Becoming proficient in a foreign language requires time and effort….How would you manage learning 23 languages?
A 16-year-old American boy, Timothy Doner, has become famous after posting his videos on YouTube, in which he shows his ability to speak 20 consecutive languages. These videos have attracted the interest of fellows but also of experts, who have classified him as a ‘hyperpolyglot’, a person able to master a language in a very short period of time.
Factors involved in the language learning process are several: age, environment, motivation and of course, personal inclination are only some of them.
The age factor is absolutely crucial. Most scholars agree that language learning is more natural and effective in the first 8-10 years of life. After that age, reaching the level of a native speaker becomes more difficult, although it is still possible to improve skills and extend vocabulary.
According to their origin, some languages are very similar to each other. For instance, romance languages like Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian have Latin as their common base; for this reason their lexical similarity ranges between 77% and 89%.
Other languages are also similar in different ways: Urdu and Hindi are predominantly the same if spoken but are written very differently. Arabic, Farsi and Urdu all use a similar alphabet and therefore can facilitate learning each other and Chinese characters are very similar to Korean and Japanese.
Motivation is a key factor as well. Timothy started this adventure in 2009, when he had to learn ‘bar mitzvah’, the Jewish ritual that celebrates reaching of adult age. After that he must have discovered his passion and inclination for languages, which is increasing the number of languages spoken by this phenomenal boy grow very quickly.
Lastly, but no means least is the environment in which a person lives. Timothy Doner explained that being in a melting-pot like New York gave him the opportunity to develop interest for several languages he was in contact with in his every-day life and also to practice those languages one day with a cab driver, the other day with the owner of an ethnic restaurant, and so on.
Today, many cities around the world offer the same opportunities. With Dubai being one of the
most multi-cultural cities in the world, people will often find Urdu, Hindi and Pashtu being spoken in Taxis, Arabic dialects in shisha bars and Tagalog and Arabic in many restaurants. With exposure to so many languages it’s never been easier to practice a language!
Recognising the need to communicate in so many languages, Kwintessential Arabia have made it their job to offer a one-stop shop for all multi-lingual services including translation, interpreting and cultural diversity training. Contact us to see how we can help you!
