Only 21 US Presidents Spoke Foreign Languages. Do You Know Which Ones?

1

The second president of the United States was fluent in two languages. Other than Latin, what other foreign language did John Adams speak?

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Greek
Irish Gaelic
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Spanish
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French

2

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Thomas Jefferson mastered more languages than anyone in the White House. Which language was he NOT fluent in?

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Spanish
Latin
Italian
Russian
Greek
French

3

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Shabbat shalom! Only one president learned to speak fluent Hebrew. Who was that?

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James Madison
Andrew Jackson
Dwight Eisenhower

4

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True or false: Ronald Reagan learned conversational French in his 20s and often practiced the language with French president Francois Mitterrand.

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True. They were great friends!
False. Reagan only knew English!

5

Although English is the most common first language in the U.S., there are many who learn it later. Who was the only president to speak English as a second language?

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George Washington
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Martin Van Buren
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Abraham Lincoln
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Harry Truman

6

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The Roosevelts were a very presidential family! Which two languages were both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt fluent in?

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German and French
Italian and Greek
Swedish and Dutch

7

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Woodrow Wilson invented the League of Nations, which was basically a prototype of the United Nations. He happened to be fluent in one language other than English. Which was that?

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Polish
Welsh Gaelic
German

8

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True or false: Lady Bird Johnson was fluent in Russian and taught Lyndon B. Johnson enough for light conversation.

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True. Their language skills helped with Soviet relations during the Cold War.
False. Both of them only spoke English.

9

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Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world today. Which president was known for having conversations in the language with his wife?

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Richard Nixon
Herbert Hoover
John F. Kennedy

10

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Bill Clinton wasn’t known for speaking anything other than English, but he did study one European language. Which has he partially mastered?

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German
Albanian
Serbo-Croatian

11

Most 19th century intellectuals studied two foreign languages. Which were John Tyler, James Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester Arthur all fluent in?

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German and Dutch
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Greek and Latin

12

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Although Spanish has grown in the U.S. over the past several decades, no recent president has been fluent in the language. Which former president has NOT partially mastered español?

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Barack Obama
George W. Bush
Jimmy Carter

13

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The second president of the United States was fluent in two languages. Other than Latin, what other foreign language did John Adams speak?

Thomas Jefferson mastered more languages than anyone in the White House. Which language was he NOT fluent in?

Shabbat shalom! Only one president learned to speak fluent Hebrew. Who was that?

True or false: Ronald Reagan learned conversational French in his 20s and often practiced the language with French president Francois Mitterrand.

Although English is the most common first language in the U.S., there are many who learn it later. Who was the only president to speak English as a second language?

The Roosevelts were a very presidential family! Which two languages were both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt fluent in?

Woodrow Wilson invented the League of Nations, which was basically a prototype of the United Nations. He happened to be fluent in one language other than English. Which was that?

True or false: Lady Bird Johnson was fluent in Russian and taught Lyndon B. Johnson enough for light conversation.

Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world today. Which president was known for having conversations in the language with his wife?

Bill Clinton wasn’t known for speaking anything other than English, but he did study one European language. Which has he partially mastered?

Most 19th century intellectuals studied two foreign languages. Which were John Tyler, James Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester Arthur all fluent in?

Although Spanish has grown in the U.S. over the past several decades, no recent president has been fluent in the language. Which former president has NOT partially mastered español?

Last question - how would you rate this quiz?

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