Aneta Wilemska‑Rudnik How Many Tongues Can You Speak?

Have you ever wondered what the difference between a polyglot and a multilingual is? According to The Oxford Dictionary, the two words are used interchangeablyinterchangeablyinterchangeably and refer torefer torefer to a person who uses several languages. From the grammatical point of view, the only difference is that the word polyglot can function either as a noun or an adjective, whereas multilingualmultilingualmultilingual is only an adjective.

In the article Polyglot or Multilingual: What’s the difference? Frances Loke Wei and Natalie Chang present an interesting discussion on the origin and etymology of the two words. They say that the single difference lies indifference lies indifference lies in the origin of the two prefixesprefixprefixes. According to the authors, the word polyglot originates from Greek and means many tongues. The word multilingual, however, comes from Latin but has the same meaning, that is many tongues. Yet, it started to be used 200 years later than the word polyglot, which appearedappearappeared in The Oxford English Dictionary in 1650. However, over the centuries the prefix multi- gained much greater popularity, therefore today we have words such as multicultural, multipurpose, or multitaskers, with the prefix multi- rather than poly-.

So, how many languages do you need to speak to have „many tongues”? As it turns out, you need to speak and use four or more languages to be consideredbe consideredbe considered a multilingual person. According to the statistics from 2020, less than 1% of the world population are polyglots. 43% are bilingualbilingualbilingual speakers, which is considered a norm and around 40% are monolingualsmonolingual (noun)monolinguals, that is, people who speak only one language.

Knowing thatknowing that [know that]Knowing that there’s only 1% of polyglots in the world, the question arises why and how they become multilinguals. The answer is simple: not only are they avidavidavid language learners, but also deeply fascinated with different languages and cultures. To find out how they manage to master so many languagesmaster a languagemaster so many languages, let’s have a look at two awesome polyglots and their incredible adventures with languages. The first one is Olly Richards, an author, a teacher, and a language learner. He speaks eight languages: English (native), Japanese, Cantonese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, and Arabic. According to Olly, learning a new language is connected with new experiences and friendships, and living your best life. He’s a fan of learning through stories, spaced repetition and listening to audio materials. He runs a blog I Will Teach You a Language, where you can find out about his own method of language learning called StoryLearning. He also has some amazing podcasts and a YouTube channel where you can pick up plenty of useful tips regardingregarding [regard]regarding language learning.

Then we have Kerstin Cable, who speaks seven languages: German (native), French, Spanish, Latin, Russian, Italian, and Welsh. Her passion for languages started in kindergarten. She runs a blogrun a blogruns a blog where she shares useful tips, based on her own experience, on how to speak foreign languages fluently. Kerstin believes that everyone can learn a language, not only the rich or the privileged ones, provided they find it enjoyable. She loves speaking, podcasting and delivering workshopsdeliver workshops [deliver a workshop]delivering workshops devoted to language learning. Basically, she is very much into helping others discover their own learning path.

At this point, it would be worth mentioningit would be worth mentioningwould be worth mentioning some historic figures and celebrities who were also polyglots. The first person we’d like to draw your attentiondraw attention todraw your attention to is Thomas Jefferson, who could understand English, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish. Quite impressiveimpressiveimpressive, especially if we take into considerationtake into considerationtake into consideration the fact that the access to various language resources at his time was significantlysignificantlysignificantly limited. Another notablenotablenotable figure is J.R.R. Tolkien, who knew over 30 languages and is known for inventing languages in The Hobbit and The Lords of the Rings. Audrey Hepburn, famous for her acting career, spoke six languages. She probably learned and practisedpractise orallypractised them, mainly orallypractise orallyorally, during her travels around the world. Her travels were, for the most part, connected with her humanitarian work she was so enthusiastic about.

If you happen to consider becoming a polyglot, first of all you have to commit to your goals.commit to your goalscommit to your goals. Then, of course, find suitablesuitablesuitable methods and techniques that would help you with foreign language learning. Apart from the ones you are already familiar withfamiliar withfamiliar with, have a look at our suggestions, as they might prove usefulprove usefulprove useful for you as well. The first one is active recallactive recallactive recall, a retrieval practice, which you can use when you want to stimulate your brain for a particular piece of information you need. Moreover, to facilitatefacilitatefacilitate the remembering process you can use a vast array ofa vast array ofa vast array of mnemonicsmnemonicsmnemonics. They aim at helping you remember words or phrases by associationsassociations [association]associations in the form of visual images, acronymsacronymsacronyms, and rhymes, to name a few. If you like having information organized visually, you can use mind mapsmind maps [mind map]mind maps. Their hierarchical structure can be used for vocabulary learning, but also for taking notes during classes. If you’re into reading, you can purchase simplifiedsimplifiedsimplified versions of literary works called graded readers. They’re referred to as graded because both vocabulary and syntaxsyntaxsyntax is modified to make the contentcontentcontent more accessibleaccessibleaccessible for a foreign language reader. Yet, irrespectiveirrespective ofirrespective of your choice, consistencyconsistencyconsistency and passion are probably the most vitalvitalvital in the process of becoming a polyglot. Good luck with your learning!

1 Źródło: Aneta Wilemska‑Rudnik, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.