The important thing, he says, is to try to imitate without even considering the spelling of the words. And you do the same with a language. Speaking with slightly pouted lips instantly makes you sound a little bit more French, for instance. Finally, he says you should try to overcome the embarrassment associated with producing "strange" noises — such as the guttural sounds in Arabic, for instance.
And if you acknowledge and give your subconscious permission to do it in speech, you can make the sound. When you own words you can speak more confidently, which is how people will engage with you.
Can thespians teach us all a better way to learn? Credit: Thinkstock. Along these lines, you should also practice a little and often — perhaps just for minute stints, four times a day. Even if you are too busy or tired to do serious study, just practising a dialogue or listening to a foreign pop song can help, says Simcott. Indeed, before I met the hyperglots, I had wondered if their obsession merited the hard work; perhaps, I thought, it was just about bragging rights.
Yet all of the hyperglots I meet are genuinely enthusiastic about the amazing benefits that can only be achieved by this full immersion in different languages — including the chance to make friends and connections, even across difficult cultural barriers.
Harris, for instance, describes living in Dubai. As Judith Meyer, who organised the gathering in Berlin, tells me, she saw Ukrainians and Russians, Israelis and Palestinians all conversing at the gathering. Best of How to learn 30 languages. Share using Email. By David Robson 29th May Some people can speak a seemingly impossible number of tongues. How do they manage it, asks David Robson, and what can we learn from them? Speaking extra languages delays dementia by five years or more.
Learning a new language as we age is easier than you might assume. Cultural chameleons Instead, he thinks we need to look past the intellect, into the depths of our personality. It is not just about the amount of time spent learning and using languages. Her study tip: "Be firmly convinced you are a linguistic genius. Alexander Arguelles, 20 languages or so. Arguelles declines to say the exact number.
He has studied more than 60 languages and devotes 9 hours of study every day to them. Twenty is the number of them in which he has reading competence. Johan Vandewalle, 22 languages. In , Vandewalle won the Polyglot of Flanders contest, where he was tested in 22 languages though he has studied more. The contest required 10 minute conversations with native speakers, with 5 minute breaks in between. Ken Hale, 50 languages. The famous MIT linguist said he could "speak" only three languages English, Spanish, Warlpiri , and could merely "talk in" others.
He considered the ability to speak a language to include knowing all its cultural implications. He didn't like people perpetuating the "myth" of his language feats, though many colleagues had observed him do things like study a grammar of Finnish on an airplane and start speaking it easily upon arrival.
Emil Krebs, 32 to 68 languages. The number depends on who's counting. If you become immersed in a new culture, then the necessity factor is high, and your personal ability to learn languages factors less.
For many years I struggled to learn languages on my own by reading, and I was only ever to develop the ability to read. I once worked with a Ugandan man who spoke 1 or 2 African languages before he went to Europe as an adult, and picked up 5 or 6 more languages. The necessity level was high, as he was there in university piking up a few masters degrees.
He admitted that he was not the greatest at learning new languages, but he was still able to learn. To summarise, I'd say there's no definite way to answer this question, as interesting as it is.
The only way to find out is to try! Good luck. I know people who can speak fluently from 4 to 7 languages. I think they are intelligent of course but anyone can learn. I think I can speak 2 and I'm learning 2 that in few time I can get fluent. In the past I studied a bit other 2 that I could restart and learn quickly. So, I think a normal person like me could learn easily 6 languages. I think it depends on how much can you invest or is worth of investing on, since there is people with We can learn as much as we want , but i think it depends of our IQ , not everyone process information the same way.
Get started. How many languages can we learn? August 27, A normal person can learn 5 languages, It's your decision if you want to effort to learn more.
I meant the more you want to study at once, pardon my bad wording :. August 29, There is no limit provided you are interested and motivated.
August 31, September 2, If you manage to learn all the languages of the world, you become The Devil! DanieleGrech Plus. Or filled with the Holy Spirit, depending on personal preference. Thanks, Italian is similar aswell. Also thanks again, you made me feel smart :. August 28, Patrick Plus
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