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| The cult of the hyperpolyglot | The cult of the hyperpolyglot |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| By Vanessa Barford BBC News Magazine | By Vanessa Barford BBC News Magazine |
| Many people want to speak a second language, but for some people two can never be enough. Welcome to the world of the hyperpolyglot. | Many people want to speak a second language, but for some people two can never be enough. Welcome to the world of the hyperpolyglot. |
| Ray Gillon speaks 18 languages. To be precise, he only speaks eight fluently. His grasp on the other 10 is merely conversational. | Ray Gillon speaks 18 languages. To be precise, he only speaks eight fluently. His grasp on the other 10 is merely conversational. |
| Throw anything at him in Portuguese, Thai, Turkish, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Bulgarian or Mandarin and he will banter back. | Throw anything at him in Portuguese, Thai, Turkish, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Bulgarian or Mandarin and he will banter back. |
| In the UK, where there has been a growing anxiety over the failure to learn additional languages, Gillon might seem to be a bit of an anomaly. More and more children have been giving up languages since the last government made learning foreign languages optional in England from the age of 14. | In the UK, where there has been a growing anxiety over the failure to learn additional languages, Gillon might seem to be a bit of an anomaly. More and more children have been giving up languages since the last government made learning foreign languages optional in England from the age of 14. |
| Publisher HarperCollins has been searching for the UK's most multilingual student, and has discovered a 20-year-old Oxford University undergraduate who can speak 11 languages. And a new book, Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, by Michael Erard, suggests Gillon is among a set of people who are learning languages for fun. | Publisher HarperCollins has been searching for the UK's most multilingual student, and has discovered a 20-year-old Oxford University undergraduate who can speak 11 languages. And a new book, Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, by Michael Erard, suggests Gillon is among a set of people who are learning languages for fun. |
| So what makes some people learn language after language? | So what makes some people learn language after language? |
| For self-taught polyglot Gillon, 54, his love affair with language started by accident. He says he first learned French and Latin at the age of 11, and later studied French and German as elective courses while studying for his electronic engineering degree. | |
| "But it wasn't until I got my first job, and was sent to live in the south of France, that I had any real enthusiasm for languages," he says. | "But it wasn't until I got my first job, and was sent to live in the south of France, that I had any real enthusiasm for languages," he says. |
| It was during this chapter of his life, while designing audio visual systems for a cruise liner, that Gillon was introduced to Italian through colleagues. | It was during this chapter of his life, while designing audio visual systems for a cruise liner, that Gillon was introduced to Italian through colleagues. |
| "I went to Italy for a weekend, and fell in love with the language. I bought books and started teaching myself. By the end of my three years in France, I was fluent in both languages," he says. | "I went to Italy for a weekend, and fell in love with the language. I bought books and started teaching myself. By the end of my three years in France, I was fluent in both languages," he says. |
| Gillon's next job took him round the world, and pretty soon he was up to speed on German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish. | Gillon's next job took him round the world, and pretty soon he was up to speed on German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish. |
| He says he used half a dozen languages every day for 10 years and his current job, which involves supervising foreign language versioning of Hollywood movies, means he has to stay on top of his skills. | He says he used half a dozen languages every day for 10 years and his current job, which involves supervising foreign language versioning of Hollywood movies, means he has to stay on top of his skills. |
| "I have a massive foreign language book library, so I regularly keep up to date, revising grammar, reading newspapers, watching satellite television. | "I have a massive foreign language book library, so I regularly keep up to date, revising grammar, reading newspapers, watching satellite television. |
| "My much better half is also Swedish and speaks six languages - we probably speak them all every day," he says. | "My much better half is also Swedish and speaks six languages - we probably speak them all every day," he says. |
| According to author and linguistics expert Erard, there are not many hyperpolyglots like Gillon in the world. He has identified 11 languages as a significant watershed. Those who speak more than this are very rare. | According to author and linguistics expert Erard, there are not many hyperpolyglots like Gillon in the world. He has identified 11 languages as a significant watershed. Those who speak more than this are very rare. |
