Episode Synopsis "In the late ’90s, the comedian decided that it wasn’t enough to joke about language; he wanted to joke in other languages."

Eddie Izzard has often joked about language from the silliness of Latin to why English speakers are so stubbornly monolingual. However, in late ‘90’s, Eddie decided that it wasn’t enough to joke about language; he wanted to joke in other languages. So in 1997 he took the stage and did his first set in France in French. It wasn’t funny, he admits, but it was the start of a career goal to do stand-up in as many languages as possible. Eventually he did feel funny (and fluent) in French. Now, nearly two decades after that first French show, he has toured in not only French but German and Spanish. He intends to learn Russian and Arabic next.

Listen "In the late ’90s, the comedian decided that it wasn’t enough to joke about language; he wanted to joke in other languages."

More episodes of the podcast Hand-picked stories on language

• People working to save dying languages
• Can’t find a word in the dictionary? Try Wordnik
• Singing in another accent
• Exploring why some say we should call ISIS ‘Daesh’
• In the late ’90s, the comedian decided that it wasn’t enough to joke about language; he wanted to joke in other languages.
• Losing the Language of ‘Us’
• Should kids be learning in more than one language? Californians just decided “yes.”
• Help! I can’t speak my grandfather’s language