History Main / Omniglot

* In Lisa Mangum's ''Hourglass Door'' trilogy, anyone who uses the eponymous door (a time machine) gains a gift -- causing pain, seeing "ripples" in the future, and so on. When the main character, Abby, finally travels back in time, to Italy, she learns that her gift is Language -- no need to learn Italian. while this is handy, even more handy is the fact that not only does it apply to "regular" languages, it applies to the language of ''Time itself''.

* The protagonist of Brazilian novel ''O Homem Que Matou Getulio Vargas'' (released in English as ''Twelve Fingers'') learns many languages before becoming a teenager due to being raised on a traveling circus.

* Evan Tanner, the "sort-of" spy in Lawrence Block's ''The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep'' series, had his "sleep center" destroyed by a piece of shrapnel in the Korean War. This means he never has to sleep again, so he learns as many languages as he can through Berlitz tapes (to help with his globe-trotting espionage activities.)

* John Milton in ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate''. Which makes sense, considering...

* In the film ''Carlos'' based on the life of Carlos the Jackal, the eponymous terrorist speaks flawless Spanish, French, German, English, and Arabic -- and that's just what we see; he presumably speaks at least some Russian as well, given that he studied at a university in Moscow. The actor who plays him is also fluent in all of these languages except Arabic and Russian.

** Elle's replacement, Emily Prentiss, is the daughter of diplomats and spent her childhood moving around Europe. Throughout her tenure, she demonstrated familiarity with Russian, Spanish, French, and enough Arabic to identify its accent (Egyptian, though she was not shown to actually speak it, she was brought on as a translator in case the terrorist they were interviewing switched to his native language).

* Music/TheFoxyBard claims he can sing in over 40 languages (though he doesn't actually speak all of them fluently). So far, he's done English, Spanish, German, Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew, Irish, Mandarin, Dutch, Italian, Greek, Latin, Russian, Japanese, Portuguese, Catalan, Finnish, Polish, Occitan, French, Danish, Middle English, Norwegian, Arabic, Swahili, Scots, Esperanto, [[VideoGame/{{Skyrim}} Dovah]], and [[Franchise/StarTrek Klingon]. There's a [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGyNOV2-TrX3sr6wf0TUsNJFXlGmBKD8p playlist]] of "Pick a Language" videos where fans comment a language on his videos and he has to perform something in it.

* ''Literature/TheCityOfBrass'': The Nahid tribe of [[OurGeniesAreDifferent daeva]] have the unique ability to understand and become immediately fluent in any language they hear spoken, which reveals the orphan Nahri as a Nahid BlueBlood as soon as she demonstrates it. It's so natural to Nahri that she almost panics when she hears a supernatural language that she ''can't'' understand.

* ''Series/LawAndOrder'''s Ed Green can speak English, Spanish, French, and "enough Russian to get a date". It's unclear if he's fluent in French, however, and this is partially explained by the fact that he moved around a lot as a young child, sometimes living in French-speaking African countries.
* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'''s Detective Serena Stevens is said to be a "linguistic savant". Largely an InformedAbility; in her entire (admittedly short) run on the show, she uses the skill exactly once, in her first episode.
* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'''s Olivia Benson speaks English, Italian, some Spanish and French, and is able to read the Miranda warnings in at least two other languages. In one episode, without being able to hear her, Fin knew she was speaking Italian to a European colleague thanks to the ItaliansTalkWithHands trope.

* Beni from ''Film/TheMummy1999'' inexplicably speaks at least 6 different languages[[note]]English, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, his native Hungarian, and possibly French[[/note]] despite being a former thief in the French Foreign Legion. This comes in handy when he comes face to face with the eponymous Mummy, who spares him after realizing that they can communicate via Hebrew, the language of the Jewish slaves back in his time.

* Beni from ''Film/TheMummy1999'' inexplicably speaks at least 6 different languages[[note]]English, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, his native Hungarian, and possibly French[[/note]] despite being a former thief in the French Foreign Legion. This comes in handy when he comes face to face with the eponymous Mummy, who spares him after realizing that they can communicate with each other via Hebrew, the language of the Jewish slaves back in his time.

* Beni from ''Film/TheMummy'' inexplicably speaks at least 6 different languages[[note]]English, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, his native Hungarian, and possibly French[[/note]] despite being a former thief in the French Foreign Legion. This comes in handy when he comes face to face with the eponymous Mummy, who spares him after realizing that they can communicate with each other via Hebrew, the language of the Jewish slaves back in his time.

