History Main / LanguageFluencyDenial

* ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}}'': Invoked on at least two occasions by Kureiji Ollie, who is a fluent Japanese speaker. On one occasion, she claimed to have been behind an impressive build in Minecraft, and when questioned by her Japanese senpai that chat stated she was lying suddenly apologetically admitted she doesn't understand Japanese. On another when she and Hakos Baelz 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". They then engage Roberu in an in-depth conversation about sushi... in Japanese.

--> '''Supervisor:''' ''[in English]'' I'm telling you for the last time, you understand? The last time!\\

-->'''Marge:''' Who wants to help me clear the table?
-->'''Yao Ming:''' ''(in Chinese)'' I'm sorry, but I do not understand English.
-->'''Lisa:''' I've read that you speak excellent English.
-->'''Yao Ming:''' Shut up, kid. I got a good thing going here.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/LoveWorthWaitingFor'': Mulan is only learning English, so she's still a bit shaky, but she sometimes pretends to be less fluent than she actually is.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/47987521/chapters/120993817#workskin Nico Nico Super Idol Show]]'' Shioriko mentions that after Lanzhu flub her loved confession to her[[note]]Saying "I am in lesbians with you"[[/note]] she pretended she couldn't speak Japanese and ran off.
* Marinette pretends not to understand English in ''Fanfic/TheSevenMisfortunesOfLadyFortune'' when a drunk businessman tries to hit on her during Gabriel's funeral.

* Wrestling/{{Meng}} was another wrestler who often avoided speaking English in interviews. One particular interview has Okerlund insist that Meng speak English, only for him to speak other languages instead.

--->'''Cuddy:''' Why didn't you say you spoke Spanish?!
--->'''House:''' Because she'd want to talk to me.

--->'''Brian:''' Hola! Um... me, me llamo es Brian. Ahh, uh, um... Let's see, uh, nosotros queremos ir con ustedes.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots2011'': When he's caught by Jack while trying to rob him, Puss tries to pretend he doesn't speak English.
-->'''Jack:''' You lookin' for something?\\

[[folder:Web Original]]
* More often than not, online comments with "Sorry for bad English" have decent or event fluent English writing.
[[/folder]]

* Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura speaks fluent English (though he has a strong accent that can be hard to understand sometimes), even well enough to serve as translator for his fellow Japanese wrestlers. However, during a 2017 heel turn in which he turned on fans and rivals, he started refusing to do interviews to explain his actions, simply saying "No speak English" before walking out of the interview with a shit-eating grin. He also changed his theme song from a non-lyrical chant that's easy for people to sing along with, to a lyrically complex one composed entirely of Japanese, specifically to alienate English-speaking audiences.

* Wrestling/{{Umaga}} was fully capable of speaking English, as anyone familiar with his previous "Jamal" gimmick would know (even without taking his Jamal gimmick into account, Umaga could clearly understand English), but chose to speak exclusively in Samoan until he inexplicably started antagonizing Wrestling/CMPunk and challenged him to a "[[GimmickMatches Samoan Strap Match]]".

* Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura speaks fluent English, even well enough to serve as translator for his fellow Japanese wrestlers. However, during a 2017 heel turn in which he turned on fans and rivals, he started refusing to do interviews to explain his actions, simply saying "No speak English" before walking out of the interview with a shit-eating grin. He also changed his theme song from a non-lyrical chant that's easy for people to sing along with, to a lyrically complex one composed entirely of Japanese, specifically to alienate English-speaking audiences.

* Wrestling/{{Umaga}} was fully capable of speaking English, as anyone familiar with his previous "Jamal" gimmick would know, but chose to speak exclusively in Samoan until he inexplicably started antagonizing Wrestling/CMPunk and challenged him to a "[[GimmickMatches Samoan Strap Match]]".

-->'''Puss:''' No hablo ingles.\\
'''Perrito:''' ¿Hablas español?\\

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', a [[TheDrunkenSailor drunken sailor]] approaches "Emperor" Joshua Norton's chamberlain, Ah How, asking him (in a racist way) if he knows where the nearest OpiumDen is. Ah How bows and says, "Vellee sollee. Speekee no Engrish." As the sailor stumbles off cursing, the chamberlain resumes speaking with Norton in fluent English.

