Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Comment on Mezzofanti biography

  Tags: Mezzofanti | Biography
 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots Post Reply
michael erard
Newbie
United States
michaelerard.com
Joined 6116 days ago

24 posts - 106 votes 
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 1 of 1
11 November 2014 at 7:30pm | IP Logged 
Hi all,

Everyone on HTLAL is familiar with the controversy that swirls around Cardinal Mezzofanti. Here's an opportunity to
comment on specific parts of his story, as recorded in the biography that Charles Russell wrote about him. Was he
real? A myth? What are the best standards to use to decide whether someone "knows" a language? HTLAL members
have a lot of relevant expertise on that last question. Now you can weigh in and shape the public's perception of
polyglottery.

There are two excerpts from Russell's biography up at Genius.com, which wants to "weave itself into the fabric of
the Internet" and annotate the world.

http://x.genius.com/Charles-william-russell-the-life-of-card inal-mezzofanti-excerpt-1-annotated

http://x.genius.com/Charles-william-russell-the-life-of-card inal-mezzofanti-excerpt-2-annotated

The editor is very interested in contributions from the polyglot community, and I've been sent to invite you. Maybe
you've written about Mezzofanti elsewhere; feel free to copy and paste those thoughts. Maybe you want to write
other experiences or opinions. One excerpt centers around what it means to know a language (and secondarily the
issue of number of languages). In the other excerpt, Russell speculates on Mezzofanti's abilities.

I was commissioned to choose the excerpt and begin the annotations, which is why my name is at the top, but if you
contribute, your name or handle will be listed at the top as well. There's lots of room to annotate and comment on
annotations. Thanks!

Best,
Michael Erard




3 persons have voted this message useful



If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.3828 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.