Not to be confused with the website [[https://www.omniglot.com/index.htm Omniglot.]] Has nothing to do with ExtremeOmniGoat either.

** ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': The Lantern Corps' [[RingOfPower rings]] let them speak any language (with extremely rare exceptions when the ring doesn't recognize the language), which is useful, considering that they are something akin to a [[SpacePolice galactic police force]].

* Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian in ''LightNovel/TheCaseFilesOfJewelerRichard'' speaks no fewer than ''seventeen'' confirmed languages fluently.

* And similarly accomplished is Professor Lidenbrock from ''Literature/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth''

* Getafix in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' can speak Latin, proto-Germanic ([[ArtisticLicenseHistory called Gothic in-universe]]), and several other languages.
* This is almost a running gag in Creator/CarlBarks' ''[[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Uncle Scrooge]]'' comics. No matter where in the world the ducks travel, Scrooge always knows the language there and will explain offhand that he learned it back when he "sold lawnmowers in the Sahara" or some equally implausible feat.
* In "Lifeboat", from ''Creepy'' #34, a genetically engineered "superman" whose brain contains the minds of his entire dying race complains that he can speak "over two hundred and eighty-three languages, but there's no one to talk to."

** ComicBook/{{Batman}}, not surprisingly, has mastered quite a few languages. In addition to his native English, he also speaks Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Russian, at least two dialects of Chinese, Latin, ''[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Kryptonese]]'' (and you thought ''Latin'' was a dead language), Urdu, Arabic, Vietnamese and presumably many more.

** Lady Blackhawk from ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' can order beer in thirty languages.
** ComicBook/{{Impulse}}'s mom learned English in 8 seconds thanks to super speed.

** The ComicBook/GreenLantern Corps' [[RingOfPower rings]] let them speak any language (with extremely rare exceptions when the ring doesn't recognize the language), which is useful, considering that they are something akin to a [[SpacePolice galactic police force]].
** Drinking water from the FountainOfYouth gave Detective Chimp of ''ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}}'' this ability, in addition to extreme longevity. He can speak "any language of man, beast, or monster". Since ComicBook/RexTheWonderDog has the same origin, and also speaks to humans, he presumably has the same Omniglot ability.

** ComicBook/{{Starfire}} from ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' has the power to learn any language, just by physical contact with a native speaker, but she usually ''[[MagicKiss kisses]]'' the speaker in question. (During a {{crossover}} with ''ComicBook/XMen'', Nightwing apologizes to Professor X for Starfire kissing Colossus when he mutters to himself in Russian. Nightcrawler's reaction: "Fräulein, sprechen sie Deutsche?") It is unknown how many languages she currently speaks, but it looks like she has the potential to speak... all of them. However, this is a trait of her species, and she still has an "accent" if you call it that.

** In several continuities, innate knowledge of all languages on Earth is one of the powers granted to ComicBook/WonderWoman, and in all continuities, she knows a vast number of languages and is supernaturally good at picking up new ones no matter their planet of origin such as [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Saturnian]] and [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Sangtian]].

** Creator/MarkWaid's run on ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' features Austin Cao, a client of Matt Murdock's. Austin worked in Language Services at Midas Investments; he speaks 17 languages fluently and another 10 passably.

*** As previously mentioned, [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] can psychically learn any language by reading the mind of a fluent speaker, so presumably he knows quite a few of them.
*** Kitty Pryde also speaks a wide number of languages. Kitty herself knows fluent royal and standard Shi'ar and has some moderate knowledge of Gaelic, Hebrew, and German.
*** Kitty's {{Platonic Life Partner|s}} Nightcrawler is similarly gifted. {{Justified|Trope}} in that he spent his youth traveling around Europe as the star performer in a circus and knowing the language of wherever they were that week was very handy. Aside from the Russian and Japanese everyone learned he also speaks German (his native language) English, French (which he also ''teaches''), Spanish, and Italian.

*** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} speaks 12 languages fluently and a couple others pretty well, including at least one extraterrestrial language. This is the same man who does not know his own real name and is prone to memory loss. Though he's also over a century old and a world traveler for most of that time, and brainwashing might be involved.
*** Wolverine's ArchEnemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] seems to have this, but possibly to a lesser extent. It's never been stated how many different languages he knows. He's spoken to Omega Red in Russian. Given his many travels there, he may also speak German, and has been shown to be able to fluently converse with Somalians in their native African language.
*** The ''X-Men'' {{spinoff}} ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' features the character Doug Ramsey/'Cypher', whose power is to do this with ''any'' language, even if it should have been completely incomprehensible to the human mind. This extends even to raw computer binaries, dead written languages for which no "Rosetta stone" exists, and an alien StarfishLanguage.
*** As of the ''Necrosha'' arc, in which Cypher is [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]] and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy insane]], he became capable of doing this with ''body'' language as well. His first reappearance involves him reading all of the unspoken parts of a reunion between the New Mutants and Xavier, and later [[AwesomenessByAnalysis using it to hand them their asses in a fight]]. However, this only works when they're of their own minds -- when Karma takes control of the entire team, he can no longer predict their moves.
*** Shatterstar, from ''ComicBook/XForce'', possesses enhanced learning capabilities and mastered Spanish by watching television. He's since been shown to be fluent in at least one other language (German), and probably speaks several others.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' extension comics, according to Han Solo, the warlord Zsinj can swear fluently in nearly 60 languages.

This is sometimes introduced via SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat; "Whoa, you speak Finnish? ''Mitä ihmettä?'' [[note]]Finnish language for "What the heck?"[[/note]] You never mentioned that!" "YouNeverAsked."

Sometimes there may be justification for this — perhaps it's a superpower, perhaps the character is immortal (and thus had the time to learn the languages the regular way) or perhaps they had an UpgradeArtifact. Sure, some people genuinely are good at languages, but sometimes it shows a lack of research — the author is not aware that learning a foreign language properly can be quite difficult and time-consuming (perhaps because the author has never properly attempted to learn a second language himself).

This is sometimes introduced via SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat; "Whoa, you speak Finnish? ''Mitä ihmettä?'' [[note]]Finnish language for "What the heck?"[[/note]]You never mentioned that!" "YouNeverAsked."

** [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Solid Snake's]] trophy in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', as well as various bios from the series itself, states that he is fluent in six languages. One of these languages is implied to be French in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', and if the novelizations for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' are anything to go by, he also seems to have a fluency in Russian due to taking courses in Russian as part of his FOXHOUND Training, and the Slavic Languages either during his membership in FOXHOUND or possibly even during his stint in the Green Berets.

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* [[VideoGame/HalfLife Gordon Freeman]], in ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', has shown himself capable of speaking five languages: English, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, and Spanish. He states having been to Haiti and India (in both cases, just before speaking a bit of the local tongue), and he also mentions his time in the city of Innsbruck in Austria ([[AllThereInTheManual from his canon backstory]]). His ability to speak Spanish isn't specifically explained, but it's not really much of a stretch either, especially since Black Mesa is located in New Mexico. Also, for what it's worth, the phrases he speaks all have to do with buying or otherwise obtaining something for himself ([[TheCartel drugs in Spanish]], [[VoodooZombie zombies in Haitian]], [[NaziGold gold in German]], etc). So he may not be ''entirely'' fluent and may have just learned those phrases specifically.
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* There's actually a trait for it in ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' called Hyper Linguist -- it reduces the time and cost to learn Language skills to one-third, lets your character automatically learn a language through a single day of complete immersion, and grants a + 10 modifier to interpreting languages they don't know. Given that you need 50 points in a language skill to be fluent, and you normally require one Rez Point per skill point and one week of studying per point, plus you're restricted to 5 points in a skill per month, this is '''very''' handy if you're not planning to rely on your Muse's translation program for communication. It can also be varying degrees of justified, as your character can be anything from a custom-programmed AI to a centuries-old world-weary immortal, and it's available as a fairly cheap Biomod though that doesn't transfer when you BodySurf like the trait.

* Bubbles of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' can apparently speak pretty much any language. This isn't limited to human languages, either.

* [[VideoGame/HalfLife Gordon Freeman]], in ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', has shown himself capable of speaking five languages: English, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, and Spanish. He states having been to Haiti and India (in both cases, just before speaking a bit of the local tongue), and he also mentions his time in the city of Innsbruck in Austria ([[AllThereInTheManual from his canon backstory]]). His ability to speak Spanish isn't specifically explained, but it's not really much of a stretch either--especially since he lives in New Mexico.