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

* Comedian Creator/JasperCarrott played a practical joke on British holidaymakers in Spain by pretending to be an incompetent Spanish waiter who understood no English, botched orders, spilled drinks and generally exasperated people. Hidden cameras would catch the action as the holidaymakers got progressively more annoyed. However, one clued-up ButtMonkey saw through the set-up the very first time Carrott replied with a suspicious ''[[Series/FawltyTowers ¿Que?]]''

* Vietnamese-German stand-up comedian Thomas "Tutty" Tran, in one of his routines, describes attempting to get out of a traffic ticket by pretending not to speak German (despite being born and raised in West Berlin). The officer, however, had apparently seen this trick before, and continued to demand his license and registration documents. When Tutty hands him his ID, the officer takes one look at the card and yells at him "Your name is '''''THOMAS!'''''"

** In order to be hired at Le Lethe, Eve must pretend that she doesn't 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 pretends that she doesn't speak that either.
* In ''Literature/CheaperByTheDozen'', the narrator notes that Chew Wong's[[note]]the cook employed by Mother's family[[/note]] English fluency abruptly deteriorated when someone tried to criticize him or order him around, when he would launch into a ForeignLanguageTirade and stalk off.
* In 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 Castiian 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.

* In ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', Dexter is stalking a victim to prevent him from killing his friend, when he is approached by a couple scary looking thugs speaking Spanish. Since this is Miami, everybody speaks a little Spanish, but at that particular moment Dexter needed to get the heck out of where he was as fast as he could. So he said he didn't speak Spanish. This might have worked, except he was so flustered that he accidentally said it IN SPANISH. Nice one, Dex.
* 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."

-->'''Cuddy:''' Why didn't you say you spoke Spanish?!
-->'''House:''' Because she'd want to talk to me.

* After becoming the first Japanese man to join the otherwise anti Japanese gaijin PowerStable Wrestling/BulletClub, Yujiro Takahashi began to deny interviews [[BoomerangBigot by pretending]] he did not understand Japanese.

* In ''Theatre/TheForeigner'' a man pretends to be a foreigner who doesn't speak English in order to avoid having to deal with small talk at the lodge he's staying at. As a result he overhears many conversations which wouldn't have taken place in front of him otherwise, including a plan to turn the place into a UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan headquarters.

** In [[https://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/05/03/episode-548-masters-of-disguise/ this comic,]] Black Mage and the idiotic pirate captain Bikke has this exchange.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': While in Iceland, Emil, who's only really fluent in his native Swedish, first tries to get out of an inteview by legitimately saying he doesn't speak Icelandic. When the reporter turns out to know Swedish as well, Emil uses some of the little Finnish he knows to pretend to not know Swedish. That doesn't work because the reporter has a few smatterings of Finnish as well, making Emil give up and choose to be interviewed in Swedish.

* Creator/StephenMerchant mentioned on Radio/TheRickyGervaisShow that he once tried to duck out of donating to a charity by affecting an accent and pretending he wasn't a fluent English speaker. Then the charity worker realized he looked familiar, and questioned if he was Stephen Merchant, forcing Stephen to decide whether he should continue on with the lie or admit the truth. He denied knowing who Stephen Merchant was.

* During the 2022 World Cup, after Australia were knocked out by reigning champions France, Jason Cummings attempted to swap shirts with Olivier Giroud, only for Giroud - who spent a decade playing in England - to pretend he didn't understand him and walk right past. To rub salt in the wound, [[https://twitter.com/_OlivierGiroud_/status/1605867238954762244 Giroud later tweeted]], ''in perfect English'', to reveal that he'd swapped shirts with Cummings' teammate Jackson Irvine instead.

'''Puss:''' Uh... no. ''[chuckles nervously]'' No hablo ingles?

* The titular character of ''Series/{{House}}'' is fluent in many languages but never reveals it until after other speakers have said something useful or incriminating:

** This strategy reveals that a patient is lying about working at a fast food place because House hears the patient and his 12 -year-old brother agree in Spanish that the brother will cover for him at work. House later grills the mom in Spanish about where his patient really works.

A subtrope of LanguageBarrier. Compare to HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier, when one person really ''doesn't'' speak the language and is deliberately cut out of the conversation as a result. Also compare ElectiveBrokenLanguage, when a person who perfectly knows the language nevertheless chooses to speak in a grammatically improper or idiosyncratic way. Contrast BilingualBackfire, where others think that somebody doesn't speak the language only to find out the hard way that they do, usually after insulting them behind their back in that language.