WHAT IS A POLYGLOT? The TRUTH

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[@polyMATHY_Luke]

Tremendous video. I look forward to your talking about spoken Latin! ⚔️

[@metatronacademy]

Grazie!!

[@veritasardens6547]

arma virumque canat Metatronus, amicus noster. Mihi placent multum cinematogrammata sua. ;)

[@corinna007]

Slightly random question, but would either of you have any advice on learning how to actually speak an old, obscure language with little to no resources? 😅 Both of my parents and the majority of my relatives speak Mennonite Low German, but none of them ever really spoke it to me, so even though I understand it quite well, I can't actually speak it.

[@travelingonline9346]

"Multilingualism" and polyglots are really nothing special, but in "educated" circles quite normal. I believe in India are people who speak more than two languages without being able to read and write, the culture being predominantly oral, also when it comes to learning. What about the clergy in the Vatican? They speak their native tongue, Italian and are quite proficient in Latin and often in Old Greek and Hebrew. In Turkey it is considered admirable if you know Classical Arabic and Persian. In Japan everybody learns English, Classical Japanese and Kanbun, i.e. a kind of Classical Chinese. Though Japanese are infamous for being completely unable to speak foreign languages those who persue an academic career have awesome mastery of these languages though they cannot speak them. So your arbitrary threshold of 4 languages may not even be particularly demanding except for the fact that you require listening comprehension and speaking capability. Real polyglots consider their language capabilities to be merely a part or side effect of their better achievements and they certainly don't take part in KZbin or - Heaven forbid - tiktok communities.

[@metatronacademy]

@@travelingonline9346 Sorry to say but your statement “polyglots don’t take part in youtube and tiktok” is also as arbitrary if not more.

[@jancovanderwesthuizen8070]

To me, polyglot is similar to the term gentleman. It’s an accolade, something I don’t mind being called by others, but it never fails to make me cringe when I see people use it to refer to themselves and I would never do so.

[@almerindaromeira8352]

Even if they are not scamming, I have to wonder how fluent and how deep their knowledge of the language actually is. Truly mastering a language is something subjective and it requires a lot of effort. Not only that, but it requires constant practice!

[@zaandros]

The way I view fluency is if you are able to communicate in a given language in such a way that other speakers can easily understand you, and you’re self sufficient in doing so. You don’t need to be perfect or indistinguishable from a native

[@aatuhussa2652]

The challenge with the word "polyglot" is that since there is no set definition that everyone can agree on, you're essentially forced to define it any time you want to use it in any meaningful sense, so it's great to see you've done so here! I personally don't mind if someone that can just say a couple of phrases in a few languages calls themselves a polyglot, as long as they're clear on the fact that that's the definition they're going for. In this sense I don't think the term "polyglot" is very useful at all, and by extension the concept of a "fake polyglot" doesn't really make sense to me either. I think the word is too interesting to just completely discard it though, so I tend to use it to refer to a person that can hold an enjoyable conversation in at least 5 languages. This way the word becomes something an eager language learner can aspire for, in the same way that a historical fighter pilot might aspire to down 5 planes in order to be referred to as an "ace".

[@hrvatskiapoksiomen9]

Well , literally, originally, etymologically, this Greek word means: Polyglot= poles + glotes= many languages So polyglot = someone who speaks many languages Is that right?

[@aatuhussa2652]

@@hrvatskiapoksiomen9 Indeed it does! That's exactly why I don't really mind what exact definition people use, since "many tongues" is a very broad category. All the rest is a question of adding extra meaning of our choice to the word in an effort to make it a bit more precise and hence more useful.

[@hrvatskiapoksiomen9]

@@aatuhussa2652 polyglot in ancient times was someone who spoke 3-4 languages : Greek Latin Celtic Gall Nowadays polyglot is someone who speaks 8 and more languages

[@its_dey_mate]

@@hrvatskiapoksiomen9 I think we have just established there is no real definition on how many languages are needed for being considered a polyglot. 4? 5? 8? It can only make sense if you first define your own understanding and then use the word, as OP suggested.

