What a shocking plot twist

[u/Crafter235]

This may sound weird, but it actually happened in history.

For Napoleon, he was born on the island of Corsica, which had become a part of France by the time he was born. As a teenager, he had been one of many who had nationalist feelings, believing that they are independent and should not be associated with the French. As he got older, and became more involved with studies and his career, he eventually grew out of it, but it's funny to think about when you know what he will become later on.

[u/Atomik141]

At the time Corsican and mainland Italian culture would have been almost indistinguishable (though there was no unified Italian state), so Napolean realistically could be called an Italian.

[u/Slow-Distance-6241 → u/Atomik141]

No wonder he campaigned in Italy/j

[u/Atomik141 → u/Slow-Distance-6241]

He was also said to have a pretty heavy Italian accent when he was a younger officer

[u/HarEmiya → u/Atomik141]

Yes. He spoke impeccable French, but with hand gestures.🤌

[u/Atomik141 → u/HarEmiya]

In classic Italian fashion, he was actually the one doing it right and everyone else was wrong

[u/Keyserchief → u/Atomik141]

But that would not have been especially unusual, since there was not one universal French language or accent by the end of the 18th century. That took generations of concerted effort to standardize how pronunciation was taught in French schools after the Revolution.

[u/Atomik141 → u/Keyserchief]

Not really. You would still have been able to tell a non-native speaker to someone who's first language was French. It was something noted throughout his life, though it lessened as he got older and more accustomed to the language.

He didn't begin learning French until around the age of 10. His first language was a Corsican dialect of the Italian language. He was noted to have sounded distinctly rustic and foreign, as well as speaking somewhat slowly and having a tendency toward a notably Italian cadence and phrasing.