Clugston challenges polyglots to debate (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Clugston challenges polyglots to debate
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

Poll Question: Would you like to see a debate between these polyglots?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Yes	33	[26.83%]
No	90	[73.17%]
You can not vote in this poll

132 messages over 17 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 5 ... 16 17 Next >>

KidRoberts
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United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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19 posts - 27 votes
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Studies: Afrikaans

Message 33 of 132

28 September 2013 at 3:53am | IP Logged

I have no dog in this fight, but is the guy for real? I haven't seen Steve, Benny, or
Moses attack anyone. Did he really call Steve retarded and Benny fat? That's extremely
childish.

Edited by KidRoberts on 28 September 2013 at 3:59am
2 persons have voted this message useful

Irish_Goon
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Message 34 of 132

28 September 2013 at 5:13am | IP Logged

Man, this guy certainly does think a lot of himself. Does anyone know how many languages he speaks if any? I have only heard a snippet of Spanish. Every "linguist" and self-proclaimed "educator" that I have ever met has been monolingual.

While I may not be able to talk intelligently about linguistics, I can say one thing for certain and I caution everyone... do NOT use his knife defense tactics. They will get you killed.
4 persons have voted this message useful

leosmith
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2365 posts - 3804 votes

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Studies: Tagalog

Message 35 of 132

28 September 2013 at 5:47am | IP Logged

I'm With Stupid wrote:

leosmith wrote:

renaissancemedi wrote:

Check out the comments on this
page

I don't see the connection. Please start your own
thread.

Presumably the connection is that Clugston managed to get into a slanging match in the comments section of
that website too.

Thanks - I missed that. Edited post.

I'm With Stupid wrote:

The main problem is that he doesn't actually make any points. He resorts to personal attacks and claims of
authority. One of the most hilarious bits is when he attempts to draw parallels between himself, and what
Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris did to religion.

I thought he called himself "the Sam Kinneson of the polyglot world" or something like that. Didn't know about
the authors you mention, but thanks for the info.

I'm With Stupid wrote:

They're polar opposite of each other

I don't think they are polar opposites. They have differences, but they also recommend a lot of the same things to
language learners.

I'm With Stupid wrote:

And the final point is that you'd think a linguist would know that it is not authority that decides what words
mean, it's usage. And so "linguist" is a perfectly acceptable description for someone who speaks a lot of
languages.

Before Kauffman started calling himself a linguist, I never heard the word used that way. So we'll have to disagree
on that. No big deal to me, but I can imagine linguists getting their feathers ruffled by it.

mick33 wrote:

leosmith wrote:

Probably the original cause of his attacks on Kauffman is the fact that he
calls himself a linguist.

IIRC Clugston's complaint was that Kauffman disagreed with Tim Ferriss
regarding the language-in-1-hour-plus-a-favor/#more-161">6 sentences of gold method to get started on learning a
language. According to Clugston, this is how field linguists get started learning undocumented languages and
Kauffman saw no use for it. This is the crux of why Cluugston strongly disagrees with, and has wanted to debate
with, Kauffman for a few years. Kauffman could care less about this stuff and I recall if he has ever directly
answered Clugston on the matter.

I had no idea - thanks for the info.

mick33 wrote:

I agree with you, but Clugston claims that only a person with a liguistics degree could have any
clue about how to begin becoming a polyglot.

Really? That's messed up.

mick33 wrote:

I can't recall if Clugston has ever stated his own criteria for determining what constitutes being
fluent in a language.

Me neither. Has anyone heard his criteria?

mick33 wrote:

As far as I know, the only YouTube personality to ever talk with Clugston about language
learning was David Mansaray and the resulting
interview was a disaster.

Thanks for the link.
2 persons have voted this message useful

I'm With Stupid
Senior Member
Vietnam
Joined 4174 days ago
165 posts - 349 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: German, Vietnamese

Message 36 of 132

28 September 2013 at 6:01am | IP Logged

Say what you want about Steve Kaufman, but at least he knows how to use a microphone.
13 persons have voted this message useful

Jeffers
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United Kingdom
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Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

Message 38 of 132

28 September 2013 at 10:43am | IP Logged

I'd never heard of Clugston before today, but I think I recognize his type. He complains about others' ad hominem attacks while making the same attacks his main weapon.

It makes me wonder about his attacks on others' lack of qualifications: does he have any qualifications or credentials himself? I personally don't think credentials are needed to set up a youtube channel or blog and simply give free advice. But if he attacks others for not having credentials, it would make sense for him to share his own.

(EDIT: having said what I said, I do agree that if a person is going to start selling books on a topic, some sort of credentials are useful. However, not always necessary. For example, a book on cycling routes in rural France doesn't require a degree in cyclistics. A book on medical advice, on the other hand, should come from someone with a degree in medicine. Books on language learning could go either way.)

EDIT2: now I've read the comments on the linked video. Well done Benny for having the guts to make a decent response. And all Clugston could do was insult him back and threaten him.

Edited by Jeffers on 28 September 2013 at 10:52am
3 persons have voted this message useful

KidRoberts
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19 posts - 27 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: Afrikaans

Message 39 of 132

28 September 2013 at 2:43pm | IP Logged

I watched a few of his videos and they seemed to have more attacks than advice.
2 persons have voted this message useful

beano
Diglot
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Message 40 of 132

28 September 2013 at 4:04pm | IP Logged

What languages does Clugston actually speak? He seems to spend his time criticising other people's
methods. Who cares if Steve Kaufmann and Benny Lewis are selling books? Nobody is forced to buy
them...it's a free market.

Clugston also seems to think that's it's a waste of time to learn languages that are not spoken in your
particular area of the world. Isn't that the whole point of the Internet, that you can access almost any
language from any part of the globe?

6 persons have voted this message useful

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