Here Are the 3 Kind of Polyglots That Exist
Different paths but one common goal
For the untrained eye, polyglots all look alike. They speak "many" languages and that's it. The reality is quite different. There are 3 kinds of polyglots who follow different patterns but follow the same goal: gather knowledge in multiple languages.
1. The Language Family-focused polyglot
The first one, and most often found around the world, is the language-family focused polyglot. These are the people who learn 10 or more languages in 5 years. You could think they are "geniuses", but they aren't. Their system is much simpler.
The two most common ones are the "Europe-focused" (1) and "East Asia-focused" (2). Here are the most common languages spoken by those (English non-included):
- French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Romance languages); or German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Dutch (Indo-European languages)
- Japanese, Korean, or Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Cantonese (Different families but intertwined in common patterns).
What they do is to start with one language and spread from there. They apply the knowledge gained from one language to the next one, observing the similarities and thus reducing the initial shock your brain has to go through when learning a completely new language.
For instance, as a French speaker, learning Italian is easy because they are both Romance languages. Their sentence construction is similar, vocabulary intertwines, the conjugation follows the same patterns, etc.
Similarly, a speaker of Japanese can learn Korean with ease because the grammar is almost identical and many words have the same origin: Chinese characters.
The more languages of the same family you learn, the easier it gets. What took the learner one year to master for the first language takes a month at most for the 5th.
2. The "Unfocused" Polyglot
These polyglots seem random at first. They "only" speak 4–5 languages but you'll find weird combinations. One could speak French, Arabic, Icelandic, and Khmer. Obviously, these languages are from different families. Learning French won't help you much for Khmer.
The main difference with the first category is their absence of pattern. They will learn languages completely different from what they know because of a random reason. It could be because they like the sound of it. It could be because of a native person they met. It could very much be because of a 1-week trip the following year.
Although this category speaks fewer languages, they tend to speak their languages to a higher level than the first one. They spend so much time confronting widely different concepts that they end up remembering them better. From learning clauses to genders, from analyzing a script to mastering a new sentence structure, their brain jungles languages as completely different balls.
The more different languages you learn, the easier it is to attack a completely new language.
3. The World Polyglot
This is where the two first categories meet. All polyglots end up in this category at a point in their life. The more languages they learn, the more their curiosity tickles.
The Language-family focused polyglot will start wondering about how different a language from the other side of the world is. The "unfocused" polyglot will ponder how much of a language can transfer to a closer one.
After 10 or 15 years, all polyglots spread their wings. Their knowledge and techniques evolve once again to meet new challenges. From tackling mixing languages for the first time to understanding different sentence structures.
At that point, the number of languages they speak skyrockets. It is less the love of a new culture that attracts them, but the challenge and brain gymnastics. This is how Alexander Argüelles studied close to 100 languages, or Richard Simcott some 50 languages "at least".
The life of a polyglot is a life of discovery of languages. Whether they are focused or not, they all take a different journey and meet at a crossroads: that of a curiosity for how to connect with the entire world.
A world of opportunities for discovery, self-growth, and a whole lot of fun.
Still curious about languages and learning? Consider signing up for my weekly newsletter!
About the Creator
Mathias Barra
Polyglot speaking 6 languages. Writer. Helping the world to learn languages and become more understanding of others. Say hi → https://linktr.ee/MathiasBarra
Keep reading
More stories from Mathias Barra and writers in Education and other communities.
Exploring Career Opportunities After Completing the CFA Course
Completing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) course opens up a plethora of career opportunities in the dynamic and competitive field of finance. CFA charterholders are highly regarded for their in-depth knowledge, analytical skills, and ethical standards, making them valuable assets to employers across various sectors of the financial industry. In this article, we'll delve into some of the exciting career paths available to CFA charterholders and how Imarticus Learning's CFA course prepares professionals for success in these roles.
