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For those who were not born with the linguistic equivalent of a "silver spoon in the mouth", which is immersion and exposure to several languages in early child

For those who were not born with the linguistic equivalent of a "silver spoon in the mouth", which is immersion and exposure to several languages in early childhood, learning another language is achievable. No need to be a polyglot (6 languages) or hyperglot (11 languages). It just takes time and effort. Just throw away all concept of deadlines for progress and fluency and enjoy the failure and process. Ignore all "fluent in X time" charlatans, there is no magic process for the standard "I took Spanish for 4 years in school" adult language learner. Just get started. I have heard some people carry on conversations in two or three languages simultaneously, and I am in awe of Mezzofanti. > "On one occasion, Pope Gregory XVI (1765-1846), a friend of Mezzofanti, arranged for dozens of international students to surprise him. When the signal was given, the students knelt before Mezzofanti and then rose quickly, talking to him 'each in his own tongue, with such an abundance of words and such a volubility of tone, that, in the jargon of dialects, it was almost impossible to hear, much less to understand them.' Mezzofanti didn't flinch but 'took them up singly, and replied to each in his own language.' The pope declared the cardinal to be victorious. Mezzofanti could not be bested." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezzofanti https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezzofanti

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sevensor 8y ago
> His flawless German, acquired post-college, as an au pair, made Dutch a cinch. > It just takes time and effort My uncle (a native English speaker) spoke about a dozen languages. Not one of them was a cinch. Although he loved learning new languages, he acquired them through relentless hard work. However, he got himself in trouble with German / Dutch. Trying to practice his Dutch in the Netherlands, he ordered an ice cream using Dutch grammar but German words. This was in the late '60s, and the ice cream vendor, who was old enough to remember the occupation, mistook him for German. My uncle made things worse by saying, in German, "we must have misunderstood each other," at which point the ice cream vendor started mock goose-stepping around behind his stand. My uncle did not receive his ice cream.
jlg23 8y ago
> I have heard some people carry on conversations in two or three languages simultaneously, and I am in awe of Mezzofanti. This is the norm here in Morocco: Lots of people speak a Berber dialect as their primary language, followed by Arab and French (both compulsory in education). Not only are most able to participate in 3 communications in their 3 languages, they also practice code-switching a lot - it's not uncommon to have all 3 languages in a single sentence. > Just throw away all concept of deadlines for progress and fluency and enjoy the failure and process. The second part is, IMHO, the most important: Fail, fail, fail - and laugh about it. One does walk away from "talks", both parties laughing and "agreeing", with both parties being aware that communication failed completely.
- pmoriarty 8y ago
  "Fail, fail, fail - and laugh about it." One not only needs a tolerance for failure, but a tolerance for humiliation. Some native speakers will treat people with a poor grasp of their language as if they were children or idiots. I've definitely acquired a lot more empathy for people who struggle with English once I tried my own rudimentary language skills in other countries. These people who have difficulty putting together a few words in English might actually be far more intelligent and educated than the native speakers they're trying to communicate with, yet they're often looked down upon.
agumonkey 8y ago
I believe there's a biphasic learning curve. The first 4 languages might take long, but then you'd absorb most things easily.

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sevensor 8y ago

> His flawless German, acquired post-college, as an au pair, made Dutch a cinch. > It just takes time and effort My uncle (a native English speaker) spoke about a dozen languages. Not one of them was a cinch. Although he loved learning new languages, he acquired them through relentless hard work. However, he got himself in trouble with German / Dutch. Trying to practice his Dutch in the Netherlands, he ordered an ice cream using Dutch grammar but German words. This was in the late '60s, and the ice cream vendor, who was old enough to remember the occupation, mistook him for German. My uncle made things worse by saying, in German, "we must have misunderstood each other," at which point the ice cream vendor started mock goose-stepping around behind his stand. My uncle did not receive his ice cream.

jlg23 8y ago

> I have heard some people carry on conversations in two or three languages simultaneously, and I am in awe of Mezzofanti. This is the norm here in Morocco: Lots of people speak a Berber dialect as their primary language, followed by Arab and French (both compulsory in education). Not only are most able to participate in 3 communications in their 3 languages, they also practice code-switching a lot - it's not uncommon to have all 3 languages in a single sentence. > Just throw away all concept of deadlines for progress and fluency and enjoy the failure and process. The second part is, IMHO, the most important: Fail, fail, fail - and laugh about it. One does walk away from "talks", both parties laughing and "agreeing", with both parties being aware that communication failed completely.

pmoriarty 8y ago
"Fail, fail, fail - and laugh about it." One not only needs a tolerance for failure, but a tolerance for humiliation. Some native speakers will treat people with a poor grasp of their language as if they were children or idiots. I've definitely acquired a lot more empathy for people who struggle with English once I tried my own rudimentary language skills in other countries. These people who have difficulty putting together a few words in English might actually be far more intelligent and educated than the native speakers they're trying to communicate with, yet they're often looked down upon.

agumonkey 8y ago

I believe there's a biphasic learning curve. The first 4 languages might take long, but then you'd absorb most things easily.