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Popular press polyglot reporting | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots |  | |
| arnz Newbie United States Joined 7211 days ago 38 posts - 44 votes | Message 1 of 13 15 April 2005 at 2:41pm | IP Logged |
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Ardaschir's search has me doing some of my own. I found an article on a Gregg M. Cox from the United States who speaks 64 languages, according to a page made apparently by the Guiness Book of World Records. Another article states that he broke the record formerly held by a Brazilian (who wasn't named) and a man from New Zealand who is now deceased (who is that?)
Anyway the links greatest living polyglot? article on Gregg Cox 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7262 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes  | Message 2 of 13 15 April 2005 at 8:02pm | IP Logged |
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Interesting leads, arnz, thank you. However, you see the frustrating unreliability of these sources - a People Magazine article and even Guiness records has a rather sleazy sensationalist feel. Others impute "fluency" and numbers like 64, but the guy himself only claims this in 14. All leads like this are worth investigating and I will look more myself, but until when and if I can find more substantial details, I won't give this guy a thread here or try to get a biographical profile for my book.
The Brazilian was certainly Fazah, and the deceased New Zealander was Harold Williams, a journalist from the early decades of the last century whose skills are better documented and whose linguistic biography is quite interesting. I have a profile for my book, and I will extract a thread for him from it to put here in the near future. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Malcolm Triglot Retired Moderator Senior Member Korea, South Joined 7321 days ago 500 posts - 515 votes 5 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Korean Studies: Mandarin, Japanese, Latin | Message 3 of 13 16 April 2005 at 8:12pm | IP Logged |
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His story sounds much more believable than Fazah's. Cox claims to have started at age 5, and to have achieved fluency in only 14 languages. These are probably languages in related families like English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Chinese (they mentioned Chinese in the article). It's not hard for me to believe that he could learn the basics of another 50 languages considering that he's had so much time to study. What I can't figure out is why these people don't have websites.
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| dysphonia Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 7167 days ago 48 posts - 58 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French, German Studies: Russian | Message 4 of 13 17 April 2005 at 10:37am | IP Logged |
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How about
George Campbell who was also mentioned in this link. Speaker of 44 languages, former Language Supervisor in the BBC World Service and author of various language references 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7152 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 5 of 13 24 May 2005 at 5:48am | IP Logged |
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There was a news story tonight (in Australia) about a savant named Daniel Tammet. He speaks 7 or more languages. He learnt Icelandic in a week for a television program and appeared on Icelandic TV speaking with the hosts.
You can read about him at http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1409903,00.html and http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/May/EEN4275516506ac6.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1346998/posts He is gifted mathematically, has a prodigious memory and has a passion for languages. He has even made up his own language. Some of the reports are contradictory and I have read negative comments, but I think they reflect on the reporting rather than on Daniel. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7262 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes | Message 6 of 13 27 May 2005 at 2:26am | IP Logged |
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The articles about Tammet reveal the same thing that was in the articles about the popes, namely the natural human tendency to exaggerate. The first article had him knowing 7 languages, the second 9, and so it would go on if there were more articles. Actually, I think there is more than a tendency to exaggerate here, there is also a fundamental inability on the part of nonpolyglots to conceive of being a polyglot. There is a need to attach a number, and any number above 5 seems to be fundamentally inconceivable. I get exactly the same thing at any university where I am teaching. Students and others are forever coming up to me and saying things like "I heard you know 7 (8) (9) (10)... languages." Now, I never ever make any claims to any number, and when I have the time and the energy to explain yet again why I cannot and will not give a number. Yet, it is all to no avail.
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| fisher99 Newbie United Kingdom Joined 7130 days ago 10 posts - 10 votes | Message 7 of 13 27 May 2005 at 2:45am | IP Logged |
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I belive it has something to do with bad use of english/language. If one is careful in choosing their words a fair comment can be made about someones ability. However the reader also needs to read the words as they are meant to be not what extras the reader thinks needs to be added(ain't langauge wonderful!!!).
Popular culture has a habit of mixing definitions, taking contexts literary and figure of speech as if it were a cocktail. This mixing of understanding has made it's way to general conversation as well. I have a friend who can speak several languages, has a superb vocabualry. But when if you were talk to him, he would usually respond with short one word answers. He belives that he is better understood this way. For example he would say that he can speak three languages fluently. He does not mention the other few that he speaks to an advance and intermediate level. Even though english is my first language, I would comfortaly say that I am not fluent in english. OMG I just sounded like my english teacher... 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| 1204grandine Triglot Groupie Italy Joined 7193 days ago 88 posts - 78 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, Catalan Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, Greek | Message 8 of 13 12 July 2005 at 12:54am | IP Logged |
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There is(in France)a 17-years old girl,that have Algerian origin,that can speak 9 languages:Arabic,French,Berber,Italian,Sp anish,English,German,Romanian and Portuguese.She has the competence of these languages,of course. Edited by 1204grandine on 12 July 2005 at 1:01am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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