[@corinna007]

To me a true polyglot is someone who genuinely loves languages, and learning how to speak them as well as learning about the different cultures associated with them. I've always loved languages, even though at this point I've only really learned two, Finnish and German. I'm apparently at a B2 level in Finnish, and I think I'm about the same in German, but I still don't feel comfortable saying I'm fluent because I still have a lot to learn, and my listening comprehension and conversational skills in both could use improvement. At some point I'd love to learn Spanish, and as a Canadian I feel somewhat obligated to properly learn French. And also my family's language, Mennonite Low German, so that if I ever become a parent I can pass on that language.

[@tuukkai1841]

Suomea opiskeleva kanadalainen? Johan nyt on markkinat. Onnea matkaan

[@davidlericain]

For me polyglot has always implied an active desire to learn languages in addition to speaking them.

[@Lillyluri]

And an active habit of learning new ones - to me, instinctively.

[@huguesdepayens807]

That's moronic.

[@dionysiapanagou6035]

I think another factor to take in consideration is the language families. For example, an Italian speaker learning Japanese is way more different than learning Spanish.

[@mgray82]

Metatron! So happy that you started a channel that also focuses on languages! I like all of your content but have especially liked your take on languages and language learning. A few video game uploads wouldn't hurt either 😉. I look forward to the videos! Grazie!

[@metatronacademy]

Thanks! And welcome aboard!

[@flaviospadavecchia5126]

4+ languages at B2 level is a nice start for a definition. We should maybe also acknowledge that having basic knowledge of many languages is also something interesting in and of itself, but still not a polyglot, as you argued.

[@Emielio1]

Exactly! There should be a clear distinction. I mean, I personally speak Dutch (native language), English (fluent), Italian (reasonably, although I can understand and read it pretty well), French (same as with Italian), German (same again), and I know a few phrases in Scottish Gaelic and Swahili, but I do not consider myself a polyglot, although I would like to increase the levels at which I speak all of the aforementioned languages, after which I guess I could be considered a polyglot. Until then, however, I will just view myself as someone with a broad interest in languages for practical uses (I like being able to read stuff related to anthropology, history and geopolitics in multiple languages), a broad knowledge about cultures and customs around the world, and an interest in learning in general :)

[@internetual7350]

​@@Emielio1 Tá Gaeilann na hAlban agat! An-mhaith!

[@paulwalther5237]

You're not supposed to debunk these polyglots, you're supposed to make friends with them and to collabs to increase your subscribers.

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

The truth is being a real polyglot is tough.

[@Emielio1]

I absolutely enjoy this new channel of yours! Keep up the good work mate! I was already a bit disappointed that you rarely talked about language-related stuff anymore on your main channel, but I guess this was the reason for that :)

[@larswillems9886]

I don't think that a polyglot needs to be a person who enjoys learning languages. If someone is able to speak and write well in 4 or more languages, than that person should count as a polyglot. A lot of those people do indeed enjoy learning languages, but I don't think it is a prerequisite.

[@Lillyluri]

I'm glad you started this channel and I hope it will spread its wings wide in the times to come. 😉

[@Azuris190]

The Problem with learning more Languages of the same Family Tree is, that after a While using it in Practice, you learn more and more about that Language and also the uncommon Words, so you get lazy and you often throw in your native Words, as you know the native Speaker of the other Language does understand them. At least here i do it with spanish/italian, viceversa the italians do the same haha

[@andrewhavrylei6333]

Cool! One more language for me to go!

[@metatronacademy]

You can do it!

[@iberius9937]

I'm a linguaphile, and possibly an amateur linguist/philologist. But not a Polyglot. At least not yet. Anyway, any languages I collect under my belt will not be to show them off as if I were so cool for learning them.

[@jonashenriksen4968]

Cant wait for the debunking! There are many self proclaimed polyglots out there, some making tons of money off of it. Which makes me wanna puke

[@VocesetManusMundi]

