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Motivations for becoming a polyglot | ||
Tags: Polyglot | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| cpnlsn88 Triglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5035 days ago 63 posts - 112 votes  Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Spanish, Esperanto, Latin | Message 57 of 60 08 October 2013 at 3:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I sort of agree with beano. I got French and German from school, then did them at University. I studied Latin on my own, then have made a start at Spanish. All future languages I want to add will get me to the level of exchange of pleasanteries and reading/istening (I include Spanish in that). I want to be able to get to grips with a number of languages in French and German families, basic Turkish, possibly Greek, possibly basic Russian (I realised I remembered the words I learned when starting Russian on my own as a 13 year old).
Because my newer languages will be at a more basic level (if something is worth doing it's worth doing badly as opposed to making the best the enemy of the mediocre) I hesitate to apply the label polyglot to myself. I will only be fully functional in *English, French and German but will have a range of interests in other languages. Could I or should I learn a language completely outside my current narrow range (mostly Germanic but otherwise Romance for the most part)? Possibly. But the effort doesn't outweigh the gain. The thing I got from this site is a)learning a language is easier when you've already learned a few b)thanks to this site I'm aware of people learning alot more languages - when you see other people doing it it's an encouragement to do likewise. First step is dreaming - Oh I always wanted to learn x or y. So whist I don't consider myself a polyglot or wanting to become one I would say that I hover around the edges of the polyglot community. For my money a little knowledge in languages is a very good thing. The higher levels of language are extremely demanding - I could only do that in one or two foreign languages unless moving to a new country or because of employment or a relationsip. But to get the gist of a newspaper article, say hello and sorry. I think I should be able to achieve the lower levels in a handful of other languages. I know that we all want to pass ourselves off as natives but there is a real joy in peopl'e eyes in many countries where the language is not so often learned and you're making an effort that people really do appreciate (even if it's a little rudimentary). 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| anethara Diglot Newbie England Joined 4240 days ago 25 posts - 40 votes Speaks: English*, Sign Language | Message 58 of 60 10 October 2013 at 5:37pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I don't want to be a polyglot, I just get super excited by languages. I'm autistic, and
most autistic people have one or a few intense interests/obsessions. Mine is language learning. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4826 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 59 of 60 11 October 2013 at 3:40pm | IP Logged | |||||
Sorry, I have only just seen that. Actually, I somewhat take back my comment that said that the thread in question should have been closed and deleted. I don't actually believe in deleting any thread or comment. In fact, there was some very useful discussion in the thread later, when it moved away from the person in question, and on to more general issues. I'm all for "real discussion". However, I don't believe in encouraging here the spread of the views of that particular individual because of the negativity and bad vibes that he creates. He has his own places for that, if people want to go to them. People can vote with their feet or their mouse click. Perhaps an alternative might have been to close the thread where it ended about him, and move the interesting discussion to a new thread with a new title. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4826 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 60 of 60 11 October 2013 at 4:46pm | IP Logged | |||||
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In this post
mick33 wrote:
Very interesting. I believe that what is usually regarded as "the scientific method" can also be, and should also be applied across any form of research, including into what are normally regarded as the humanities, including language acquisition and linguistics. To take a case in point that I've recently interested myself in: what was the language or what were the languages spoken in central and south-east England in, say, the 1st millennium BC, and specifically in the years before Caesar's first invasion in 56 BC. It's by no means a straightforward and obvious issue, and involves questions of genetics, archeology, history, linguistics, and no doubt other disciplines. Some are more overtly scientific than others, but in all of them, when one is looking for answers to questions, then what one could call the "scientific method" (as opposed to science itself), is a desirable approach. There should be a better phrase for it, less objectionable on the part of those steeped in the humanities....perhaps "The Objective Method". By which I mean taking an objective viewpoint from the outset, and not assuming you know the answer to the questions before you start looking. It'a all too easy to be so convinced of one's theory, that instead of being objective, one only looks for supporting evidence, and ignores evidence to the contrary. On the other hand, those who support the established view of any particular issue tend to take entrenched positions, and also tend to lose objectivity, especially where careers are at stake. Either trend is bad for the pursuit of real knowledge, and perhaps a balance has to be struck. Those interested in science will remember the Cold Fusion debacle involving two chemists, Pons and Fleischmann. Gary Taubes wrote an interesting book on the subject, showing how objectivity went completely out of the window, probably because the stakes were so high. They had been forced to go public before they were ready. Eventually they were "discredited", although Fleischmann went to his grave I believe still being convinced they had been essentially right. Interestingly, some workers in the field have managed to reproduce similar effects in more recent times, although whether it is actually cold fusion or not is an open question. On the issue of "old books": focusing on the age of a book is irrelevant, and the reading of old books does not preclude the reading of newer books,and vice-versa. We may ask what it is that makes a "Great Book", and probably the best way of finding out whether a book is great or not is to read it oneself. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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