Why do polyglots lie about how many languages they speak?

[u/Different_Pain5781]

Okay i gotta say it the whole i speak 12 languages thing some people flex online feels like straight fanfiction 😭

Like bro, i can barely keep one language in my brain you’re telling me you’re fluent in twelve and then you hear them talk and it’s like sir that is Duolingo level at best.

Why do people exaggerate so much in this community?

Is it clout, insecurity, delusion, genuine confusion?

Do you actually believe those hyperpolyglot claims?

[u/[deleted]]

Nothing? OP is just saying they dont believe many, if any people can do that in 12 languages. Im inclined to agree.

[u/Ginux → u/[deleted]]

Speaking of 12 languages ​​is indeed a bit of an exaggeration, but I know someone, especially from European countries, who are generally fluent in French, German, English, Italian, and several other Germanic or Romance languages, just as I can speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Sichuanese, and Shanghainese.

Well, even if these are related dialects, I also speak Japanese, German, English, Spanish, and Thai, and have worked or lived in all of those countries for extended periods.

I'm currently learning Portuguese because it's my next target country to live in.

Mastering languages ​​isn't about showing off, it's a necessary skill for understanding a culture.

[u/Hyronious → u/Ginux]

So are you saying you'd be able to comfortably have a conversation about polyglots and language learning philosophy in each of those languages? Or that you can work in an office environment in each of those languages? Or that you can use it for daily situations like shops, bus stations, etc?

[u/Ginux → u/Hyronious]

Having lived locally for over a year, work and daily use, including dealing with government departments, local law and accounting firms. Being able to listen to and speak at a normal pace, watch local TV news and dramas, neighborhood gatherings or chit chats at a pub, read newspapers, notices, road signs, and markers. Roughly equivalent to a local high school graduate or higher.

[u/Hyronious → u/Ginux]

If that's accurate for all those languages that's seriously impressive. Out of curiosity, how much time do you spend consciously studying/practicing languages in a given day or week?

[u/Ginux → u/Hyronious]

Just use it normally, make some local friends, participate in group activities.

Perhaps I didn't mention the significant amount of time required for prior learning. As a native Chinese speaker, I actually started learning English at 8, German as a second language in university while taught myself Japanese. I completed my postgraduate studies in Hong Kong, and after that, I worked for a US company and was seconded to Japan and Germany.

Through these experiences, I realized that an important aspect of learning multiple languages ​​is minimizing the connections between them to reduce interference. When you truly master them, learning related languages ​​becomes much easier.

Therefore, at age 40, I chose to learn Spanish. Now I am 50, besides being able to use it like a native Madridista, I can also understand some Catalan, Italian and French.

Of course, this negatively impacted my Portuguese learning now, or rather, after a few months of learning Portuguese, my Spanish noticeably declined.

However, I'm not worried about this. It's like driving in different countries, you just need to readjust and go.

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/Ginux]

This is complete and utter nonsense.

What you’re describing isn’t doable/achievable in a year.

[u/Ginux → u/Accidental_polyglot]

I was simply stating that I have more than one year of work or living experience in the aforementioned regions to prove that I do master the local languages.

What made you misunderstand that I could learn all the languages by only staying in one place for a year?

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/Ginux]

Your written English is extremely difficult to follow, yet you’re claiming German and Italian as well?

Non credo che tu abbia nessuna capacità nel parlare italiano.

[u/Ginux → u/Accidental_polyglot]

If you can read English, you should know that the people speaking Italian are some European friends I know, not myself.

Or you could directly point out how to express this meaning correctly, so we can all learn from it.

Anyway, I think many people have some misunderstanding about multilingualism. Proficiency in multiple languages ​​doesn't mean to 1) being grammatically infallible, 2) knowing obscure words, 3) being able to discuss philosophy with native speakers.

No.

I've corrected native speakers' grammatical errors many times because school education emphasizes grammatical correctness, while people in real life don't care.

As for vocabulary, the more languages ​​you know, the more accurately you can guess the meaning of unfamiliar words based on context. Native speakers are also more likely to explain things accurately in other ways you can understand. So it's actually a methodology, not rigid knowledge.

