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Claims of 50+ languages | ||
Tags: Hyperglot | Number of Languages | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots |  | |
 Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6499 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes  Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map | Message 49 of 57 01 November 2011 at 12:37am | IP Logged | |||||
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I fully understand Solfried's reluctance to make language learning into a competition. For me it is not a competition, it is collector mania. As far as I know there are stamp collectors who specialize in stamps from one country or stamps with just one kind of motive, and there are (wealthy) stamp collectors who go for rare or exotic stamps. We have polyglots who want to cover one extended sphere thoroughly, but not necessarily to a great depth, while others want a complete collection within a very narrow area. Those who go for rare stamps may have to accept that they get fewer stamps and that it will cost them a lot of money, or they can go for exotic stamps which means that they never will have covered any area completely, but instead get a great variation.
The point is that you need one narrowly defined yardstick to define a competition - for instance running faster than anybody else or having the largest number of or the most expensive stamps or winning a presidential election. So I'm not in competition with the panglots - students of languages from 5-6 language groups or more (defined by Futurianus in another thread) - because my goal isn't their goal. I may be in competition with other collectors of Indoeuropean languages, but here Arekkusu's observation plays a role: we have all different conditions for our language learning, and there is not much fun in 'winning' against people who have had less access to foreign materials or less time to use them due to other commitments (family, job). A heavyweight champ doesn't get much credit for knocking out an elderly female accountant weighing 50 kilo. NB: in some respects I'm the elderly accountant - for instance by not being interested in literature or smalltalk, which obviously would be useful characteristics for a language learner. On the other hand I can sit on my bum for hours doing wordlists, which is equally useful. I don't even compete against myself because then I would have to cut out other time wasting activities to be a serious competitor. Edited by Iversen on 01 November 2011 at 7:18am 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6175 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 50 of 57 01 November 2011 at 1:44am | IP Logged | |||||
I think most people would agree you're much more like Mike Tyson in his prime. 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Remster Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 4601 days ago 120 posts - 134 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English Studies: German, French | Message 51 of 57 03 November 2011 at 9:42am | IP Logged | |||||
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I believe there are some extraordinary people out there.
Most of those people where either ''Autistic'' or a ''Savant''. I just can't believe someone who claims to speak 50 languages. Of course the definition of fluency is abstract, therefore their meaning may differ. However, what's the point in making those claims. I'm sure those people want attention, because there wouldn't be a reason to publicly claim those things. I will certainly not believe people who claim to have mastered 50 languages by the ages of 19... Unless they're a savant and their names are Kim Peek... Besides, nobody can keep up such a statement, the moment people start to test you, the scheme is over. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 Fasulye Heptaglot Winner TAC 2012 Moderator Germany fasulyespolyglotblog Joined 5643 days ago 5460 posts - 6006 votes 1 sounds Speaks: German*, DutchC1, EnglishB2, French, Italian, Spanish, Esperanto Studies: Latin, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish Personal Language Map | Message 52 of 57 03 November 2011 at 1:26pm | IP Logged | |||||
This is the point of it: The conditions all language learners have aren't the same: LL = language learner(s) Some LL have a busy job, others are unemployed. Some LL have many family commitments, others have a single life. Some LL have a lot of money to spend on travels and materials, others are poor. Some LL live in different foreign countries, others don't. Some LL have a bilingual / trilingual upbringing, others don't. Some LL use their languages professionally, others don't. Some LL have a foreign girl-friend / boy-friend / spouse, others don't. So comparing two LL with each other, who learn their languages under different conditions, is like comparing apples with pears! Fasulye Edited by Fasulye on 03 November 2011 at 1:30pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5130 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 53 of 57 03 November 2011 at 2:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
Perhaps we should consider "handicaps" like they have in golf? Your post reminded me of one of the first entries of my TAC log: We all have some points which work against us and some points in our favor whenever there is something we want to do. My personal challenges in learning foreign languages are being dyslexic and having no time to study. Focusing on languages as a hobby next to : - the job as head of the international section of my company, which involves a bit of travelling plus we are in the middle of a reorganization - two active children - a workaholic husband who is totally absorbed by his hobby (steam engines) - a dying mother in need of a lot of care and a 90 year old father whose health is deteriorating - being legal guardian to two children who lost their father this summer - being head of the local rose association, - having a small personal business where I travel around the country giving lectures as well as producing rose jelly - running a show garden and - a severe need to do more exercising means I have absolutely no free time in the conventional sense. My method of studying is therefore called “The no available time method”. This involves exploiting every single minute I can grab to do a little studying, and sometimes do short nights. It is not an efficient method, but if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. On the other hand, it can help you survive boring task or traumatic times. - I’ve got to do housework? Pimsleur Russian, here we go! - I am rushing to a hospital three hours from here because my mother has been admitted? Umpteen lessons of Teach Yourself Russian in the car. - Ate something that didn’t agree with me? Lots of Russian verbs on the wall of my bathroom. LOL - Out walking in 18 degrees below zero to get to work? Russian conversation on my Ipod will make it more enjoyable. - Commuting on an overcrowded train? Revising grammar makes you forget the heat and the stress - Can’t sleep? Hey, a German novel will help you out On the other hand I have a few advantages, like - A job where I get to practice at least some of my languages, can travel and where they pay for language tuition - A mass of resources, both from my days of studying languages, from my mother and from my work - A one tracked mind when it comes to focusing on something I am interested in - A few languages under my belt and practice in studying them - A family who is beyond being surprised at anything I throw at them, and who can actually actively help me practicing my languages at times - A strong passion for languages - And you guys! 9 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| clumsy Octoglot Senior Member Poland lang-8.com/6715Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4974 days ago 1116 posts - 1367 votes Speaks: Polish*, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Mandarin, Italian, Vietnamese Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swedish Studies: Danish, Dari, Kirundi | Message 54 of 57 03 November 2011 at 9:47pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Of course only people who want it would be rated.
It would be better to say Pratap Srinavand - Tamil prodigy he can speak 50 languages : 20 of b2 level, 30 on c2 level. than simply "he can spek 50 languages", yes, he can, but how well? All at the highest level? I don't think so, learning even one language up to c2 is hard. As for the second question Of course it's sad reality that some people have better chances than others. but well, language learning is quite egalitarian, the thing you need is the hard work. books are not expensive, moreover, you can go to some library and borrow something from there. but well, if there is a Nigerian boy, who wants to become a polyglot, but his library is not very well, equipped (as Nigeria is a poor country), he has a problem then. Language learning is generally a cheap hobby, i think, books are cheap, for example in my country book costs around 40 pln, while pack of smoking tubes costs around 10 pln. or bread costs 2 pln. chocolate bar also costs 2 pln. but book will last much longer than a chocolate bar. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| sipes23 Diglot Senior Member United States pluteopleno.com/wprs Joined 4666 days ago 134 posts - 235 votes Speaks: English*, Latin Studies: Spanish, Ancient Greek, Persian | Message 55 of 57 04 November 2011 at 2:58am | IP Logged | |||||
This isn't the most ringing endorsement of German novels. Though I could say the same about Spanish movies, which I do enjoy quite a bit. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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