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Edwin Nazarian

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How many languages is it possible to know?

I admit that I am not a genius. I have never had an idea that I would end up speaking more than one language but it happened.. in my early 20s I found myself speaking more than 4 languages... few years later a coupe of languages came along and I learned them as well... Why? I don't know.
true to be told I didn't go to university for this, I only went for Communication Science. after learning all those languages, it made me believe;
if I can, then anyone can (but maybe not everyone)

How many languages do you speak?
If you could learn one more foreign langues, what would it be?
What stopped you from learning more than one (if you speak only one)
why is it so important to learn any foreign language when we want a global village, and what language should be spoken in that village?

an interesting article to be read about the capacity and ability of human brain in learning and knowing languages:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/49138/how-many-languages-it-possible-know

Topics: Foreign language Langauge ability education human mind
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  • Dominique Brager

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    Apr 2 2013: I speak English and Spanish fluently and can get by in Dutch. I also am learning French. If I could learn one more language, it would be Japanese because I really want to be able to go to Japans and learn about their culture. Learning multiple languages is important because language is our way of communication. Our world right now is very diverse and integrated and people from all backgrounds are starting to mix. We need to be able to include all these people together and be able to take part in their lives and culture.
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    Thadeus Frei

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    Apr 1 2013: It's important that we define what it means to 'know' a language. Is it a certain sensibility with a cultures idiomatic thought? Learning a language seems a continual imperative, it is just too easy to become complacent. With thought characterized by expression nobody can think by naming. In many ways this has more to do with definition and our discretion with it.

    I know your question had a more practical orientation than what I am referring to but it's consequential that the semantics of the issue is resolved.

  • Rajiv Balasuriya

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    Apr 1 2013: Personally I look forward to the day when this question will be irrelevant because everyone has learnt Esperanto.

  • Adelia Tri Prihatiningsih

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    Mar 30 2013: I speak two languages in my daily life, English and Bahasa. And sometimes I had problems to choose the right language you have to speak to ppl around you. Like.. in the office, I used to speak English more often because my job is using English more. But speaking English with Indonesian people mostly (including me) could be weird. I dont feel comfortable using English than Bahasa if talking to Indonesians. I feels the limitation on how to react, how to reply the conversation, causing distraction in my minds to choose which the right words to say, and having different way of thinking.

    If i could learn one more foreign languages, it would be Portugese and French. I used to learn and speak these, but I stopped. I don't have the right partner to teach or speak to me with these languages. But tv, song, and books could do it sometimes. :)
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    Nik Gill

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    Mar 27 2013: Although one may learn several languages in their lifetime, 'body language' is probably the one that is most useful as it will allow you to communicate with anyone

  • Rafi Miman

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    Mar 27 2013: http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/06/26/the-polyglot-of-bologna/

    THE POLYGLOT OF BOLOGNA
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    JaeHoon Lee 10+

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    TED Translator
    Mar 27 2013: it depends on talent and origin of mother tongue.
    For example, in my case my naive language is korean so learning japanese if easy but chinese and english is difficult.
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    Mike Kubus

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    Mar 27 2013: I can't say I believe in a number of how many lagnuages people can know, but I do realize the fact that we as humans are capable to learning multiple ones. Someone I consider a close friend had a conversation with me about someone he knew that could speak 10 different languages. That person told my friend that the best way to speak another language isn't to just practice speaking in the language, but instead train your brain to think it that language. Once a person can do that, the langauge will become natural to them.
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    Ajay Patel

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    Mar 25 2013: What would you think is the easiest language to learn?
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 25 2013: to me? None!

      there is no such thing as easy language. but there is such thing as LOVE for language.
      if you love a language you will learn no matter what.

      yes, if you have a teacher, it is also depends on Loving teachers.
      this means, if you like the person who teaches you a foreign language, you will learn everything from that person. I admit that I hated my French teacher, but I loved that language, and I was having hard time to study until I went to France. I like my Italian teacher and I learned it with love. (my girlfriend then was an Italian, this was also a help)

      it is said that opposite sex is the best language teacher. I think it is true.
      natives never made best teachers to teach their own language to foreigners, because they do not have personal experiences and structure for HOW TO LEARN.... they may get a training for HOW TO TEACH.
      but no native can ever say how they learned their own language, if they cant How can they teach someone else how to learn. this means teaching is one thing, Learning is another, but teaching how to learn is completely different thing.

