Borat speaks Hebrew?

So I saw the much-hyped Borat movie over the weekend. And while it would be terribly inappropriate of me to spoil it for all you who have yet to see it, I did think one non-plot related subject was worth posting about, especially as it might enhance your experience of the film if you haven't seen it yet.

Obviously, if you're planning on seeing anything staring Sacha Baron Cohen, you go into it knowing full well that no stereotype will be left unturned. As already mentioned on this blog, his anti-Semitic parodies are legendary.

But many are unaware of the greatest irony of all when it comes to Borat's so-called anti-Semitism: What you think is him speaking Kazakh in the film, is actually Hebrew - and a lot of it is funny when juxtaposed against what is actually going on in the scene. Again, I won't ruin the film for those who haven't been yet, but take if from me, the _floss blogger who lived in Israel for close to 3 years and speaks Hebrew pretty well, "It's Niiiiiiice!"

As this article in The Jewish Week testifies, Baron Cohen "speaks Hebrew fluently and uses this language around unfamiliar Americans when keeping up his character's foreignness."

But even when Borat isn't offering up in-jokes for the Hebrew speakers in the theater, the average American should be able to hear certain familiar words. In one scene, for example, he refers to a certain Kazakh government scientist as "Dr. Yarmulke."

And there are many more! I loved the movie and can't wait until you've all seen it so I can drop some more factoids along these lines.