| But he says it is difficult to define hyperpolyglots and polyglots because essentially it has to be about speaking and knowing rather than reading and writing. In some cases literacy is not possible, or a language does not have an alphabet. | But he says it is difficult to define hyperpolyglots and polyglots because essentially it has to be about speaking and knowing rather than reading and writing. In some cases literacy is not possible, or a language does not have an alphabet. |
| He says the question of "how much a language weighs" is also significant in determining how unusual a linguist is. | He says the question of "how much a language weighs" is also significant in determining how unusual a linguist is. |
| "If the languages are English, French, Mandarin, Japanese, Hindi and Russian - that would be more significant from a learner's perspective than 11 Romance languages such as Italian, French and Spanish," he says. | "If the languages are English, French, Mandarin, Japanese, Hindi and Russian - that would be more significant from a learner's perspective than 11 Romance languages such as Italian, French and Spanish," he says. |
| People who are gifted linguists also often have to make the choice between getting very highly developed skills in a smaller number of languages, or focusing on one aspect like the oral language, he says. | People who are gifted linguists also often have to make the choice between getting very highly developed skills in a smaller number of languages, or focusing on one aspect like the oral language, he says. |
| For language-lover Matt Withers, 32, who speaks German, Portuguese, Luxembourgish, French and Welsh, it is not his vocation, but a fascination with language and the world that fuels his hobby. | For language-lover Matt Withers, 32, who speaks German, Portuguese, Luxembourgish, French and Welsh, it is not his vocation, but a fascination with language and the world that fuels his hobby. |
| But rather than relying solely on books, he also signed up to a series of courses. | But rather than relying solely on books, he also signed up to a series of courses. |
| "When I lived in Germany, I shared a house with three Brazilians, so I did an evening course in Portuguese to converse with them - it was interesting trying to learn Portuguese through the medium of German," he laughs. | "When I lived in Germany, I shared a house with three Brazilians, so I did an evening course in Portuguese to converse with them - it was interesting trying to learn Portuguese through the medium of German," he laughs. |
| "For the past few years, I've been living in Wales - I share an office with predominantly native Welsh speakers, so I've been learning Welsh." | "For the past few years, I've been living in Wales - I share an office with predominantly native Welsh speakers, so I've been learning Welsh." |
| Withers thinks that fluency in one language allows people to accumulate others more easily. | Withers thinks that fluency in one language allows people to accumulate others more easily. |
| "Most monoglots in this country aren't really able to explain English in terms such as the perfect past tense and past tense. When you learn about cases and tenses and grammatical formations, I think the tool box is there for other languages," he says. | "Most monoglots in this country aren't really able to explain English in terms such as the perfect past tense and past tense. When you learn about cases and tenses and grammatical formations, I think the tool box is there for other languages," he says. |
| But he concedes it is not always the case, "as Welsh isn't like any other major European language, in terms of the way it is constructed, and is incredibly different". | But he concedes it is not always the case, "as Welsh isn't like any other major European language, in terms of the way it is constructed, and is incredibly different". |
| So what enables hyperpolyglots to seemingly pick up a new language at the push of a button? | So what enables hyperpolyglots to seemingly pick up a new language at the push of a button? |
| Erard says it is hard to explain, but whatever an individual's biographical reasons are, he believes there is something that distinguishes hyperpolyglots neurologically. | Erard says it is hard to explain, but whatever an individual's biographical reasons are, he believes there is something that distinguishes hyperpolyglots neurologically. |
| "They have a neurological hardware that responds to the world, that's fed by the world, that is suited to a pattern that is recognition-heavy, sound-heavy and memory-heavy - that is very structured, and also very sociable. | "They have a neurological hardware that responds to the world, that's fed by the world, that is suited to a pattern that is recognition-heavy, sound-heavy and memory-heavy - that is very structured, and also very sociable. |
| "They have an ability to switch between languages very easily, and that involves cognitive skills which are often heritable," he adds. | "They have an ability to switch between languages very easily, and that involves cognitive skills which are often heritable," he adds. |
| But Gillon says he has no idea what the secret to his success is. | But Gillon says he has no idea what the secret to his success is. |
| He says some "blocks" - Germanic, Slavic, Latin - make it "easier to go with the flow, and language becomes intuitive". He agrees that by the third or fourth language, it also gets easier to assimilate vocabulary and grammar much more quickly. | He says some "blocks" - Germanic, Slavic, Latin - make it "easier to go with the flow, and language becomes intuitive". He agrees that by the third or fourth language, it also gets easier to assimilate vocabulary and grammar much more quickly. |
