History Main / LanguageFluencyDenial

* ''Literature/TheAliceNetwork'': In order to be hired at Le Lethe, Eve must not speak any German. (German-speaking waitresses aren't employed at Le Lethe for the reason that German customers must be allowed perfect privacy.) It would be suspicious if she spoke English, so she doesn't speak that either.

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* ''Series{{Warrior}}'': The Chinese characters talk to each other in fluent English, but when white people are around they'll either [[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier talk to each other in subtitled Chinese whenever white people are around]] and pretend not to understand English, or talk to the white people in [[YouNoTakeCandle broken Englis]]h. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English.

* ''Series{{Warrior}}'': The Chinese characters talk to each other in fluent English, but when white people are around they'll either [[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier talk to each other in subtitled Chinese whenever white people are around]] and pretend not to understand English, or talk to the white people in [[YouNoTakeCandle broken Englis]]h. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:Films - Animated]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'': When the gang is in Venice, Italy to protect a museum's collection of valuable masks from V.I.L.E., Zack goes undercover as a museum employee to run interference on A.C.M.E.'s own operation to protect the masks. He puts on an Italian accent and claims his English isn't good in an attempt to shorten a conversation with Agent Zari. Unfortunately for him, she happens to speak fluent Italian, forcing Player to run a translation and provide Zack with responses.

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* On another when she and Hakos Baelz (an Australian) were doing a collab with Roberu of Holostars, when he pointed out they were being hypocrites by encouraging him to take a meal break when they themselves hadn't eaten yet both Ollie and Baelz asked him to excuse them because "(we are) foreigners and don't understand Japanese" in stereotypically foreign accent. They then engage Roberu in an in-depth conversation about sushi... in Japanese.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the mystery novel ''Literature/NineDragons'', Harry Bosch, who is trying to find his kidnapped daughter in Hong Kong, traces her to a cargo ship. He jumps on the cargo ship, grabs a Chinese {{Mook}}, and starts barking questions. When he gets no answer he says "Can you swim, asshole?", to which the Mook only replies "No speak." Bosch hesitates and the mook breaks out of the chokehold. When he comes back after Bosch with a knife he says "Can you swim, asshole?"
* In ''Literature/WolfHall'', the protagonist Thomas Cromwell has developed a fluency in a number of languages, which he often puts to use in his professional life. However, early in the novel, Cardinal Wolsey inquires about Cromwell's knowledge of Castilian Spanish for a mission involving Henry VIII's attempts to divorce Catherine of Aragon. While Cromwell actually is fluent in the language, he pretends to have only basic knowledge because he knows that the assignment would not bode well for his advancement.
* This is done in ''[[Literature/TheElenium The Tamuli]]'' -- twice, by different characters, although for mostly the same reason: by invoking this to bring in a CompletelyUnnecessaryTranslator they get more time to consider their responses (in the second case it also doubles as [[ObfuscatingStupidity obscuring to his court how intelligent and learned he really is]]). In the first case, the person being unnecessarily translated figures it out (she recognized that the other's face showed signs of reacting before the translation was actually said) but plays along until the other admits it, in the second it is pulled off flawlessly.
* ''Literature/EllaEnchanted'': When Lucinda starts yelling at Ella during the wedding, Ella pretends she doesn't understand Kyrrian (which is actually her native language) -- not to prevent Lucinda from communicating with her (she actually hopes that Lucinda ''does'' speak Ayorthaian, as she needs to ask her for something), but just in hopes of calming her down by pretending she doesn't understand what Lucinda is yelling about, as well as suggesting that she couldn't have been eavesdropping on Lucinda's prior conversation. It works, and they're able to have a much more civil conversation in Ayorthaian.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Discussed in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E15ILoveLisa I Love Lisa]]", when Homer suggests "I no speak English" as one of several ways for Lisa to let Ralph know she isn't interested in him romantically.