Ciao, Metatron! Sono un noble one, e ho seguito il tuo canale principale da molti anni, infatti, è uno dei miei preferiti. Devo dire che concordo con te, anche se credo che ancora mancano più di aspetti per approfondire sopra che significa essere poliglotta, come quantificare le lingue che conoscono (se e possibile sapere) e fino a che punto possiamo dire che sappiamo attivamente una lingua. La maniera di come sapere se uno è poliglotta o no è molto difficile, soprattutto avere tutti i variabili che tu menzioni per essere sicuri se una persona è poliglotta (molte edizione dei video, male grammatica, non parlare nello streaming, non parlare con i nativi). Non tutti abbiamo un canale streaming; quando parliamo con i nativi, i non nativi o quelli che non sanno la lingua non sapranno se uno parla bene o no; la grammatica sempre sarà una questione del miglioramento costante e sempre avranno errori e, finalmente, fare una buona edizione dei video e necessaria molte volte, facciamo errori anche nella lingua madre). E certo, possiamo dire alcune frasi nelle lingue che non sappiamo, infatti, lo ho fatto, però nel mio caso l'ho visto come un esercizio della pronuncia, non necessariamente una affermazione di saperla bene. Come tutti i mondi in KZbin, alcune volte facciamo cose fantastiche per guadagnare attenzione, ma questo non significa che non abbia basi di verità in questo. Inoltre, infatti, ho molte certificazioni delle lingue che so e, ironicamente, ho aperto il mio canale, tra altre ragioni, per mostrare che effettivamente io so le lingue. Comunque, credo che potevi metterci le certificazioni ufficiali come altra prova, anche se personalmente non credo che sempre sanno valutare bene, ma questo e altro topico.

[@atsuyatakashi4832]

You are so true ☺️❤

[@brianpalas]

I think you defined polyglot really well. An easy way that I've explained it to others is that a polyglot is someone that is fluent in 3 languages in addition to their native language. It's something I would like to call myself someday, but I'm not at a "fluent" level in any language other than English (native).

[@Tabatha437]

Such a great video. I love this channel. I think within the language learning community a polyglot is someone who loves language learning, but as far a certifications go you would need 3 languages(other than your native language) to level B2/C1 for the certification. I feel like I’m a polyglot because of my love of languages and language learning. Yet I’m also happy with the title language learner.

[@originalbakugan7671]

I’m 22, I speak natively Serbo-Croatian. I’ve studied and speak English, Spanish, German, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Hungarian (language of my mother as I come from a mixed household). Now I’m learning Italian and Greek and I will end my language journey. My two cents on the topic, I personally would never talk down/hate on someone because of a decision he/she has made regarding her life. The only youtuber I’m being influenced from is Luca Lampariello, I’m a huge fan of him but language learning isn’t something I brag with, rather I enjoy it as a serious hobby. Learning languages is fun, although it has a limit. The ones that claim to speak 10+ languages are liars, they are clearly not fluent in all of them.

[@interneda98]

Поздрави

[@kamilgregurek9314]

Well said.

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

Great video. Thank you for providing a solid definition. Others may have their own. At one point I was on my way to pursuing trilingualism (American English speaker as my first language and then being conversant and able to read and write in Yiddish and German). Yes, I know Yiddish and German are somewhat similar spoken languages but their alphabets are completely different and there are quite a few distinct differences. My maternal grandfather was truly trilingual, being fully fluent in Yiddish (reading, writing and speaking as his first language), Russian (reading, writing and speaking at a level that he was admitted, as a Jew, to the university in Kiev) and then American English (reading, writing and speaking at a level that he owned a clothing manufacturing business for over 30 years).

[@PC_Simo]

7:00 Oh, I noticed 😅.

[@scottmiller6958]

Of course, as you know, the words multilingual is based on Latin and polyglot is from the Greek and they both mean the same thing. But the connotation may be different. IDK. I use them interchangeably.

[@greyngreyer5]

Hi, Raph! Since you branched out into language-related contexts, when can we expect a dedicated channel for Christian lore? I loved your one vid about the Bible. Not religious or anything, just don't have enough motivation to sift through everything myself xD

[@husky0098]

I think Polyglot is a really cool word and I would definitely keep using it. I have my doubts about whether a more precise definition would gain traction in the modern landscape of the internet where many people look for quick, easily digestible information, but I’m always for improving our ability to communicate as a species, so I’ll be sharing your definition when the opportunity arises.

[@stipe3124]

The way Metatron described language learning gives me an idea, usually people learn one language but what if someone could learn in a way that they start Romance Language package that lasts fow example 2 Years or Slavic Language package, basically you learn simillar languages during a certain time period and you learn like all simillar languages in the end.

[@alanhyland5697]

I'm no polyglot, that's for sure. I remember a little bit of French and a smattering of some other languages, but nowhere near what's required. Use it or lose it.

[@chienbanane3168]

3:47 polyglot does mean the same thing in Greek than multilingual means in Latin tho

[@marcoperra]

Congratulations, by the way. I like how you takle the topics you argue about: you are always as open minded as possible and never aggressive and, for me, you are a polyglot.