| "Etymology is a sport for me. I enjoy looking up the origin of words and seeing which particular invasion was responsible for bringing that word into our vocabulary. I am immersed in it for my work and it will continue to intrigue me for every day of my life." | "Etymology is a sport for me. I enjoy looking up the origin of words and seeing which particular invasion was responsible for bringing that word into our vocabulary. I am immersed in it for my work and it will continue to intrigue me for every day of my life." |
| But he concludes: "I can't explain it - if I could, I would bottle and sell it." | But he concludes: "I can't explain it - if I could, I would bottle and sell it." |
| Additional reporting by Sophie Robehmed | Additional reporting by Sophie Robehmed |
| Send us your comments using the form below and we will post a selection | Send us your comments using the form below and we will post a selection |
| Watching Alex Rawlings, I am sick with envy! But I must say that unlike lots of other self-proclaimed polyglots out there, he seems like the real deal. Besides his native English, I can only comment on his Russian and German, and they are both excellent - his pronunciation is near-native in both, and I think I noticed just one (potential - it might just be a pronunciation fluff) grammatical mistake in his Russian. Russian morphology can be tricky, and making almost no mistakes when speaking at speed after one and a half years' study is simply incredible. I think the key to learning languages is to enjoy it. Across all of the people I've met around the world who learn languages, the only consistent predictor of success is whether they get a kick out of picking up new stuff or not. Have fun with it, and it will come. | |
| Steve, Ilfracombe | |
| It's surprising we haven't learned more about how to teach languages. I suspect that for most of human evolution, most members of a tribe spoke at least two languages. One local, unique tribal language and one more expansive trading language for contact with other tribes. Even learning another group's language later in life seems like something that would have evolved out of necessity. We should have the capacity to rack up at least a handful without years of mindless toil. But how? Futher, it's surprising teaching multiple languages to children isn't more widely studied. Who wouldn't want their child speaking Mandarin, English, Hindi, Arabic, and Spanish from a young age onward? | |
| Drew, USA | |
| Impressive - and heartwarming. Languages are more important than ever. I think the UK is making a big mistake by placing a low emphasis on language skills. The more languages you speak, the better your job chances. If you can't manage as many as the guy in the article, never mind, just try and learn one other language. It makes all the difference! | |
| Margit Appleton, Munich, Germany | |
| Having had to learn Dutch (and speak it pretty fluently), I think it's ludicrous to say it's the easiest language for English speakers. The sentence structure is totally different and pronunciation much harder than most other European languages. My second unlikely language is Burmese, which is on another level altogether. I think the key to learning a language is actually to understand its rhythm - otherwise you will never be able to speak intelligibly or really to hear others. | |
| Jon Wilkinson, London, UK | |
| Indo-European languages are fairly similar as far as grammar goes. You just have to play around. It's just syntax that changes. It's when you start studying Eastern languages that things get a bit more complicated: Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, etc. | |
| David Marr, New Mills | |
| I too have a fascination for learning a new language. I can read about six and can usually communicate if I go abroad. i teach french to adults and tell them that listening is the most important. I listen all the time. Arabic in marrakesh airport then in an egyptian restaurant in Brighton. I couldn't cope with more than about five at a time though. Some come forward and some slip away a bit. Very interested to hear about other experiences | |
| Roger Burman, Gravesend, UK | |
| I think it is a shame that English-speaking countries don't make more of an effort to learn other languages, as this also opens the doors to exploring new cultures, something which attracted me to learning languages. I was fortunate to be brought up bilingually, speaking English & German, and having grown up in South Africa, could also speak Afrikaans and some Zulu as a child. I then went on to study French, Spanish & Russian at uni, with Japanese on the side, also dipping my toes into Arabic & Mandarin. I recently went on an Italian course and often wish I had more time to learn even more languages! I would say that growing up speaking several languages as a child definitely helps! | |
| Sonja, London, UK | |
| Dutch can't possibly be easier to learn than Afrikaans! Afrikaans being Dutch minus any complicated grammar. | |
| Richard N, Marseille, France | |
| I find this fascinating. I grew up bilingual in English and German but found it difficult learning French grammatically. I have always been much better at speaking rather than reading and writing. I wonder if this is the same for others? I always try to learn a bit of a language if I go to a different country, so have a smattering of Polish and Turkish but these are just set phrases. I think that you need to have a passion and gift for learning so many languages and really admire the linguistic intuition polyglots must have. | |
| Sarah Robinson, Edinburgh, UK |