Depeche Mode's Martin Gore on languages and US English

I've known Martin Gore since before he founded Depeche Mode. We were both into learning languages at school in Basildon and bonded on exchange trips to northern Germany. Here we talk about those experiences and what effect living in California has had on our English.

Chapters

00:00 Bonding Over Languages
02:54 School Language Experiences
05:59 Cultural Exchange in Germany
09:02 The Impact of Language on Music
11:48 Living in Germany: A Language Journey
14:57 The Connection Between Language and Music
17:54 Translating Music and Cultural Influences
19:12 Language and Cultural Exchange
21:17 Living in California: A Brit's Perspective
23:31 Accents and Identity in a New Land
25:49 Americanisms and British Expressions
27:09 Pronunciation and Language Adaptation
29:01 Cultural Differences in Language Use
30:20 The Evolution of Language in Different Contexts
32:01 Singing in Accents: A Musical Perspective
33:47 The Journey of a Polyglot
35:06 Communication Across Borders

[DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I'm so touched by all the lovely comments. It looks like lots of people are fans of Depeche Mode and love languages. Thanks to everyone for your warmth and to those of you who have shared this far and wide.

[samprock]

I learned English by Depeche Mode songs ❤

[fideliumcrux]

Martin's laugh is irresistible in every languages

[elmiguel]

I still remember when I was in school back home in Germany. 1990. The teacher walks in and ticks off the attendance list. My friend Carsten was not in yet. Carsten walks in 30 minutes late. The teacher asks:"Why are you late?" Carsten:"I had to wait for the record shop to open, the new Depeche Mode - Violator album was released today."

[daev]

Now here's a crossover I never expected. Thanks Dave and Martin!

[mariuszjakubiak]

One of the most interesting interviews with Martin Gore I've ever seen.

[JoeMancino]

Wouldn’t have thought this would be Martins best interview in decades, possibly ever?!?! 🤷🏻

[igorr]

Great video! As a Russian born and bred in the Soviet Ukraine, I decided to learn English at the age of 12 because of my love for Depeche Mode. I've lived in London for years now, and last year I went to Basildon, made a video inside the former St. Nicholas school with Martin's school attendance register on display in there. I also filmed the former houses of all the original Depeche Mode members and other places of DM history, and put the video on my YouTube channel.

[marcogermani]

As a lifelong DM fan, whom named his first son Martin, listening to this interview was a true delight !

[SidneyBCommercialista]

Wow, this video is incredible. It's so cool to see your heroes under different lights. Thanks for this video

[Christianity_and_Perennialism]

Years ago I was in a hotel room in Tokyo and on the TV there was an English language interview where the interviewee said "Being able to speak different languages is like living different lives". I thought that was so accurate. Since learning Japanese 20 years ago it has changed the way I view and word my own native English. Once you become conversational in another language there is no way to 'separate' all of your languages within your mind. Your native one obviously affects the others but the others also affect your native language. It's a remarkable phenomenon, but I also respect those who only ever speak one language but master it.

[Mylca]

I could NOT have predicted a video like this! Martin Gore and Dave Huxtable… That’s amazing!

Thank you so much for this interview, it must have been a real breath of fresh air for Gore after having talked time and time again about the same exact things during interviews.

[Ma-wdih]

Martin's lyrics inspired me to learn English and become an English teacher and translator. Thank you so much for this interview!!! Love from Poland!

[DJniggels]

Wonderful! I'm a massive Depeche Mode fan who saw them live more than 100 times and also a language enthusiast, I even studied to become a language teacher back in the 1990s although career plans changed since then. ;-) To see both passions of mine covered in one interview is just amazing. Greetings from Germany!

[AB-mxlx]

You can see the difference of a real friendship ...Martin having a normal conversation....it is good to see him this way...Great interview..unexpected...!!!

[ICI.]

Sometimes one finds little gems like this video in YT, and one’s day gets so my brighter. Thank you.

[cyagurl]

This is the most endearing interview! Martin is so humble and down-to-earth even at his iconic status. I love seeing old friends just talking sh*t like no time has passed between them. Thank you for the warm fuzzy. (p.s. I'm 54 now and still have recurring math test nightmares from high school lol)

[michaelmercado]

As a lifelong DM fan and consumer of Mr. Gore's work(s). It's really cool to be privy to small chats like this about the mundane human experiences of simply living life in places other than home. Great share, thanks!!

[paulnoble]

What a wonderfully wholesome interview.
A gem like this dropping into my feed is such an unexpected pleasure!

A Welshman living in Northern Virginia for over 20 years and a DM fan for over 30 years, it’s lovely!

[SquirrelMonkeyCom]

The first time I hit the subscribe button before watching a video.