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

I can cuss and swear in several different languages and that doesn't include sign language (such as what is used in long range communication on any local street or avenue)

[@HyperManSP]

Makes sense. I agree.

[@heavysighs]

Nice video. You MAY ADD this: A polyglot understands that not everything can be translated. Some words evoke an emotion, not a definition. Often context is better understood too. This can be shown accurate if a polyglot uses different languages for certain emotional situations. Profanity is the most common example, slang second. What do you think?

[@mep6302]

8:17 Dude, I'm an introvert and I'm shy in my own language. I'm toast because I'll be even shier in foreign languages 😭

[@ponyboygolden963]

im the same way but learned Korean when i was much younger for a 2year church mission and was waaaay more outgoing with Korean speaking Korean...i didnt realize it but at the time when learning is somewhat freeing of my social anxiety because i just genuinely didnt understand what i was hearing in return lmao, cant hurt my feels if i dont know what youre saying haha. also the korean people were for the most part overwhelmingly nice and just impressed to see a non korean putting in the effort day in day out to learn

[@DerDoMeN]

I've never bothered with such a question but if I think about it I'd also add (to the things mentioned in this video) that a polyglot (as opposed to multi lingual) would also be able to think/dream/whatnot in the used languages and not constantly jump in their thoughts back to their primary language and translate things on the fly most of the time... But yeah... I never really bothered with the word let alone it's definition...

[@andrewhavrylei6333]

Would knowing four similar languages make you a polyglot? Like Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian and Polish or Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and French or Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic? It takes orders of magnitute more time to learn a language from a different language family than it is to learn one from the same branch of the same sub-family as your native language

[@TyrionLannister83]

French and Italian aren't that similar.

[@andrewhavrylei6333]

@@TyrionLannister83 I know, but is there a language more similar to Potuguese, Spanish and Italian?

[@TyrionLannister83]

@@andrewhavrylei6333 Many, for example Rumantsch (a language spoken in the swiss canton Grisons), Catalan, Galician

[@andrewhavrylei6333]

@@TyrionLannister83 okay, thanks! Sadly, I am not familiar with languages that don't have entire countries associated with them

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

​@@TyrionLannister83 I disagree. I haven't studied standard Italian much at all yet can understand it mostly anyways because I already know French and Spanish at advanced levels.

[@johnthefinn]

I'm amazed you missed the essential difference between multilingual and polyglot - the first is Latin, the other Greek.

[@harmonwatson7511]

You are my favorite youtuber do you think you could do an Italian course like English to Italian. I want to speak spaghetti

[@jacquelyns9709]

I always think of a polyglot as someone who can translate from one language to any other language that person knows relatively easily.

[@richardkoontz5938]

I do in fact want to reach a conversational level in latin some day. Please make a video about latin not being dead.

[@FlagAnthem]

Latin is dead You can claim is resurrected once you find a native speaker Of course this doesn't mean it has lost prestige or validity

[@christopherellis2663]

In my travels, I have found that being able to read is more useful than conversation, especially as nearly everyone everywhere can speak good English. However, I am able to entertain myself and find my own way around because I can read several languages

[@breakinggood3601]

Metatron made a language based channel? My day just got better

[@slowcrochet]

When I was a child, I used to look for long words in the dictionary to sound smart. "Polyglot" was among them. Hmm.

[@sebastienlopezmassoni8107]

I speak French mothertongue, Spanish B2 / English B2 and I try to extend my knowledge of colloquial words, expressions and the least Italian A2 but I struggle with my lack of vocabulary. After I want to learn a bit Catalan and Portuguese

[@LarryGarfieldCrell]

I'd say a required factor is the ability to think natively in the various languages. They only count if you can operate in that language without a constant internal translation, at least for the bulk of it. I'd debate the number 4 as an arbitrary threshold. Poly just means many, which is not precise.

[@MindofOneness]

When you get around to Latin could you explain the differences in classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin? Is it pronunciation that is different or different words or word structure. Thank you very much for your content. 👍

[@omegacardboard5834]

It’s pretty much just a different pronunciation. Unless you say that Medieval Latin is ecclesiastical in which case there are some minor differences.

[@CesarArturoCastaneda]

The difference is mostly just pronunciation.

