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Why, in such a context, a language is counted just as any another one? Mastering a small set of very different languages (let's say Chinese Mandarin, Arabic, a

Why, in such a context, a language is counted just as any another one? Mastering a small set of very different languages (let's say Chinese Mandarin, Arabic, and Hungarian) seems far more impressive to me than mastering more languages all pertaining to the same family (let's say 20 Romance languages). In France during a gig in the linguists' world I heard that Claude Hagège, a local authority, has a fair command of 80 languages. WP EN credits him with "about 50" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Hag%C3%A8ge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Hag%C3%A8ge

beeforpork 8y ago
Every time there is an anecdote of someone speaking so many languages, there is no evidence on Youtube or anywhere else. I mean spontaeous fluency, not reading a story or telling two jokes. Like in this case, he speaks only French fluently on Youtube. Now, for example, Martina Hingis, a former tennis player for those who are too young or too nerdy to know, speaks five languages according to Wikipedia. Well, she actually has interviews on Youtube showing impressive fluency in English, German, Swiss German, French, and Czech. I am absolutely fascinated by this.
- davidgay 8y ago
  Well for Martina Hingis that's not too surprising: - Czech parents (and lived there till ~7) - moved to (German-part of) Switzerland: the local language is Swiss German, but school is in German (i.e., everyone speaks both of those) - everyone in Switzerland is taught one of the other official languages, usually German in the non-German speaking areas, and French in the German speaking areas (fluency will vary, but for instance I had 7 years of German by the end of high school) - everyone learns English these days ;) I would expect that most children who moved to German-speaking Switzerland at a youngish age would be fluent in at least 4 languages...
  - pjmlp 8y ago
    Yet many end up speaking in English between themselves, because they don't bother to continue learning the other canton languages after the compulsory period. It is ironic that I know better French than some Swiss German and Swiss Italian friends, and better German than some Swiss Romande friends.
- avip 8y ago
  Fairly common for a Swiss to be fluent in 3 languages.
natmaka 8y ago
On the same vein the lack of an adequate and simple way to assess proficiency let way to very different interpretations of what "speaking a language" implies. According to many being able to talk is sufficient, but IMHO (and AFAIK according to most linguists(?)) it implies to be able to read a (generic) newspaper and to write like the average native. French is my mother tongue, and it seems to me that learning to talk in 20 different Romance languages would be more easy for me than commanding (including the written form) Mandarin, Arabic and Hungarian.

beeforpork 8y ago

Every time there is an anecdote of someone speaking so many languages, there is no evidence on Youtube or anywhere else. I mean spontaeous fluency, not reading a story or telling two jokes. Like in this case, he speaks only French fluently on Youtube. Now, for example, Martina Hingis, a former tennis player for those who are too young or too nerdy to know, speaks five languages according to Wikipedia. Well, she actually has interviews on Youtube showing impressive fluency in English, German, Swiss German, French, and Czech. I am absolutely fascinated by this.

davidgay 8y ago
Well for Martina Hingis that's not too surprising: - Czech parents (and lived there till ~7) - moved to (German-part of) Switzerland: the local language is Swiss German, but school is in German (i.e., everyone speaks both of those) - everyone in Switzerland is taught one of the other official languages, usually German in the non-German speaking areas, and French in the German speaking areas (fluency will vary, but for instance I had 7 years of German by the end of high school) - everyone learns English these days ;) I would expect that most children who moved to German-speaking Switzerland at a youngish age would be fluent in at least 4 languages...
- pjmlp 8y ago
  Yet many end up speaking in English between themselves, because they don't bother to continue learning the other canton languages after the compulsory period. It is ironic that I know better French than some Swiss German and Swiss Italian friends, and better German than some Swiss Romande friends.
avip 8y ago
Fairly common for a Swiss to be fluent in 3 languages.

natmaka 8y ago

On the same vein the lack of an adequate and simple way to assess proficiency let way to very different interpretations of what "speaking a language" implies. According to many being able to talk is sufficient, but IMHO (and AFAIK according to most linguists(?)) it implies to be able to read a (generic) newspaper and to write like the average native. French is my mother tongue, and it seems to me that learning to talk in 20 different Romance languages would be more easy for me than commanding (including the written form) Mandarin, Arabic and Hungarian.