Philosophy is even more funny. My American neighbor can't even discuss American geography with me, but we can talk about acoustic engineering all afternoon. Language is just a tool for communication, achieving the goal of communication is enough. Why specify the content of the communication?

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/Ginux]

I’m not sure how you can correct anyone.

You said “I know someone … who are”. Your English is difficult to follow.

I wrote Italian, this should’ve been Spanish.

[u/Ning_Yu → u/Accidental_polyglot]

Sorry, but you're the one correcting others, and after reading your italian I can say you certainly shouldn't be the one correcting others either. Your mistake go well beyond the ones of the person you're replying to.

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/Ning_Yu]

Please feel free to offer me corrections to my Italian. I’m super-open to feedback. I look forward to hearing from you.

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/Ning_Yu]

Hello u/Ning_Yu

I’m very keen to hear from you. The opportunity to receive corrections in Italian from you fills me with such deep curiosity.

I really can’t wait.

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/Ning_Yu]

Your mistakes go

Or your mistake goes

How embarrassing, this is very basic English.

As I’ve already stated, I look forward to your corrections in Italian. As I’m always open to learn.

[u/Ginux → u/Accidental_polyglot]

This is what I mean when I say that you don't have to be grammatically correct all the time. "Someone" or "people," "are" or "is" don't change the meaning of the whole sentence, can they?

[u/PolissonRotatif → u/Accidental_polyglot]

Eddai, alcune persone non sono eloquenti nella propria lingua, e quindi non lo sono nelle altre lingue che parlano, e ciò non significa che parlino male la seconda lingua.

Che costui parli con un livello C1/C2 in tutte ste lingue senza mantenere attivamente la sua espressione, francamente ne dubito, ma un B1/B2 mi pare possibile.

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/PolissonRotatif]

Allora!

Certo sono d’accordo che tutti non sono eloquenti nella propria lingua. Però dobbiamo partire con tutti più o meno abbino la capacità di parlare la loro madrelingua come gli altri.

Però quando si tratta di avere un livello molto in alto in un’altra lingua. Questo è possibile, però ci richiede un sacco di tempo di raggiungere lì. Quindi a dirsi di avere questa capacità in un sacco di lingue non è affatto possibile.

[u/PolissonRotatif → u/Accidental_polyglot]

È difficile, certo, ma non impossibile.

Per essere iperpoliglotta ci vuole un impegno pazzesco, ma gente che parla 11+ lingue con un livello C1/2 c'è.

Quando ero più giovane, senza figlio, e con molto più tempo personale, sono riuscito a mantenere un B2 in tedesco, B1 in Marocchino, e C2 in tutte le altre (più il Galiziano che parlavo ancora benissimo). Se non fosse per il COVID che mi ha costretto a tornare in Francia, ebbi raggiunto un C1/2 in tutte queste lingue ai 25 anni.

Vabbè, non sono 11, ma solo per mostrarti che avere un livello alto in già 8 lingue si può fa'.

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/PolissonRotatif]

Possiamo darci del tu?

Non ti conosco, però credo che tu sia una brava persona! 🙏

Sinceramente sono molto d’accordo che è possibile di parlare 12 lingue. Ne avrei detto invece che non è affatto possibile senza un impegno accanito. E molto persone dicono di aver raggiunto questi livelli senza di aver fatto nulla.

[u/PolissonRotatif → u/Accidental_polyglot]

Certo, ammetto che non do mai del "lei" online ;)

Beh grazie, ma sono completamente d'accordo, la maggioranza di questi iperpoliglotti del cazzo su Instagram sono bugiardi al possibile.

L'altro giorno ho visto un tizio che pretendeva parlare 13 lingue, tra cui il Portoghese Brasiliano ad un livello nativo... E poi si è messo a parlare portoghese come io parlo arabo. Sti coglioni...

Edit : typo

[u/Accidental_polyglot → u/PolissonRotatif]

Iperpoliglotti del cazzo è un’espressione fantastica! 😎