By Imarticus Learningabout 12 hours ago in Education
*House Not Maidan: Grand Sessions of Awami Assembly*
*House Not Maidan: Grand Sessions of Awami Assembly* Quaid Jamiat Maulana Fazlur Rehman had rejected the results of the 8th February 2024 elections just a few days after the election and declared it as an engineered election and raised the slogan of the House not the Maidan against it. Not in the house but in the field, because the house belongs to the peopleThey do not represent the majority sitting in them. Disruption, destruction, chaos and chaos will be the cause in such housesA few people may benefit from sitting, they may get privileges and luxuries, but it will not be less than a painful punishment for the country and nations, therefore, the central council of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam immediately after the election on February 8. Expressing no confidence in the elections, he announced that he would go to the fieldsInstead of pinning hopes on the House, now by demonstrating public power, the powerful forces will be told that you can change the election results, but you cannot change the mindset of the people, you can steal the ballot boxes, but our love for the minds of the people. Can't pull out, the first meeting of this series on April 20, publicThe Assembly was held in the name of Pishin in Balochistan in which the people of Balochistan participated in large numbers and opened the eyes of the unseen forces that the power of the people is still with the Jamiat Ulema Islam, the hearts of the people are still beating with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Yes, they still have Maulana's government and the last election on their hearts and mindsThe results are completely opposite to the facts, Maulana Fazlur Rahman has always won the field, if you go back a quarter of a century and study the history, you will clearly see that after 9/11, the way the world's conditions have changed and its consequences. The conditions that arose in Pakistan then gradually reached the state they reached and the countryThe future of the country began to look bleak, the majority of religious people started moving towards guns and gunpowder, young people in tribal areas including Balochistan and other parts of the country started taking steps towards militancy. It will be wrapped up, the people and the institutions competing against each otherwill stand up, the shadows of rebellion against the constitution and law started to be seen hovering in the four corners of the country, in order to provoke the religious youth, after the Bajaur Madrasah, the heart-wrenching tragedy of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa was also carried out, which The anger of the religious youth was well-incited almost across the countryThe religious groups should declare rebellion against the constitution and the law, but if someone cools the anger of the religious group and makes them loyal to the state of Pakistan and bound by the constitution and the law, and convinces them that this country is ours, it is our honor. It has come into being through many sacrifices, its protection is also oursThere is responsibility, we cannot sacrifice the future of ourselves and our generations to a few sentimental slogans, that was the personality of Quaid Jamiat Maulana Fazlur Rahman who went out into the field and led the country from Miran Shah to Karachi and from Gilgit to Gwadar. By visiting every corner, he explained to the religious youth that in these conditions in PakistanTaking up arms is not in the interest of the country and the nation, nor is it beneficial for religious classes and religious institutions. It is in the interest of all of us and the well-being of all of us that we abide by the constitution and the law for the implementation of Islam through the constitutional method. Struggle and maintain and preserve your education within Madrasas Islamia,Besides Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad many other places, he gathered all the Ulemas, Sheikhs and the officials of the religious schools and analyzed the situation in front of them and repeatedly advised them to stay in the national stream and the result of this struggle was That atmosphere of sentimentality gradually changed into seriousness. When the question of suicide attacks arose in the country and some forces started encouraging it, then the leader of Jamiat jumped into the fray and made all the scholars of the country agree that suicide attacks inside Pakistan are definitely forbidden and illegitimate, when the operation started in the tribal areas and anxiety spread among the tribes thereWhen the people began to move towards rebellion, the leader of the Jamiat, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, once again came to the field and explained to the tribes through Jirgas that they should maintain their loyalty to the state of Pakistan and the government continued to explain that instead of oppressing the tribes, Take the path of negotiation, talk, negotiate, democraticAfter 9/11, Maulana Fazlur Rehman's life consists of continuous struggle in the field, that whenever there is a disaster on the country and the nation, internal and external forces. The consequentialist policies have always created public anxiety, even religious onesThere is anxiety in the classes, whenever there is any attack on the religious schools, whenever there are internal or external threats, then Maulana Fazlur Rehman has come to the field, during Pervez Musharraf's era, when relations with India are very tense. Even then Maulana had jumped into the field and one of the scholars with himHe went on a trip to Deoband and Delhi with a delegation and was successful and efficient in extinguishing the flames of fire on the borders. In the 2018 election, the opinion of the nation was cheated, then Maulana Sahib took the field in such circumstances. That the two major parties of the country and their leadership were trembling, their languagesBut there were locks of silence, even today, a fall has fallen on the country and the nation again. The public opinion has been bulldozed by stealing the election results and it has happened for the first time in the history of the country that even the winners look worried and no party. The government did not seem willing to take it and forced it down some people's throatsIt has been tied up, on which even their own friends are angry. Money has always been used in elections in our country, but this time, the way money has been stolen and stolen is an example in any of the past elections. It is not found, at first only a few approved persons were looked after, but this time it was completedThe entire assemblies have been put on the chest, on May 2, 2024, the second grand session of the Awami Assembly was held in Karachi, in which the participation of millions of people created excitement in the corridors of the House of Power. That the palaces of the government are dominated, the greatest of the rulersIt is desired that Maulana Sahib can be convinced somehow, even if he has to pay any price for it, but Maulana Sahib could not be swayed by General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law and General Musharraf's cruelty and brutality. A public flood in Pishin and Karachi will be able to trapHaving proved that there is no correlation between the public flood and the results of the February 8 election, the third meeting of the People's Assembly of "Iwan Nahi Maidan" on May 9 will be held on the land of Peshawar, where the mustached government will enjoy bottles of honey. It is happening, the late example of the Peshawar Awami Assembly is the eyes of the establishmentOf course, it will open where the opinion of the people of this province has been mercilessly robbed for the fourth time in a row. It seems to be changing, so this is the logical conclusion of this robbery with continuitywhich is being punished by the people of Pakhtunkhwa, some people do not get tired of saying that Maulana Fazlur Rahman is angry because he did not get the chair of the presidency, but this kind of mentality should be understood when Maulana Saheb went against the previous government. Struggled for four years, which presidential chair was resented todayIf Zardari is sitting on the chair of the presidency and Mian Shahbaz Sharif on the chair of the prime minister, then it is the result of four and a half years of hard work and efforts of Maulana Fazlur Rahman. Imran Niazi was imprisoned in Adiala Jail with big chairsThey used to be seen hugging each other as ornaments, but with the fruits of Maulana Fazlur Rehman's hard work, Hafiz ji along with Shehbaz and Zardari are also enjoying pure ghee sohan halwa.
By Muhammad Tariq4 days ago in Education
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.