[@FlagAnthem]

The difference is how toxic and purist is the fandom

[@akramrabaa943]

With all due respect (which is a lot), I think the passion part is arbitrary. There are those in some African countries who speak 4+ languages fluently simply due to the diversity they are exposed to, not passion or dedicated study. Similarly in India as well. I would happily call them polyglots. I would say a polyglot is someone who is fluent in 4+ languages-- the cause of that fluency is irrelevant.

[@Epsilonsama]

I'm bilingual myself and while I dabbed in other languages in an academic sense I definitely would never call myself trilingual or let alone a polyglot. I'm trying to fix that because I'm dabbling in learning French and it's been fun so far.

[@franciscoferrer2824]

Fully agree

[@paulwalther5237]

For a short minute I thought of myself as a polyglot. I like studying languages and I've studied several: German, French, Spanish, Japanese. But I don't speak any of them at an advanced level. Maybe B2 for Japanese/German but A1/A2 for French/Spanish. I revised my opinion of my polyglotness but I still didn't really know what to call myself. I mostly called myself a foreign language nerd. I asked Chat GPT what I was and initially it also said I was a polyglot but we discussed it a bit more and it then told me I was a language enthusiast. I think if people advertised themselves as language enthusiasts instead it would make KZbin/Twittetr etc a more enjoyable place. But I guess it wouldn't get them the big bucks so it's not going to happen. Most people that call themselves polyglots are really just language enthusiasts like me.

[@yiannisroubos8846]

My wife speaks 4 languages fluently but she isn't a polyglot. She's from thr Philippines. Her mother tongue is a language called Tuwali spoken by 30,000 people. She learnt English and the national language at school. And then went to university in a city and learnt thr cities language called Ilokano. She isn't a language enthousiaste and doesn't care about languages at all. I consider myself a polyglot though; I speak fluently 3 languages, I'm Aussie and only spoke English until I was 13 and then I started learning modern Greek at school. When I attended university I did a degree in modern Greek ans French. After thay, I have studied Russian, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Filipino, Ancient Greek, Albanian and an indigenous Australian language called Arrernte. I speak none of these fluently but I just love learning languages and with some of them , I can have basic conversations. My KZbin feed is people like Steven Kaufman, Metatron and other language enthousiastes. I consider myself a polyglot and not her because of how much I love languages. And how I try to learn as many as o can just for the fun of it. Although my wife is a native Filipina she isn't trying to teach our son any language she speaks but I'm teaching him both French and Modern Greek. Sorry for the long message. Really enjoyed this video!!!

[@rokkvi1]

I would think "several" means at least 5. "A couple" is literally 2, but sometimes used in the same way as "a few", which I would think would be about 3-5, or maybe 2-7 at most, where "several" would probably be at least 5+

[@desfurria6232]

If my language has a bunch of borrowed words, does that make every speaker a polyglot.

[@helRAEzzzer]

I want to be a polyglot but I need practice buddies to learn languages effectively. I only know bits and pieces of multiple languages as a result. I only actually speak my native American-English. My grandparents were bilingual. My mum's friend speaks 6 or 7 languages. My mum doesn't consider herself bilingual, but I've watched her have to speak French with her mother who, due to dementia, forgot my mother didn't use French with her growing up and my memere didn't blink an eye with my mother's mildly slow response time. If she's forced, she's fine. She translates french for me without a second thought. If you ask her if she speaks French, though, she would tell you she doesn't. Her anxiety disorder lies to her about it. 😂 Though, she's become more open with it after I said to her (she was annoyed that I wanted to learn French) that we don't have to be embarrassed that we're French-Canadian anymore; it's not the 1960s and '70s anymore (there was a LOT of prejudice in New England when she was a kid against us).

[@gabriellawrence6598]

The Metraton has risen Jihad against fakeglots. By the way, thanks for starting a dedicated channel to language learning.

[@davdenic]

Ciao, aggiungo una battuta: oltre a tutto quanto hai già detto nel video sei fluente in una lingua se sei in grado di seguire un video su youtube a 1.5x o maggiore 😁 Ad esempio in italiano, la mia lingua madre, posso seguire video anche a 2x, in inglese riesco a 1.5x e 1.75x e solo raramente 2x, altre lingue magari devo scendere sotto 1x Prendila come una battuta, ma forse puo' essere un test curioso da fare. Cosa ne pensi?

