|
 |
Barry Farber | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots |  | |
| William Camden Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6084 days ago 1936 posts - 2333 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, French | Message 9 of 34 28 September 2008 at 7:30am | IP Logged | ||
|
I downloaded it on ebook. It was good in parts, and I block-copied the bits I found useful (I noticed he likes flash cards).
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| josht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6258 days ago 635 posts - 857 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch | Message 10 of 34 28 September 2008 at 9:13am | IP Logged | ||
|
I enjoyed the book well enough, but I found it to be a bit hard to read at times, largely because a vast portion of the book was Farber extolling his amazing linguistic ability, rather than imparting any particularly useful knowledge. By page 30 or 40, I "got it" - Farber was good with languages, and knew it. Thank you, move along, teach me something.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| mcjon77 Senior Member United States Joined 6423 days ago 193 posts - 248 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Egyptian), French | Message 11 of 34 28 September 2008 at 1:39pm | IP Logged | ||
|
My favorite part of the book is how Farber talks about working hard to learn languages and how he wasn't very good at some of them. I have grown tired of stories about one "famous polyglot" or another that seem to imply that they decide to learn a language on Friday and after reading the dictionary over the weekend they spoke the language fluently , with no accent, by Tuesday (an exageration, but you get the point).
I am just inspired by the passion of someone who is not some kind of language savant, yet has achieved a feet that very few people could match. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| TheElvenLord Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5892 days ago 915 posts - 927 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Cornish, English* Studies: Spanish, French, German Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 12 of 34 28 September 2008 at 3:05pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Josht - I agree that quite a bit is about himself. But I am sure it would have been removed by the editors if it wasnt needed.
One good point about it is how he learned languages - and shows that it is hardwork. Another one is it is an inspiration. Also - I am not sure people would take him methods seriously, unless they knew his background. How would you know who is writing it for money, and has no idea, blagging his way, and the experienced polyglot - The small biography in the front. I am sure there is a better reason than the above. TEL 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| William Camden Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6084 days ago 1936 posts - 2333 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, French | Message 13 of 34 28 September 2008 at 3:20pm | IP Logged | ||
|
I just skipped over large parts of it which were biographical and reflecting aspects of Farber that don't interest me (he is a right-wing radio host and it shows at times in the book). His ego also seems to be very sizeable. It was how he learns languages that I want to know, not his world view.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Rollo the Cat Groupie United States Joined 5846 days ago 77 posts - 90 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Russian, Ancient Greek | Message 14 of 34 28 September 2008 at 8:09pm | IP Logged | ||
You skipped over those parts yet you know what they said? Seriously, I didn't notice anything political in his language book. Please tell me what you found of topic. The only two thing remotely political I remember were when he talked about rescuing Hungarian refugees from the Soviet invasion and when he talked about learning Chinese from Chinses sailors during WWII. Even then he seemed to take great pains to simply tell the story and not preach politics. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Topsiderunner Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6730 days ago 215 posts - 218 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Italian, Arabic (Written) | Message 15 of 34 28 September 2008 at 8:48pm | IP Logged | ||
|
At risk of being completely irrelevant to language learning, just a couple days ago someone posted this video of Barry Farber on the old CBS program "To Tell the Truth." Looks like it must from the 50s or early 60s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VJ1S6AoW6Y 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Marcus Groupie Australia Joined 7023 days ago 55 posts - 55 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Spanish | Message 16 of 34 28 September 2008 at 8:56pm | IP Logged | ||
|
I too enjoyed the biographical section, which I must have re-read over a dozen times for motivational nourishment.
Sure, he enjoys tooting his own horn, but to me, it just reads like someone proud of his achievements and keen to motivate others. And as for him being right-wing, who cares? I didn't detect any political bias, not surprisingly, because it's a book about language learning not foreign policy. Edited by Marcus on 28 September 2008 at 8:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