!!!'''Going silent:'''
[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'', one Indian that ambushed a convoy is pretending to not understand English. Luke spots him when the [[SirSwearsALot stagecoach]] interrogates them and the Indian is blushing at the obscenities.
* In ''ComicBook/SwampThing'', the sleazy photographer Howard Fleck, looking for the title character who's recently returned to Earth, asks the Cajun swamp resident Gene [=LaBostrie=] for help locating him, promising him money. [=LaBostrie=], although bilingual, simply spreads out his hands, says "Eh?" and paddles away, out of respect for the Swamp Thing's privacy.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'': When Rat becomes a pet psychic and uses it to his advantage by straight-up lying to the pets' owners about what they're thinking for his own gain, [[PollyWantsAMicrophone a parrot named Pepe winds up exposing his being a fraud]], implying that Pepe had been pretending to not be able to talk intelligently.
-->"Pepe can talk and Pepe says you're an unmitigated fraud."

[[folder:Films - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Barnyard}}'': Although the farmer does, at one point, see the animals doing human-like things, he never actually hears them talking. The closest the farmer gets to hearing an animal talk is when Otis goes "Woo hoo!", sees the farmer, and goes "Uh... moo?"
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby'': All babies can talk, but babble when adults are around. The Boss Baby is forced to drop the act around Tim when the latter overhears him talking on the phone, but the other babies don't even talk in front of Tim.
* ''WesternAnimation/JungledyretHugo'': Hugo [[TalkingAnimal can talk intelligently]], but rarely talks to humans and the one time he does talk to a human all he says is his name, almost inaudibly. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] as he doesn't hide his ability to understand what humans are saying.
* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', Fear wants Riley to pull this trope after being called on by the teacher on the first day of school.
-->'''Teacher:''' Riley, would you like to tell us something about yourself?\\
'''Fear:''' [[BigNo No!]] Pretend we can't speak English.
* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': Puss also keeps his ability to talk a secret from Mama Luna but doesn't hide his other anthropomorphic qualities from her.

[[folder: Films - Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/HangmenAlsoDie'', [[spoiler:Czaka]] doesn't speak German in order to allay suspicions of collaborating with the Nazis. In fact, not speaking German had been his alibi once previously, when the Resistance was betrayed two years ago.
* ''Film/{{Paulie}}'': Averted for the most part. Paulie the parrot, [[PollyWantsAMicrophone who is fluent in English]], generally ''doesn't'' hide this, yet humans generally just assume he doesn't understand English and is just trained to say the things he says. However, this is played straight at the beginning of the movie, where he goes silent whenever Marie's parents are in earshot.
* ''Literature/TheAliceNetwork'': In order to be hired at Le Lethe, Eve must not speak any German. (German-speaking waitresses aren't employed at Le Lethe for the reason that German customers must be allowed perfect privacy.) It would be suspicious if she spoke English, so she doesn't speak that either.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': [[TalkingAnimal Courage can talk just fine]], but communicates with his owners Muriel and Eustace through babbles and charades. Downplayed since he doesn't his ability to understand what they're saying.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Jimmy's baby cousin Eddie can talk, but pretends he can't around adults until the end of "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGeniusS3E9 Clash of the Cousins]]".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': The babies talk to each other and slightly older children in perfect English but communicate with grown-ups in baby babble.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/TheCaseFilesOfJewelerRichard'''s Diamond case, Richard has no interest in talking to shopkeepers in the jewelry store Seigi drags him to and doesn't speak a word of Japanese, which he is fluent in.
* Jonathan Harker falls victim to this trope in the early chapters of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' when he asks questions about local superstitions and the villagers' fear of the count. His account suggests that both the villagers and Dracula at least try to play it smart by pretending they don't understand his phrasing or choice of words rather than the language itself. The result remains the same.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Zig Zagged in the first episode of season 6, when Daenerys is captured by the Dothraki. Although viewers know of her proficiency in their language from previous seasons, she chooses to keep totally silent while assessing the situation. When Khal Moro publicly attempts to rip her clothes off, she spits out multiple defiances, saving her life and setting her arc for the season in motion.

