Tips And Insights To Help You Become A Polyglot

Is it ever too late to learn to become a polyglot? Is it possible for an adult native English speaker to become a polyglot? Below are some interesting facts about languages, the benefits of language learning, and tips to help you in your studies!

Let’s explore some language facts and how to determine which languages you want to learn. Identifying why learning a new language is important to you, will not only help you decide which language is right for you, but will also help you stay committed to learning it. For example, it is my dream to become a polyglot. I have a lifelong goal of being fluent in as many languages as possible. As a result of my background in the arts and my passion for food, as well as my family’s heritage, I have a passion for learning Italian and French. I have a personal connection to and passion for the learning.

Why learn a new language?

As a child, the main purpose of learning language is to communicate thoughts and emotions. As an adult, the purpose of language learning is essentially the same. However, there are other specific reasons for wishing to learn a language, and it is very important to identify your personal reasons before you begin. Knowing other languages opens doors to new cultures and ways of thinking. You can see the world through someone else’s eyes and understand his/her thoughts more intimately. People of different countries interact with you differently when you can speak their native tongue. Knowing a culture’s language means you actively put in the effort to know the people and traditions, while possibly learning a bit of the history, too. It creates truly immersive experiences!

Which language should I learn?

How you approach language learning depends on which language you already speak and which language you wish to learn. Do the languages have anything in common? This is the first step, to determine language similarities. The more your native language has in common with your target language, the easier it will probably be to learn. With that being said, you should learn whatever language you’re passionate about, but knowing this information beforehand may help you get an idea of whether you should start with, for example, common-rooted vocabulary words or grammar.

An Interesting Note On Language Families

Categorizing languages is quite complex. Basically, languages are said to belong to a “language family” (or a large group of related languages) based on if the languages developed from a common ancestor. (If this fascinates you as it does me, check out this website for more detailed explanations and breakdowns!)

If English is your native language, then there are many languages that share similarities with English (more so than any other language). It is considered a Germanic language with its grammatical structure and most of its core vocabulary words (26%) stemming from Proto-Germanic (the language in which all Germanic languages evolved from). However, English vocabulary also consists of about 29% Latin, 29% French, and 6% Greek words! So English dips its toes in the Germanic language family, the Romance language family, and the Hellenic language family! (Greek is considered a Hellenic language, but really is the only language in that family!)

Which languages are the easiest to learn?

This is obviously dependent on your native language. If we are continuing with our English example, there are categories that determine this. The FSI (Foreign Service Institute, the main provider for foreign affairs training for US government officials and diplomats) has compiled broad lists based on levels of difficulty. These are arranged into five categories based on how different each language and culture is to that of the United States.

Category 1: The Easiest For English Speakers

I was very surprised to see Afrikaans on this list, but not German! As it turns out, German has some grammar quirks that push it up a level of difficulty so that it sits in Category 2! If you want to see a list of languages in each category click here. If you want to examine a map showing language difficulty rankings for English speakers, check out this map!

Now that you have figured out what language you want to learn and why, it’s onto the next stage!

This blog post was all about tips and insights to help you become a polyglot.

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