Crucial point that Crisis Group’s senior Ukraine analyst also made. Zelensky spoke almost no English when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 & has learned extremely fast. But yesterday was a nightmare, especially in a foreign language.
A second point that I want to make is this: 🧵
A second point that I want to make is this: 🧵
Reposted from
Dr Tessa Dunlop
As someone who speaks a 2nd language at about the same level of fluency as Zelensky’s English, it surprises me that no one has referenced this in their analysis of the oval office row.
Nuance, dexterity and manners are very hard to achieve 2 against 1 in a foreign language
Nuance, dexterity and manners are very hard to achieve 2 against 1 in a foreign language
Comments
Common mistake for second language speakers to make but since the guy he was speaking to had just said suit I do wonder if he was playing on this to joke about how he didn't have time for playing dress up (like a clown?)
Think of how hard that had to be.
He’s spent innumerable days on the front & in hospitals speaking with men who’ve got amputated limbs & with grieving families. He knows the victims of Bucha & Mariupol.
But those experiences are intensifying & traumatising:
It was the most pitiful sight. Trump cared not a whit, it seemed, and thumbed through Zelensky’s photos of Russian war crimes impatiently.
The gulfs between them yesterday were gulfs not just of language, but of experience. And, fundamentally, of the heart.
His choice stunned the world in its strength & brought him up close & personal for 2 years with existential threats to his own person, to his wife, to his children & to his people.
He carries what the battle-scarred do.
No vacation for Zelensky.