The ability to comprehend, read, write, or speak multiple languages is referred to as polyglotism. Therefore, polyglots are individuals with these abilities to manipulate and fully expressing themselves in several languages as if it were their mother tongues. According to Erard (2013), multilingualism as a gift which only a few are privileged to possess. Historical records show that one of the earliest incidents of multilingualism was in 1806 which entailed a professor from the University of Bologna in his late 20s who helped a captured Italian foreigner to translate his piece of writing on his narrow escape. Furthermore, the young professor showed that he had knowledge in at least 24 other foreign languages (Erard, 2013).
Beside the case as observed in the previous paragraph of a young professor, we also learn of the explorers and the early missionaries in the 18th
century. The travelers had to cope up with a language barrier in an error where digital communication was not well established as in the 21st
century (Khair, et al., 2006). Traveling all the way from Europe and other continents such as Asia, most of the travelers met their objectives. Looking at the objective of religious influence from the missionaries and Muslim ambassadors, their impact is still felt up to date. The accomplishment of their objectives insinuates that the polyglots have had a significant impact in the world over the years and their uniqueness and existences cannot be overlooked (Huigen, 2009).
Literature Review
What does it take to be a polyglot?
Despite the fact that Erard (2013) argues that the ability to express oneself fluently in multiple languages is more of a gift, Benny (2014) on the other hand says that being polyglot can be achieved by anyone regardless of the age. Being a polyglot himself, (Benny, 2014) speaks from his own experience that most fallacies regarding multilingualism have hindered people from joining the bandwagon. Lomb (2011), agrees with the latter that learning multiple languages can be achieved with anyone. He, however, enumerates what it has taken him to be a polyglot. Passion or having the interest to learn another language as his first strength. According to his experience, passion fuels determination which propels one to be patient to learn the desired languages.
The attitude of exploration also makes part of the key elements to uphold in order to be a polyglot (Lomb, 2011). He further acknowledges that the more an individual explores a language and is at the mercies of experts, they will be discouraged by the kind of remarks from the experts. Therefore, in order to surge forward and be a polyglot successfully, having an open mind and being patient should also be part of an individual. According to Sadalage & Fowler (2013), an open-minded person is one who seeks to understand the prevailing conditions with regards to learning the language and how the conditions can work to their favor. Finally, polyglot aspirants should be ready to invest in their time very well and endeavor to practice reading and writing in the desired language (Gethin & Gunnemark, 1996).
The advantages of being polyglot
Gethin & Gunnemark (1996) appreciates that embracing multilingualism is an art which uniquely shapes one's way of looking at things in terms of decision making. As a result, these individuals experience intellectual paradigm which defines their uniqueness in terms of making accurate decisions and doing well in whichever tasks they are allocated. Berger & Komori (2010) uses a cinema which is acted by polyglots to define and appreciate cultural diversity. As a result, the cinema is able to capture substantial thematic ideas in a few scenes. As a result, the cinema remains unique and love and appreciated throughout various cultures represented in the cinema. Statistics further show that the best business product branding and marketers are polyglots due to the ability to overcome the language barrier and being able to appreciate diverse culture (Sadalage & Fowler, 2013).
The impact of multilingualism in society.
One of the main drivers’ globalization is multilingualism. Ennaji (2005) states that where there is language, there is culture. Similarly, a culture defines a society, therefore, mixing of these culture modifies how people in the society live. The differentiation in cultures amongst societies would change the core values a society used to uphold, outface bad traditional cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation or human sacrifice, and change the dressing code of a society and even the language dialect (Meyerhoff & Nagy, 2008). A good example is a Swahili language in the East African Coast which is a combination of Arab language and the indigenous language of the coastal communities in the East African region (Lodhi, 2005).
Research Questions
How does being a polyglot effect the intellectual state of an individual?
When do individuals get interested in being polyglots?
Why is the number of polyglots increasing at high rates?
Procedure
Keywords were used in the search engine to access published work on various aspects of my research topic. The keywords used include polyglot, multilingual and the art of learning languages. The publications from the above keywords were read critically so as to enable this research creatively design answers for the identified research questions.