[@justinschoenborn]

Metatron, video, but you got one thing wrong-someone who speaks only one language is American, not monolingual. 🤓🤣

[@Thelanguageenthusiast-fj5mz]

I think a PolygLOT is someone who has a genuine passion for learning languages and speaks fluently in a lot or at least five languages. But by fluent I mean that said person can communicate to an upper-intermediate to advanced proficiency in a language about a multitude of different topics to a similar degree of mastery with little to no grammar mistakes and a rich knowledge of vocabulary and (maybe) how natives express these ideas

[@user-in2jf7tx1q]

i can say i have Arabic as my native second i was born and raise in a french country so the second native is french also I've started learning English in school since my childhood so my third native is English then i had to learn spanish since three years and i speak it with others well enough so my fourth in spanish, then here I'm learning German since 4 months i think next year I'll go to Germany to further master it, so after two years I'll have 5 languages in my pocket that i can use fluently in all life cases

[@MizterB]

I _never_ think it's a good idea to ditch and replace any term just because it has been used "erroneously" (whatever that might mean). Should we really allow schoolyard bullies & online trolls determine what words are okay to use ("P.C."), just because they turned a banal word into an insult or epithet one too many times?

[@ezrafaulk3076]

I didn't even know that polyglot was an actual *word* honestly.

[@sengokusanada2690]

Metatron, how long did it take you to learn Japanese?

[@zoltandarvai6028]

I found a video I`d like you to review. It`s from the channel What I've Learned the title of the video is How to Learn a Language: INPUT (Why most methods don't work). He seems like a smart guy, and I would like to hear your opinion on this.

[@chcomes]

In my mind a polyglot is a person who speaks so many languages well, that one more is not a big difference.

[@meta14mil72]

I guess part of it, to be considered a speaker of a language, is to speak it not only understand, someone that speaks Spanish thinks that he speaks Portuguese bc he adds an ''INHO' at the end of a sentence

[@drewfallon4839]

In my experience, I feel like polyglot carries the connotation of someone who studies language and linguistics as a whole, as part of their language learning. A person who has learned a few languages may be multi-lingual, but someone who understands how language works and is able to pick up on sound shifts and pronunciation is a polyglot

[@LuxisAlukard]

Check out Slaweniska dela - dude speaks 20 Slavic languages, but that's probably easier than speaking 20 non-related languages =)

[@marcchoronzey3923]

Polyglot means several languages in Greek. Anything else is your personal interpretation of the word. That being said, I understand where you are coming from and I agree that a passion for learning and applying languages should be the basis of being a polyglot or multilingual.

[@oyoo3323]

I agree with you on everything but one point, the minimum number. I consider the minimum bar for someone to be considered a polyglot is to speak 5 languages, not 4. My reasoning for this is, simply put, because being a polyglot is clearly something meant to be impressive, and while there are hundreds of billions of people who speak 2 or 3 languages, and tens of millions who speak 4 (especially in some parts of India for 4), 5 is the first number we reach by the point of which it becomes uncommon to know said amount of languages. Finding someone who knows four languages isn't particularly hard, especially in some countries, but speaking 5 is notably common nowhere. As for how high of a level they must be at, I personally believe I person may start saying they *know* a language (as opposed to saying they just "know some") once they've reached level B2. However, for the case of the word "polyglot", I think B1 may be sufficient.

[@georgeknight8208]

Does/ should the language family matter?

[@grafinvonhohenembs]

Sono 100% d'accordo con te! E sono così felice che tu abbie deciso di creare questo canale. È assolutamente geniale! Non vedo l'ora di vederti smascherare i poliglotti falsi! XD

[@FlagAnthem]

Tanti video, poche live, niente stream

[@grafinvonhohenembs]

@@FlagAnthem Grazie XD

[@deiniou]

As a bilingual who then learned english I have always been a bit skeptikal about these polyglots, like... To me is like saying "I lived in germany for one month"... I mean... Yeah you "lived" there but is that really living? In the same way learning or knowing a language is such a long journey that, man... That is why I like a word in Spanish that is "chapurrear", which means that you are able to comunicate and being understood, but is not the same as speaking, meaning that you have learend and you can use the language, but thats it, and to me at least, untill you really master a language I am not sure you can say you speak it. But that is just me and there has to be people able to do that in many languages sure, it could be my jelousy for not being able to master english and being unable to learn another one haha

[@JaceVibe]

The same way tourists say they have been in or visited a certain country. Yeah, you've been there, but have you really gotten to know it? Visiting Berlin and saying you have seen Germany is far from the truth.

