oddly sounding sentences, is often a pidgin language rather than actual learning.

On the other hand, when you start learning a new language from the ABC, and almost everything sounds and looks foreign and scary, the learning curve is steep in the beginning but will get better later on.

But well, since football players don't need to be proficient speakers, but just need enough easy sentences for basic interaction and interviews, we could indeed make the learning process shorter for related languages.

However we should then also keep into account how people from some countries struggle more than those from other countries when it comes to languages...

P.S. sorry for the partial OT

5 star post bud.

I spent 4 semesters in college "learning" italian, and from it I can pick things up from the other latins.

Perhaps in the game, if a player's native language is a latin language, then maybe they should have an easier time picking up "Basic" french/italian/spanish. But becoming fluent in that second language would take the standard time in FM.

i have been taking a closer look at this feature and am under the impression that, depending on their native tongue, it'll be easier for a player to learn a particular second language. for instance, when i sign portuguese speaking players to my spanish team they appear to learn the language quicker than italians, which in turn learn it quicker than english speaking natives.