[[folder:Theater]]
* ''Theatre/TheForeigner'' takes place in a fishing lodge in rural Tilghman County, Georgia where two Englishmen, Froggy and Charlie, arrive as guests. The shy Charlie agreed to accompany Froggy on the trip after his sick wife begged him to go. When people at the lodge try to talk to Charlie, however, he remains silent: he is terribly shy, depressed about his wife's illness, and cannot find the words to reply. Froggy claims that Charlie cannot talk because he is a "foreigner" from an exotic country, and does not understand English. Taking the explanation that he's a non-English speaker as fact, the lodge's guests quickly begin revealing their secrets, and Charlie soon discovers scandals amongst some of the residents of the lodge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Script/SeinfeldTheTwinTowers'': When confronted by a distraught woman looking for her missing husband, Kramer acts like he doesn't understand English.
[[/folder]]

Common failure points include dropping "I don't speak X" into the middle of a conversation when Alice has already been speaking to Bob in X or making the claim in a language Bob is fluent in and Bob obligingly switching to the other language. A CompletelyUnnecessaryTranslator may be called in to "help". It's often PlayedForLaughs, but may also be invoked in very serious circumstances (like not letting an enemy know you understand them, this allowing you to eavesdrop on them while in plain sight).

Common failure points include dropping "I don't speak X" into the middle of a conversation when Alice has already been speaking to Bob in X or making the claim in a language Bob is fluent in and Bob obligingly switching to the other language. A CompletelyUnnecessaryTranslator may be called in to "help". It's often PlayedForLaughs but may also be invoked in very serious circumstances (like not letting an enemy know you understand them, this allowing you to eavesdrop on them while in plain sight).

Common failure points include dropping "I don't speak X" into the middle of a conversation when Alice has already been speaking to Bob in X or making the claim in a language Bob is fluent in and Bob obligingly switching to the other language. It's often PlayedForLaughs. A CompletelyUnnecessaryTranslator may be called in to "help".

A character may do this to duck out of an uncomfortable conversation, eavesdrop, or even [[InsultingFromBehindTheLanguageBarrier insult someone]].

* ''Series{{Warrior}}: The Chinese characters talk to each other in fluent English, but when white people are around they'll either [[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier talk to each other in subtitled Chinese whenever white people are around]] and pretend not to understand English, or talk to the white people in [[YouNoTakeCandle broken Englis]]h. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Ling Yao, a Xingese prince visiting Amestris, uses this excuse in order to avoid paying for all the wreckage he's caused in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Ed doesn't buy it.
-->'''Ling:''' I so solly, I no speak much language of this country! Ok, bye-bye now!

* ''Film/TheKillingFields'': Since the Khmer Rouge track and kill the educated, Dith Pran has pretend that he does not understand foreign languages. It doesn't work, but luckily, Phat, the man who figures out his ruse, has become disillusioned with the Khmer Rouge regime and makes him his servant rather than sentencing him to death.

* ''HangmenAlsoDie'': Bobby's nephew Jason loves messing with rich white clients by pretending not to know any English, speaking only in Spanish and a few "memorized English phrases".

* ''Series{{Warrior}}: The Chinese characters talk to each other in fluent English, but when white people are around they'll either [[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier talk to each other in subtitled Chinese whenever white people are around]] and pretend not to understand English, or talk to the white people in [[YouNoTakeCandle broken Englis]]h. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English. Ah Sahm drops the act after being arrested and talks to Sergeant Bill O'Hara in English.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Zig Zagged in the first episode of season 6, when Daenerys is captured by the Dothraki. Although viewers know of her proficiency in their language from previous seasons, she chooses to keep totally silent while assessing the situation. When Khal Moro publicly attempts to rip her clothes off, she spits out multiple defiances, saving her life and setting her arc for the season in motion.

