A Polyglot is a person who knows or uses several languages. Most people are a monoglot which means they can speak one language. I recently came across a video of a guy calming that he was a Hyperpolyglot! What? A hyperpolyglot, what does that even mean? So I typed the word into google and came across an article titled The Cult of the Hyperpolyglot. This article interviews a man who has a talent for learning languages. They followed a 54 year old man named Ray Gillion, he claims that he can speak 10 languages. The article explains that this talent is genetic, they have a neurological hard wire that allows them to switch from language to language fast. Below is a video of Richard Simcott, he is an ambassador to the UK who can speak 16 languages.
Wow! That is amazing and so surprising. I am only fluent in two languages but know how several others sound due to some exposure I have had. I could tell that he really did know the languages based on the exact accent and pronunciation he had. This is especially shocking to me being that we learned that after a certain time frame in childhood, we narrow our speech sounds to those used in our own native language. The languages he speaks are so different from one another, yet don't seem to be a problem for him. I have always heard of people who know many languages, but have never seen it with my own eyes! Thanks for the video and article.
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely incredible! I cannot begin to fathom learning that many languages and switching from one to another so fast. What a gift he has.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! That is absolutely amazing. I wish I had such an ability! I wonder how this affects his everyday speaking. Like does he switch between languages when he's angry or excited or something? That would be interesting!
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