In Minions, what language do the Minions primarily speak?

In Minions, the Minions primarily speak Minionese.

Minionese is the fictional language used by the Minions throughout the Despicable Me franchise and its spin-offs. It combines invented sounds with words and expressions inspired by several real languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, and other languages.

The language is designed to communicate emotion and comic intent even when individual lines are difficult to translate. Familiar words such as “banana” and “potato” recur in the Minions’ speech, but Minionese is not simply English spoken with an accent.

The Minions’ expressive gestures, intonation, and visual reactions are as important as the spoken sounds. Pierre Coffin, who co-directed several films and voices the Minions, helped define their distinctive vocal style.