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Ziad Fazah - does he exist? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7021 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes  Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 97 of 377 17 December 2005 at 4:22am | IP Logged | |||||
Does this mean that he cannot write or read them? How good is he at, for example, writing Mandarin or reading Russian? (I know what you're going to say...phone him yourself!) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Dave M Groupie United States bfmfightwear.com Joined 6932 days ago 56 posts - 63 votes | Message 98 of 377 17 December 2005 at 10:46am | IP Logged | |||||
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He does speak 58 languages, he just needs a week to prepare them to regain his fluency at the level he had when he was speaking them every day.
Like I said, would you expect Muhammad Ali to get in the ring without warming up and stretching? He speaks Cantonese for example, but he needs a little time to review it before he gets on television before an audience of thousands and speaks to a native speaker. I have seen him do this - many times actually. Their is no exaggeration here. He speaks and has tested these languages. Like a normal human being he needs to review them before speaking some of them. He reads and writes Chinese and Russian. That is actually what I consider to be the most spectacular part of all this is that in all these languages he reads and writes them as well. He is not learning new languages because like I said - he is content and at this juncture what would be the point? He is also not gaining a damned thing from it either. He is 52 and other than his television appearances and 3 tiny books which sold nothing he has gained the same financial rewards as any private english tutor in Brazil - which is to say next to none. This is why I am getting the television shows he did on tape and I am going to post it on the internet so everyone can see for themselves. I was worried about this. He has responded fairly. He never said he DIDN'T speak 58 languages he said that of them, 12 or so are ones HE SPEAKS BETTER THAN OTHERS. Which even Cardinal Mezzofanti with his 100 or so would have said he speaks some better than others as a chart was given with which he spoke best and which he spoke worse. So in other words he is not losing his languages, he needs a week to regain his fluency. He learned all of this with talent, public library books, chutzpah and not much else. I don't think Ziad ever exaggerated ata ll about his accomplishments. He said flat out, I speak 58 languages. If I had to test them all Id need a week to review as I dont speak them all every day. This doesnt mean he doesnt speak them nor that after review he isn't at the level of fluency he mentioned. You will all see with the television appearances and I have the distinct feeling that no matter what you see on TV or if Ziad personally visited you houses and conducted an exam there, some of you are just anxious to tear a myth down and frankly, are the kind of people who read celebrity magazines to find out any dirt on celebrities to be able to tear them down after they have achieved success.Im not saying all of you obviously as many have been open-minded here, but you all know who you are. Anyhow I will get the TV shows so you can see for yourself and then maybe, the complaints will trickle down to a bare minimum 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Raistlin Majere Trilingual Hexaglot Senior Member Spain uciprotour-cycling.c Joined 7158 days ago 455 posts - 424 votes 7 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish*, Catalan*, FrenchA1, Italian, German Studies: Swedish | Message 99 of 377 17 December 2005 at 12:21pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I have a couple of questions:
1:Were there audio tapes at the libraries where Ziad learned his languages? If not, how did he learn the oral aspect of them? 2:If Ziad Fazah does speak 58 languages, who was the man who appeared on Chilean TV, that is, on the poligloteishon? Edited by Raistlin Majere on 17 December 2005 at 12:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Dave M Groupie United States bfmfightwear.com Joined 6932 days ago 56 posts - 63 votes | Message 100 of 377 17 December 2005 at 12:26pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I touched very briefly on the Chile subject with him but I didn't understand that it had something to do with the TV show. He was somehow cheated or swindled there and I didn't get all the details. he has been on a lot of shows in Europe and Brazil. I am getting a copy to post on the internet for you.
I am starting to take this a little personally actually. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Walshy Triglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6948 days ago 335 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, German | Message 101 of 377 17 December 2005 at 9:01pm | IP Logged | |||||
Didn't he converse with sailors from all over the place? He would have been able to pick up on pronunciation keys after hearing words that he could recognise in writing. He would have needed help at some point though, but whos to say that the foreigners wouldn't give him a hand?
We call that 'tall poppy syndrome' in Australia, I think Americans call it 'flies at the market', not sure about that though. Anyway, its basically a desire to see those who we perceive as being superior, fall on their faces. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ferdi Tetraglot Groupie Netherlands Joined 7081 days ago 41 posts - 41 votes Speaks: Turkish, Dutch*, English, German | Message 102 of 377 18 December 2005 at 3:33am | IP Logged | |||||
People are jeleous thaths why they act like that , you should ignore them i would like to see the tapes it's really impressive that he can speak 58 languages , don't be offended, just show this man and people wil have respect instead of disliking him. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| KingM Triglot Senior Member michaelwallaceauthor Joined 7197 days ago 275 posts - 300 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Russian | Message 103 of 377 18 December 2005 at 7:34am | IP Logged | |||||
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Look, the guy's accomplishments sound pretty impressive no matter how you look at them. Even being fluent in 12 languages and having some communicative ability in dozens of others is simply amazing.
I think people are just trying to figure out what he means when he says he speaks 58 languages and if that is possible. As the saying goes, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I don't think there is much if any tall poppy syndrome* on this board. Perhaps a bit of envy, yes, but not of the hostile variety. DaveM, I'm not sure why you would take this personally. It's certainly not meant that way. *As an aside, I'm American and have never heard of "flies at the market." I have heard of "tall poppy syndrome," although it's not overly common. The nearest equivalent I can think of Stateside is the story of the crabs in the bucket. They can't escape because every time one starts to get a foothold the others will grab him and pull him back down. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| KingM Triglot Senior Member michaelwallaceauthor Joined 7197 days ago 275 posts - 300 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Russian | Message 104 of 377 18 December 2005 at 8:07am | IP Logged | |||||
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If someone does call him I think it should be someone who does so respectfully. We should test his abilities, but not be overly aggressive. We probably need at least three people to give him a good sampling.
My first vote would be for Francois. Francois, you can test him in French, German, English, and Italian, and more importantly, Russian. I figure there is no need to test Portuguese or Arabic, but we should also have someone give him a try in Mandarin, Hebrew, Japanese, Persian, and Swedish. You know, the other 46 languages aside, his top 12 is a pretty darn impressive list. I'll bet there are fewer than fifty--maybe fewer than twenty--people on Earth who speak such a wide variety of different languages. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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