Findings
This research found that being a polyglot causes an intellectual paradigm to that individual. As a result, there is a modification on how they make decisions. The research also found that people would be interested to be polyglots the moment they realize the weight of the limitations on them as a result of being monolingual. Finally, the researchers noted that there is the high rate of people being polyglots due to the fact that the high rate of globalization demands people to be multilingual since globalization does not seem to favor monolinguals.
Discussions
According to Gethin & Gunnemark (1996), learning a language is more like learning a skill which entails daily practice, determination, focus, and open-mindedness. Despite the fact that the state of multilingualism could be in the area of linguistics, it is only through an artistic approach to it that one will become fluent in various languages they have learned to speak. As a result, in the process of developing the right stamina for being a polyglot, the individual experiences intellectual paradigm which modifies their decision making patterns. Furthermore, at the end of the process, the individual would have empowered not only their linguistic intelligence but also other aspects of the human intelligence facets (' & Mackintosh, 2011).
Sadalage & Fowler (2013) states that through the years, the polyglots have been the drivers of change in the society where bad societal practices are fully addressed by the aggressiveness of the multilingualism. Considering that most people prefer to be associated with things which drive change, they would not hesitate to be polyglots. Furthermore, there are a lot of limitations with being monolingual which possess a threat to so many people in the competitive world in the 21st century. Publications show that polyglots are able to be the best business managers and marketers, the best programmers. Furthermore, the relevance of a polyglot is highly rated in any business of the job field as compared to a monolingual. Therefore, more individuals do not want to remain monolinguals in this error of globalization. People want to be equally competitive with global businesses and job opportunities (Hajek & Slaughter, 2015).
Conclusion
The error of globalization where networking is emphasized as far as success is concerned needs polyglots who are able to overcome language barriers and have a mindset which appreciates diverse cultures. Therefore, this research paper concludes that polyglots have an added advantage both intellectually and linguistically, as well as being resourceful compared to monolinguals.
References
Benny, L., 2014. Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World. 1st ed. London: HarperCollins.
Berger, V. & Komori, M. eds., 2010. Polyglot Cinema: Migration and Transcultural Narration in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. 1st ed. Berlin: LIT VER LAG.
Ennaji, M., 2005. Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco. 1st ed. New York: Springer.
Erard, M., 2013. Mezzofanti's Gift. 2nd ed. London (UK): DUCKWORTH OVERLOOK.
Ford, N., 2014. Functional Thinking: Paradigm Over Syntax. 1st ed. Beijing, Cambridge: OREILLY.
Gethin, A. & Gunnemark, E. V., 1996. The Art and Science of Learning Languages. 1st ed. England: Intellect Oxford.
Hajek, P. J. & Slaughter, Y. eds., 2015. Challenging the Monolingual Mindset. 1st ed. London: British Library Cataloguing in Publishing data.
Huigen, S., 2009. Knowledge and Colonialism: Eighteenth-Century Travellers in South Africa. 1st ed. Leiden, Boston: BRILL.
Khair, T., Leer, M., Edwards, J. D. & Ziader, H. eds., 2006. Other Routes: 1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing. 1st ed. London: Signal Books Oxford.
Lodhi, A., 2005. Oriental influences in Swahili: a study in language and culture contacts. 1st ed. Berlin: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
Lomb, K., 2011. Polyglot: How I Learn Languages: How I Learn Languages. 2nd edition ed. Berkeley, California and Kyoto Japan: TESL-EJ Publications.
' & Mackintosh, N. J., 2011. IQ and Human Intelligence. 2nd ed. New York: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.
Meyerhoff, M. & Nagy, N. eds., 2008. Social Lives in Language--sociolinguistics and Multilingual Speech communities. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Sadalage, P. J. & Fowler, M., 2013. NoSQL Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Emerging World of Polyglot Persistence. 1st ed. Toronto: Addison Wesley (Person's Education Inc).
Reflective Statement
The study was interesting considering the fact that there are so many fallacies about the tactics to be a polyglot. The evidence of the latter is in the contrasting ideological approach of two publications analyzed: (Erard, 2013)who says that multilingualism is a gift and (Benny, 2014) who says that anyone can learn.