[@savascool3416]

In my opinion before defining who or what a polyglot is, it's crucial to set the definition for what fluency is all about. But that's also problematic because there's no exact definition everyone could agree on. So if you use the word fluent or fluency in the explanation of polyglotism (which itself is as you ve already stated a vague term) you end up defining one vague word with another vague word. What a vicious circle.

[@sae2705]

A polyglot is somebody on KZbin who can shock locals with rehearsed stock phrases.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

I would tend to agree with you. I see bilingual as more accidental, e.g., my daughter grew up speaking two languages as native languages. She understands how to learn other languages from me, but is not interested in doing so at the moment. If the need arises, she will easily pick up a third language to the level needed. I, on the other hand, am a failed polyglot. I have learned how to learn foreign languages through many failed attempts, but have managed to learn only one reasonably well. Thus, I would now consider myself also bilingual, although I am not so sure my daughter would be so generous. Really knowing a language requires a great deal of work and I do not see that in polyglots. Yes, they can travel freely, but how intimately do they really understand the language? For example, in editing a text, can they foresee all of the variants and their connotations/implications or do they just know the standard expressions?

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

Like everything, there are levels. I suspect you do freely catch double entendre and sarcasm. For example, you probably understand the implications of 'human bean' and 'bean counter'. Those words probably have a deeper meaning for you than for someone speaking the language as a second language, even though you have never used an abacus in your life. And while you are probably thinking, 'no, no, no, human bean is a corruption of human being,' you are still noticing the overlap of meaning between the two uses of bean even as you think it. I agree, that most native speakers do not reach a C2 level but a non-native speaker who reaches a C1 level may function very well without that depth of language, which is only minimally tested for C1. @@ConontheBinarian

[@seanbeadles7421]

Polyglot comes across as similar to Savant or Renaissance Man, a somewhat outdated term that seems to be used to sound impressive

[@PhDMario]

From an etymological standpoint multilingual and polyglot are synonyms. It's just that one is in Greek and the other is in Latin. Obviously that does not mean that they have to be synonyms, but it's interesting that in english they tend to be used in a different way. In Spanish, we consider those words synonyms and use them interchangeably, but in my region "políglota" is the preferred word. It's funny, because in Spanish we use words that come from Latin to describe people that speak one, two or three languages, but when is goes for an undisclosed amount we switch to Greek.

[@lespleiadesdutaureau7349]

Where does it come the name Metatron? Have you posted a video about that? I saw the Wikipedia article about that and I'm not sure you refer to that

[@FlagAnthem]

He doesn't need wikipedia and yes he made a video on it

[@artugert]

Polyglot: from Greek πολῠ́ς + γλῶττα Multilingual: from Latin multī + linguālis Both literally mean "many-tongued", referring to one who is able to speak many languages. Based off etymology, the two are synonymous. But as you said, there are two questions: how many is "many", and how well does one need to speak each language to be considered "able to speak" it? To the first one, I would say three or more. A polygon, for example, needs to have three or more sides. To the second one, I would say: good enough to be able to talk about anything one wants to talk about with a native speaker. Speaking slowly or having a foreign accent are irrelevant, as long as you are able to have a conversation. People don't usually use the word "bilingual" to refer to someone who knows a few phrases in a second language. They have to be at an advanced level, pretty close to native. My Mandarin is at a quite advanced level, but I don't yet dare to call myself bilingual, since I am still far from native-like level. In actual usage, though, multilingual is normally used in the sense above (one who speaks three or more languages at near native level), while polyglot typically refers to one who speaks three or more languages at an intermediate or higher level. A hyper-polyglot is one who speaks several more languages at least intermediate level, perhaps ten or more. Someone who just likes to learn languages, but doesn't yet speak three or.more at intermediate level, is not a polyglot, but merely a linguaphile, or a language learning enthusiast. Also, in my opinion, if you are not interested at all in language learning, but happen to speak three or more languages out of necessity, you are still multilingual/ a polyglot. There are polyglots that are language enthusiasts, and there are polyglots that are not. How do you know if someone actually speaks multiple languages at a decent level? Well, you need to have them have an improvised and uncut conversation with a native speaker about all kinds of subjects, then have native speakers judge his fluency, proficiency, pronunciation, word usage and grammar; i.e. how close he sounds to a native speaker. Of course, not all polyglots are equal. If you learn two languages that are closely related to your native tongue, that's much easier than learning languages that differ significantly to your native tongue. Another point is that a dialect is a dialect, not a language. A person can speak many dialects and still be monolingual.

