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Recent interview with Ziad Fazah | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots |  | |
| qklilx Moderator United States Joined 6012 days ago 459 posts - 477 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Korean Personal Language Map | Message 9 of 43 29 July 2008 at 10:12pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I really don't doubt his abilities at using and learning language, as it is totally feasible (though his claims of fluency seem outrageous), but his story really does seem to become kind of unrealistic after awhile. It's hard for me to believe that government agencies of various countries would seek out---in anger and skepticism---an individual just for being able to speak some languages.
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| Walshy Triglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6768 days ago 335 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, German | Message 10 of 43 07 March 2009 at 6:31am | IP Logged | |||||
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I don't think I'll ever be able to reconcile the tales of his linguistic exploits with that video of him that was floating around on youtube a while ago.
A Chinese man, a Russian man, and native-speakers of a few other languages, asked him simple questions in their native tongues, and he didn't appear to have the slightest clue what they were saying. The video has since been taken down, but I saved a copy of it somewhere, if I find it any time soon I'll upload it. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Torbyrne Super Polyglot Senior Member Macedonia SpeakingFluently.com Joined 5921 days ago 126 posts - 721 votes Speaks: French, English*, German, Spanish, Dutch, Macedonian, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, Czech, Catalan, Welsh, Serbo-Croatian Studies: Sign Language, Toki Pona, Albanian, Polish, Bulgarian, TurkishA1, Esperanto, Romanian, Danish, Mandarin, Icelandic, Modern Hebrew, Greek, Latvian, Estonian | Message 11 of 43 07 March 2009 at 12:37pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Personally I feel that the number means little. I am not a fan of measuring people and their linguistic knowledge. Though I am aware that in this case the number is given by Ziad Fazah himself.
I can see how what has been published about Ziad Fazah would cast doubt over his abilities. That said, I feel that whether or not Ziad Fazah can speak 59 languages today does not take away from the fact that he is clearly an accomplished polyglot. He seems to share the passion for languages with most members of this forum. I would urge anyone to consider carefully the impact on Ziad Fazah of reposting any videos about him that have been removed. They will not have been removed without good reason. Ziad Fazah is a person with feelings and public humiliation is not a pleasant experience for anyone. On a more practical note, we have to be aware that he most likely relies on his language skills for his income and such videos could damage his business. It is a fact that a lot of people love to hear a number attached to linguist achievement. This story and the subsequent discussions about it serve as an example to all of the danger of citing that magical number of languages one speaks. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Walshy Triglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6768 days ago 335 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, German | Message 12 of 43 08 March 2009 at 5:00am | IP Logged | |||||
There was nothing sinister about the video, it was posted by an ordinary youtube user and removed after a year or so BY the user himself. Moreover, it was originally broadcast on an apparently major Brazilian TV network, so a few hundred people on youtube aren't going to do him much harm. The sticking point is that he claims to "speak" 59 languages (or so), but when asked simple questions in Russian, Greek, Farsi, Finnish and Mandarin, he doesn't have the foggiest what they are saying to him, and he tries to bluff his way through them (which for me is too much). I'm not having a go, and I've read that he can indeed speak half-a-dozen or so languages to a high degree, and I believe them, but 59 is clearly and hugely overblown. Call me vindictive, but the title of "World's Greatest Polyglot" shouldn't go to someone like Ziad Fazah, and it shouldn't be earned without critique. To be honest, I can think of a few superior candidates off-hand, a couple of them on this forum. Edited by Walshy on 08 March 2009 at 5:02am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| portunhol Triglot Senior Member United States thelinguistblogger.w Joined 6078 days ago 198 posts - 299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: German, Arabic (classical) | Message 13 of 43 08 March 2009 at 2:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
I know that it's been a while since the video was posted but you might want to look at it again. It was edited to only show the parts of the test that he got wrong. Is that fair? The title "World's Greatest Linguist" was not one he gave himself but one given to him by the Guinness Book of World Records back in the 90's. They removed this category a couple of years later. Ziad was asked to come to Chile only to have an interview, not to be tested in his languages. Before he is tested he ALWAYS asks for a few days to brush up on whatever language he will be speaking on television. They told him about the test the night before the show. He should have walked away but he decided to wing it. He felt obligated because they paid for his flight from Brazil, hotel room and to be on the show. Of all the times that he's done this kind of test this is the only time it went like this and the only one that ended up on youtube. Is that fair? How would you like your worst day at work to be recorded, edited to only show the worst parts and then to be put up on youtube?
I second this. Let's remember that Mr. Fazah has a family to support. He may not be what we want him to be (flawlessly fluent in 59 languages) but he still has an enormous linguistic ability that thoroughly impressed the accomplished linguist Dr. Carlos Freire. As I've stated before, the video that was on youtube was edited to make him look very bad and doesn't even come close to showing what his true abilities are. Are there any people who have actually seen him on live TV (like in Brazil) taking this sort of test other than on youtube? I've spoken to a couple of Brazilians who have and they say that they remember him doing very well and being impressive. Edited by portunhol on 08 March 2009 at 2:55pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Gamma Octoglot Groupie Brazil Joined 6769 days ago 82 posts - 85 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, English, GermanC2, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Finnish Studies: Icelandic, Dutch | Message 14 of 43 08 March 2009 at 7:28pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Portunhol's observations are very relevant, clearly solid and based on purely realistic true factors.
I can tell you I have a highly elevated command of the languages I claim to know. And I do have it. However, under pressure and psychologically unbalanced I may fail to construct or interact with simple structures in any given language - including my mother tongue -, which would certainly cause a negative and essentially distorted impression to one's analysis on my linguistic knowledge and achievements. Even assuming these to be valid arguments, and they obviously are, we still have to consider the fact that the images of Mr. Fazah shown by that youtube video are merely partial since the longer and successfully performed segments of that same television show were cut off. Not to mention all the other numerous brilliant presentations of him on television, as mentioned by our friend portunhol. Do not allow that unprofessional and pathetic youtube video production to derail your considerations on the brilliant and admirably unique mind of the genius Ziad Fazah. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| portunhol Triglot Senior Member United States thelinguistblogger.w Joined 6078 days ago 198 posts - 299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: German, Arabic (classical) | Message 16 of 43 14 March 2009 at 6:47pm | IP Logged | |||||
I'm glad you asked. No, that is an oversimplification of what we are saying. We are saying that a video of the only time he messed up on TV, edited to show the only parts where he actually messed up, is not a fair assessment of Mr. Fazah's abilities. Was your academic career judged solely on the worst grade you ever got on a test? Are you only known in your professional life for your worst day on the job? Has your life really been that unfair or can you not give someone else the same benefit of the doubt that you yourself expect from others? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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