* In ''The Dumping Ground'' episode "Finding Frank", Rick and some of the kids find an antiques shop where Frank's old watch is in the window. When they ask the shopkeeper about it, he says that a girl (who was in the shop a few minutes earlier) has expressed an interest in buying it. Said girl returns a few minutes later, dumps a wad of cash on the counter, declares the watch is hers, and scarpers off with it. When the other kids try to confront her, she says "No English", which Rick counters by the fact she spoke good English whilst inside the shop.
* In ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Woody from ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' is visiting Frasier in Seattle. He likes Seattle, but not spending time with Frasier, and pretends to have left. Frasier spots him in a bar; he hides in the bathroom, responding to Frasier's knocking with "No habla Ingles". When Frasier indignantly tells him "I don't understand this [behavior]," he replies through the door "It means I don't speak English."
* In ''Series/{{Friends}}'', while Monica was working at Alessandro's, one of the chefs told her in Italian, "I don't speak English" when asked to do something. When Monica tells her that she knows she does, because she heard her speaking English just a minute ago, the chef replies, "[[NotEvenBotheringWithAnExcuse Well, I don't know what to tell you]]", and walks off.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Zig Zagged in the first episode of season 5, when Daenerys is captured by the Dothraki. Although viewers know of her proficiency in their language from previous seasons, she chooses to keep totally silent while assessing the situation. When Khal Moro publicly attempts to rip her clothes off, she spits out multiple defiances, saving her life and setting her arc for the season in motion.
* In ''Series/KimsConvenience'', the Korean-Canadian Janet's subplot in the Season 2 episode "Sneak Attack" starts when her response to getting caught sneaking into a film festival is pretending she doesn't speak English fluently. This leads the security guard to think she's a North Korean dissident filmmaker named Janat. Unfortunately for Janet, this ruse comes back to haunt her when she keeps running into the security guard at the convenience store.
* A late ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'' episode has a suspect claiming not to speak English. We get a CallBack to the very first episode when DS Ronnie Brooks talks to him in French, showing that he will not be deterred and forcing the man to admit that he speaks English after all.
* In ''Series/ILoveLucy'', after Lucy finds out something seemingly incriminating, Ricky says, "''No hablo Ingles!''" as he heads for the door.
-->'''Lucy:''' You ''hablo'' plenty of ''Ingles'', and you better start ''hablo-ing'' right now!
* The title character of ''Series/{{House}}'' is fluent in many languages but never reveals it until after other speakers have said something useful or incriminating:

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Oz}}'', Warden Glynn interrogates some Latino prisoners, who respond to every question with "Que?". Of course they all speak perfect English, Glynn knows that and they know that he knows, they're just mocking him and refusing to answer.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Zig Zagged in the first episode of season 5, when Daenerys is captured by the Dothraki. Although viewers know of her proficiency in their language from previous seasons, she chooses to keep totally silent while assessing the situation. When Khal Moro publicly attempts to rip her clothes off, she spits out multiple defiances in their own language, saving her life and setting her arc for the season in motion.

* Fez tries to use this excuse in ''Series/That70sShow'' when the gang are busted by the Mounties when trying to cross the border with Canadian beer.

* In one episode of ''Series/TheCloser'', the suspect claimed that she didn't speak English, so Brenda had Martinez question her in Spanish. It turned out that the suspect spoke perfect English but barely spoke Spanish!
* In ''Series/Daredevil2015'', Madame Gao hides her being {{Omniglot}} and passes herself as someone not able to speak English or indeed any language other than Mandarin.

* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'': When the zookeepers run towards [=DuBois=] to thank her for returning the animals (she's actually about to saw Alex's head off), she hides the saw behind her back, looks confused and says "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'': When the zookeepers run towards [=DuBois=] to thank her for returning the animals, she looks confused and says "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': [[PollyWantsAMicrophone The birds will talk intelligently if you hide]]. But if you're not hiding, they don't and the parrot says the stock parrot phrases. The parrot drops the act after the end of the chapter, though.
* The start of level six of ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'' parodies this after it's discovered Kang and Kodos are behind the whole plot:
-->'''Bart:''' Apu, you've got to help me warn Krusty about this alien plot, and thus save the good people of Springfield.\\
'''Apu:''' I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot speak English. I only speak Hindi.\\
'''Bart:''' But you're speaking English now.\\
'''Apu:''' Yes, I learned these words phonetically.\\
'''Bart:''' Well, you're just scared of getting vaporized by the space monsters.\\
'''Apu:''' Up down! Up down! Go, hot dog! Button my undershirt! Blah-blah-blah!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': Iago the Parrot [[PollyWantsAMicrophone can talk intelligently]] but pretends he can't around everyone but Jafar.
[[/folder]]

* ''HangmenAlsoDie'': Bobby's nephew Jason loves messing with rich white clients by pretending not to know any English, speaking only in Spanish and a few "memorized English phrases".