slowlanglearner Triglot Newbie Germany Joined 3890 days ago 6 posts - 15 votes Speaks: German*, English, Spanish Studies: Russian
| Message 1 of 21 12 April 2014 at 4:14pm | IP Logged |
I wonder who would get the record when it comes down to the highest number of language certificates.
It's clear to me that sometimes certified language proficiency doesn't preclude having a horrendous accent, or not being able to understand small deviations from the norm. However, they are still a better proof than some monologues posted on YouTube.
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Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4912 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German
| Message 2 of 21 12 April 2014 at 4:24pm | IP Logged |
I have no idea, and I don't really care all that much about people's claims.
The reason I'm posting is to say: I love your name! Slow learning is deep learning.
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luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French
| Message 3 of 21 12 April 2014 at 4:33pm | IP Logged |
slowlanglearner wrote:
I wonder who would get the record when it comes down to the highest number of
language certificates. |
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Sounds like it could be an Olympic event.
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DavidStyles Octoglot Pro Member United Kingdom Joined 3944 days ago 82 posts - 179 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, French, Portuguese, Norwegian Studies: Mandarin, Russian, Swedish, Danish, Serbian, Arabic (Egyptian) Personal Language Map
| Message 4 of 21 12 April 2014 at 5:14pm | IP Logged |
slowlanglearner wrote:
...still a better proof than some monologues posted on YouTube |
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Indeed. Those monologues mean next to nothing. I could have a friend write an Urdu script for me to memorize and reproduce without even necessarily understanding, let alone being able to produce it myself.
Not sure why people do those videos, except perhaps to showcase a nice accent if they have one.
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drygramul Tetraglot Senior Member Italy Joined 4471 days ago 165 posts - 269 votes Speaks: Persian, Italian*, EnglishC2, GermanB2 Studies: French, Polish
| Message 5 of 21 12 April 2014 at 6:35pm | IP Logged |
DavidStyles wrote:
Indeed. Those monologues mean next to nothing. I could have a friend write an Urdu script for me to memorize and reproduce without even necessarily understanding, let alone being able to produce it myself. |
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Same goes for dialogues, imo.
Even the lack/possession of certificates doesn't necessarily prove something. Most tests are expensive, can't be taken in your country, and could be challenging for natives too.
Edited by drygramul on 12 April 2014 at 6:35pm
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Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5337 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian
| Message 6 of 21 12 April 2014 at 7:30pm | IP Logged |
I am not even sure what a certificate would prove. Like you said, your pronunciation can be horrendous, even
if you have a certificate, and a lot of the really good polyglots do not necessarily have any certificates.
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shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4447 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French
| Message 7 of 21 12 April 2014 at 11:57pm | IP Logged |
There are a few polyglots I can name off my head including Moses McCormick (US), Luca Lampariello
(Italy), Steve Kauffman (Canadian living in Hong Kong), Stuart Jay Raj (Thailand), Tim Doner (US), Benny
Lewis (Ireland), Felix Wang (Taiwanese parents in Belgium).
Some people may not be polyglots but became successful language teachers such as Mike Laoshi who
teach Mandarin to the Western audience, Carlos Douh (Canada living in Hong Kong) and teaches
Cantonese, Cecilia Gamst Berg (Norwegian living in Hong Kong) and teaches Cantonese, Hugh Baker
(English living in Hong Kong).
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luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French
| Message 8 of 21 13 April 2014 at 12:15am | IP Logged |
One of the certified polyglots here should register as a record holder/breaker at
the Guiness Book of World Records.
Even
if you don't think you hold the record, you could set the initial bar.
Once Guiness picks up the scent for the category, the records could be more specialized.
Most period.
Most B1 or higher, most B2 or higher, etc.
For me, I'm impressed by the polyglots here regardless of certification.
Edited by luke on 13 April 2014 at 12:17am
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