Amongst the Singaporean geriatric population, the majority (80%) have below secondary educational qualifications, and many spoke only their mother tongue (Chinese dialects, Malay, or Tamil) which the treating physician may not be fluent at, instead of the official language, English.
Not that he's necessarily reading these books in English; he is fluent in at least seven languages.
In person, as on record, he is fluent and at ease, slow to take offense, though quick to respond.
Italian skipper Parisse is fluent in at least four languages but it was his proficiency in English which earned him a red card in Stade Francais' win against Bordeaux-Begles last Saturday.
His prose is fluent, lucid and at times radiant, and he knows exactly when to end a chapter.
Masako is a former diplomat who studied at Harvard and Oxford and is fluent in five languages.
At twenty-three, she is fluent in both Tumblr slang and academic buzzwords, name-checking Foucault with a Valley Girl drawl.
He is fluent in English and Hebrew, stopping at one point to answer a phone call and switching between languages effortlessly.
And on a trip to Barcelona for a truly classic Clásico in March 2007, I was able to sit down with Soriano, who is fluent in English, for an interview at the club's Camp Nou stadium.