[@mollof7893]

But how do we define "speak" ? If I can communicate only through writing and reading, can I "speak" the language?

[@metatronacademy]

I’s say no. If you can only read and write, you don’t speak (add language).

[@vaxrvaxr]

Hmm, what's the point of debunking fake polyglots? Or even applying a strict definition to the term? Do you get laid more when you say "I'm a polyglot", rather than "I speak 5 languages"?

[@hijackbyejack1729]

did we ever get those videos debunking the fake polyglots?

[@iberius9937]

Every language that I learn, being already bilingual, will be put to actual use, not to impress anyone but to enrich myself and hopefully others. 😁

[@heimirjosefsson510]

I always considered a polyglot to be those who speak 5 or 6 languages. I'm trilingual myself and have never called myself a polyglot, each of these languages I'm at a fluent level although I have an Icelandic accent. This word has become something of a bragging right.

[@jakemckeown9459]

I think English has a lot of redundant words, and that there isn’t necessarily a difference between the definition of multilingual or polyglot.

[@bliblivion]

where does the number 4 come from? why not 5, 6, 3 or 2. the subjectivity of this criterion bothers me.

[@lugo_9969]

To be a true polyglot, you must have many different language families. Romance, germanic , slavic, celtic, oriental etc.

[@renegysenbergs3171]

I always check my language knowledge on 4 dimensions of mastery: 1) Listen/Understand; 2) Speak; 3) Read; 4) Write; So for Flemish/Dutch and English it is C2 level through and through. For French it is B2 level and for Spanish it is B1 level. My German is the weakest: A2 for listening/understanding and A1 level for speaking and writing. Consider myself just above the average Belgian. Yet languages aren’t my core business, it’s ICT.

[@FlagAnthem]

How to consider an illiterate native speaker?

[@Riceball01]

Moving from polyglot to another term to refer to someone who can speak multiple languages won't do anything. If you replace polyglot with something new, all that will happen is that the fakes will start using this new word and you're back at square one.

[@marcocisneros8643]

I just speak Spanish and English, To be honest I'm not into learning languages, I just learned English cuz I live in the United States not because I like the language, I consider myself more literate in my native language, Well I can discuss science, religion etc in English BUT I much rather do it in Spanish. So even though I'm advanced in English I only use to buy things at the grocery store, Watch movies etc, Spanish is more present in my daily life I forgot to say why I'm not into language learning. It takes years to just learn one language, And sometimes I realize how many words I don't know yet in my native language, Whatever your native language is, You don't know all the words and you probably use about 1000 words a day, I wanna be literate and have good diction, I don't like forgetting words in Spanish and English, I respect those who learn languages though

[@hetwitblad6544]

as mono, bis and tris (ter in latin) are greek, I would expect people to be tetra-, penta- and hexalingual. Though I have heard quadrilingual as wel

[@jacekczuba4145]

Huh, thank you! I always considered myself just a multilingual and language freak. It may be so that multilingual + linguistic "nerdism" would make a polyglot! However, as good as it feels, I don't think I would ever use this term to describe myself. The more you step into languages, the more you see how vast this topic is and how little you actually know. But! I do not think that excellent pronunciation is the key element. Some people don't speak perfectly in their native languages simply because of anatomical problems - they will be having pronunciation problems with other languages. However, they would be able to communicate fluently in writing, for example. So I would risk a theory that the fluency is bound to communication - be it written or spoken.

[@OBGynKenobi]

For example, Vigo Mortensen is a polyglot.

[@FlagAnthem]

And a quite skilled one. Though his italian has a heavy Argentinian accent for some reason 😁

[@blackmartini7684]

According to Wikipedia a polyglot is someone who is multilingual as a hobby 🤷‍♂️

[@modmaker7617]

Polyglot = learning languages as a hobby Multilanguage = learning languages for any other purpose other than a hobby

[@christopherellis2663]

I am a literate polyglot, not a conversational polyglot. I have more use for the former. My ability shifts over time.