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Tim Doner - hyperpolygot? | ||
Tags: Youtube Polyglot | Polyglot | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4321 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes  Studies: German | Message 1 of 28 10 April 2013 at 3:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am getting strangely annoyed by all this attention Tim Doner is getting with his apparent claims to have learnt 23 languages by 17 years old
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/nyregion/a-teenage-master- of-languages-finds-online-fellowship.html?pagewanted=all http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17548351 Apart from simple jealousy - I have struggled to get from A1 to B1 German in nine months - I really find it hard to believe that this could be true. Does any believe this is possible? And if not, why does the media constantly pick up these stories without any real test? Edited by Fasulye on 11 April 2013 at 8:08am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4146 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew | Message 2 of 28 10 April 2013 at 3:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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Even if it's exaggerated it's still an inspiring story for the media to broadcast.
However, at that age the mind is very fresh plus he doesn't have all the obstacles of say earning a living. So he can study and immerse all day long. I suppose he does speak the languages he says, but to which level, only he really knows. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kyle Corrie Senior Member United States Joined 4617 days ago 175 posts - 464 votes | Message 3 of 28 10 April 2013 at 3:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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Do we believe what is possible? That he can 'speak' 23 languages? This always
comes down to the question of, "What does it mean to 'speak' a language?'" and in my opinion, he is extremely loose with his definition - in the sense that stringing together a few sentences constitutes speaking. When he claims he speaks 23 languages everyone just has to take his word for it because there doesn't really seem to be very many videos of him actually carrying out real conversations; typically just (presumably prepared) monologues. In the few conversations he does speak in a language other than English it's just the typical script everyone has come to expect from Youtube videos.. Who are you? Where are you from? How long have you been... What do you like about languages? Do you have a method? News stations report on it because they find it amazing. They're typically monolingual and have no idea about the dedication and persistence it takes to learn a language well. So when they dispatch a reporter with no knowledge of the subject matter then they're really sent with the idea that whatever he tells them is Gospel and everything he says is accurate. However, again, it seems that whenever he does speak in another language other than English, native speaks don't seem to evaluate him too well from what I've seen. To be fair though, I'm positive that he hasn't spent enough time with probably any of his languages to reach a good level. That's not to knock him though. Everyone has different goals. If he wants to be the next Moses McCormick and claim to speak 30 languages while being proficient at none of them then that's his thing. I, however, am far more impressed by the people who work their ass off for the comprehension abilities between 95-96%, 96-97%, 97-98% and 98-99% because that single percentage in advancement could probably yield 5 or 6 (probably more) Timothy Doner leveled languages. Edited by Kyle Corrie on 10 April 2013 at 3:54pm 15 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5218 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 4 of 28 10 April 2013 at 4:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think we also have to factor in the cuteness factor. 23 languages in a 17-year old kid makes good press. There seems to be an element of genius or virtuosity that we associate with youth. As to what exactly does speaking 23 languages actually mean, I won't even attempt to go there.
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| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4321 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 5 of 28 10 April 2013 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | ||
Yeah. I think you are right. He is very photogenic. It's actually hard not to like him watching the videos. This may be partly a cultural thing. I am not American, but I have worked in both LA and Boston for a few years each, and what struck me culturally is how people really are taught to sell themselves in a positive way. To Australia it seems over the top, to an American Australians seem way too unassuming (in a bad way). I had a friend who said he spoke Portuguese, but I suspect his skills were lower than my now B1 German. He wasn't lying, I am sure he 'spoke it', but I still don't say I speak German because I would feel I was lying somehow. The thing I don't get about the media is that it would be easy enough to check out. I guess the problem would be that it would be a non-story (random kid claims to speak lots of languages) and all the media want are eyeballs on the page. Makes me even more dubious of all the other news stories you read on a daily basis though. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5620 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 6 of 28 10 April 2013 at 6:55pm | IP Logged | ||
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There was actually a brief news report about Tim on the 8 pm news on France 2 yesterday.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| osoymar Tetraglot Pro Member United States Joined 4524 days ago 190 posts - 344 votes Speaks: English*, German, Portuguese, Japanese Studies: Spanish, French Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 28 10 April 2013 at 8:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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I like the Russian idiom quoted in the comments on the nytimes article:
"We do not ask how well the bear dances, we marvel that it dances at all!" Perhaps someone can verify whether that's a real idiom or not? Either way, I've certainly found it to be the case for me. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| lingoleng Senior Member Germany Joined 5086 days ago 605 posts - 1290 votes | Message 8 of 28 10 April 2013 at 8:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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The thread where Torbyrne introduced Tim:
Tim from the US (PolyglotPal) on YouTube 1 person has voted this message useful |
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