18 languages in 4 months (Polyglots) Language Learning Forum

18 languages in 4 months
Tags: Rare Languages \| Asian Languages
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Language Learning Forum : Polyglots

20 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3 Next >>

Yvelle
Diglot
Newbie
United States
Joined 6313 days ago
14 posts - 17 votes
Speaks: Mandarin, English*
Studies: Gypsy/Romani

Message 1 of 20

03 August 2011 at 8:14pm | IP Logged

This man is learning 18 aboriginal languages of Taiwan and taking government exams for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlh3ltfiqbk
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Michael K.
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5728 days ago
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Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Esperanto

Message 2 of 20

03 August 2011 at 9:37pm | IP Logged

If Glossika (Mike Campbell) succeeds, he said in a recent video that he'll be the only person in the world to know one dialect of all 18 of the aboriginal Taiwanese languages, or at least that's what I thought he said. CORRECTION: He will be the only person in the world to take and pass exams in all the languages of Taiwan, including 3 Chinese languages.

He's studying 5 for the first 2 months and 4 for the last 2 months.

He can only take one certification exam every year, so a government official advised him to take an exam in one of the very small languages so it will make news and then he could go to all the tribes individually and get certification.

He's on FaceBook as "Glossika Language Training" and posts fairly frequently if you want to follow his progress. Plus he also posts a lot of materials on the aboriginal languages he's studying.

Edited by Michael K. on 04 August 2011 at 11:35pm
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Zwlth
Super Polyglot
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United States
Joined 5225 days ago
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Speaks: English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Arabic (Written), Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Latin, French, Persian, Greek

Message 3 of 20

04 August 2011 at 12:30pm | IP Logged

It is a very sad day for polyglottery when Glossika goes the way of Cesare.
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Michael K.
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5728 days ago
568 posts - 886 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Esperanto

Message 4 of 20

04 August 2011 at 11:44pm | IP Logged

Zwlth wrote:

It is a very sad day for polyglottery when Glossika goes the way of Cesare.

How in the world is he going the way of Chez?

He's trying to pass exams and is a trained linguist, not just get recognized on YouTube for learning an incredibly large amount of languages in a very short amount of time. And since he lives in Taiwan, he could actually use the languages on a fairly regular basis by visiting the different tribes, since he does have an interest in the language and culture of the aboriginal groups. On his channel there are 2 videos of him reading stories in 2 of the aboriginal languages, Atayal and Saisiyat, and says he can learn the languages as long as there are stories and as long as he uses all his strategies that he's used for learning languages.
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newyorkeric
Diglot
Moderator
Singapore
Joined 6378 days ago
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Studies: Mandarin, Malay
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Message 5 of 20

05 August 2011 at 4:58am | IP Logged

Interesting...thanks for posting the link to Mike's video.
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Spanky
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 5955 days ago
1021 posts - 1714 votes

Studies: French

Message 6 of 20

05 August 2011 at 7:00am | IP Logged

Zwlth wrote:

It is a very sad day for polyglottery when Glossika goes the way of
Cesare.

???

Help yourself to your own opinion I suppose, but I have to say this seems like an
extraordinarily misinformed comment.
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Zwlth
Super Polyglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5225 days ago
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Speaks: English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Arabic (Written), Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Latin, French, Persian, Greek

Message 7 of 20

06 August 2011 at 7:37pm | IP Logged

I take it back: Glossika isn't going the way of Cesare; he's already gone way beyond Cesare. Cesare's delusions can be excused as he is just a kid, but Mike's cannot precisely because he is a knowledgeable language learner. The idea that anyone can develop real, meaningful, lasting knowledge of a language in less than a week is patently preposterous. And then to want to do that 18 times, back to back, with widely different forms of undocumented indigenous languages? Come on!

I used to subscribe to his channel and look forward to his valuable contributions, but I unsubscribed when he started posting more and more videos of him playing with monkeys, swimming in his pool, and showing off his newly shaved head. He has clearly left off promoting language learning and gone into promoting his own image.
5 persons have voted this message useful

Volte
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Switzerland
Joined 6438 days ago
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Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian
Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese

Message 8 of 20

06 August 2011 at 10:34pm | IP Logged

Zwlth wrote:

I beg to differ. There are too many documented examples of people developing 'real, lasting' knowledge in under a week for me to agree. I suppose the definition of 'meaningful' is somewhat more debatable.

Take a look at how Professor Argüelles learned Swedish for instance.

ProfArguelles wrote:

This is how I learned Swedisch and what I meant by "learned." I was invited to give a lecture at the University of Lund, where I spent about a week. When I arrived I had never studied the language in any fashion whatsoever. However, I was thoroughly versed in Germanic philology, having stuided all the older and medieval tongues (Gotisch, AHD, MHD, OE, ME, etc.) and indeed written my doctoral dissertation on Old Norse literature. On the basis of this, and on the basis of my English and German, I found that I could understand quite well what was being said all around me. I never opened my mouth in Schwedish while I was in Lund, but I kept my ears glued wide open, and I purchased Langenscheidts Praktisches Lehrfuehrer Schwedisch and began working systematically through it. The professor at Lund recommended that I give the same lecture at the university of Stockholm, so I extended my stay for another few weeks. On the train from Lund to Stockholm, I ventured to speak for the first time, to two children. Since they understood me, I was brave enough to address their mother as well when she returned to the compartment, so it really "worked" from that point. I spent a few days in Stockholm, conversing mainly in Svenska. I then went up to Jokmok and did a homestay, speaking Svenska and only Svenska for about a week. From there I went even further North to an isolated cabin in the woods where I stayed for about four days, which I spent going over and over the Langenscheidts readings and forcing my brain to eschew any thoughts that were not in Svenska. Though I had my own cabin, meals were served at common tables in a dining hall, and there I conversed as much as I could. It was there that I was first told that I spoke the language "fluently," though I would never have made that claim myself. When I told them that I had been in their country for two weeks, they did not believe me and thought that I meant that I had been there for two years. One of the other guests was Danish, and she had to try to speak Swedish because the others could not understand her. However, I got her to speak some to me, and it wasn't impenetrable. When I returned to Lund on my way back to Berlin, the jaws of all my acquaintances dropped when they heard how "fluently" I spoke, though again that was their claim and not mine, for I heard how continuously I butchered the irregular verbs. One of my acquaintances was from Copenhagen, so when I had a protracted conversation with her alone, I asked her to speak only Danisch to me. It was certainly more challenging, but still I can certainly say that as a learner of Swedish, I understand Danish. After I returned to Germany, I systematically worked through the Assimil courses in Swedish to add polish (especially the 2nd volume, which is really a cultural immersion course that parallels their advanced formats for major languages). I practice speaking whenever I get the chance, which is unfortunately not often, but while there I bought a complete recording of Gosta Berlings saga intended for blind native speakers, and I periodically "shadow" this entire book. Reading Swedish was never a problem at all, and I thoroughly enjoy not only Selma Lagerlof but also medieval literature such as Svenska Medeltidens Rim-kronikor.

On the basis of my French, Spanish, and Latin, I had a very similar but even easier experience learning Italian. I.e., I went there, listened for a day or so before opening my mouth, and then I just spoke, sounding very Spanish at first, but constantly and consciously molding my speech to conform to that of those around me. I have subsequently put quite a bit of time and effort into bringing my overall command of this important Romance branch up to the level of my others, but I can honestly say that I first "learned" it upon my first visit to Rome.

Daniel Tammet learning Icelandic in a week is another example.

Kenneth Hale getting conversational in indigenous languages in under a day is also documented.

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