Which languages could Mozart speak?

Question

Does anybody know specifically? Or, I heard that he could speak 15, but does anybody know which? Thanks!

Answer 1

He certainly spoke German, and several dialects French and Italian. He probably had some knowledge of Latin. His education was largely musical and he spent a tremendous amount of time performing and writing. I had never heard 15 languages associated with him (unless you count music as a language, in which that would probably be his first language.)

Answer 2

In Peter Burke's Languages and Communities in Early Modern Europe, he described how Mozart mixed expressions in his letters from various languages. I suspect that some of his renown was borrowing phrases and playing them out for effect. He traveled a lot, performing before numerous royals and nobles. If he picked up useful phrasing here and there for convenience, it isn't too strange. I was watching a special done by orchestra conductor Andre Rieu. He started the concert with words of introduction, where he spoke a sentence in German, another in French, another in Dutch, another in Italian, and then asked, in English, "Did I miss anybody?" It got a good laugh. Mozart was just as good of a showman, undoubtedly better.

Answer 3

I have never heard he spoke 15 languages, but it's almost certain he spoke German, French, English and Italian, and probably a little Dutch and Russian due to his travels and his musical studies. He also spoke music, which I suppose you could call a language, as anyone who has studied it could attest to!

Answer 4

German, definitely.

Answer 5

austrian
possibly italian

Answer 6

German