      I loved English, (and my teacher) and I learned it quickly.
      I loved Italian (and my teacher) and learned it easily.
      I liked French (and hated my teacher) I had hard time to learn
      I liked Spanish (and my teacher - who in this case was my Mexican flatmate) I leaned it very fast.

      if you read my other comments here, I was giving some tips how to learn quicker and yet memorizing what is learned.

      10 words a day are 3650 words a year. (an average person may not know more than that) + some grammar and here you go, off to practice, it will take you to perfection.
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    Obey No1kinobe 50+

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    Mar 25 2013: I struggle with one, and really bad French and Japanese.

    It's an amazing thing when you realise you are thinking in another language (swear words don't count)

    I know people who are fluent in 3 or 4. Some people have a knack I guess. Perhaps it helps being exposed to multiple languages as a child.

    Many have common grammar or roots so that might help. Japanese has similar vowel sounds as Maori, that surprised me.

    I guess if you made it your life's work most of us could learn 10-20 enough to have basic conversations and a basic vocabulary and reading - unless our brains had a melt down.
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    Gustavo Eda

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    Mar 21 2013: You have to think of down-to-earth limits when considering how much of a language you wish to speak. Mastering one language specific nuances may take a lifetime, just like any other form of communication, like music, dance, math or even mimic.

    But, from personal experience, one can learn as many languages as one's will and necessity asks. I am fluent in Spanish, English and Japanese, and Portuguese is my native language. Currently I'm studying Russian, German and French, due to my career demandings. If one can learn to "study" languages, the process become easier. Understanding phrasal forms and verb usage for an example, help your study overall. Knowing the functionality and basic form of a language firsthand, makes the challenge of learning, henceforth a simple task of learning and remembering new signs/names for words, or in some cases, new alphabets.

    Hope it helps!
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    Borrah Campbell

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    Mar 21 2013: Theoretically, the human brain can hold around 2.5 petabytes of information.

    Apparently it is possible to learn all of the languages. If an ambitious savant decided to dedicate his life to learning languages, there is a distinct possibility that he could pull it off.

    However, this is not possible for an ordinary human. In a normal person, memory gradually grows more corrupted over time. Given a lifetime, a person with average intelligence could probably learn around 50 languages. That is one language a year after age 14 and stopping at age 64. (Keep in mind this is a person dedicated to learning languages.)

    A genius could probably do a few more... but there are varying colors of genius. There are children out there that are already fluent in several languages. Then we have savants which have something that transcends genius.

    Basically people are amazing!

    • Toine Stolk

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      Mar 31 2013: All languages are impossible there are several dead languages that have been translated by the technique's of.modern man but there is no way to be 100% sure if it is translated.right since no one speaks or knows it anymore

      Regarding the 50 languages in a lifetime and a genius perhaps more it seems unlikely since the human brain will not learn every single word and grammar style of every 50 languages or more you might know how to speak and write some things but the full grammar of it in 50 languages is just simply not possible...

      Explanation a human will always be distracted by the environment or y the person who he/she is speaking to forgetting certain words and not completing a sentence and by that forgetting the word they needed to say in that certain sentence so its not fully learned like the mother language everybody learned...

      So for as far as I know it is impossible to know around 50 languages without trouble or whatsoever
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    Solaiman Akbar

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    Mar 20 2013: One of my closest friends speaks 6 languages. His mother knows 8 and his grandma knows 11. In this case it seems that there is no limit. as you keep aging. Its awesome that all animals except for humans communicate to others of the same species in one language. dogs bark, crows squawk and owls hoot. Us humans we have thousands of different languages.

    • Silas Birdsell

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      Apr 1 2013: This is probably due to how widespread the human race is and the complexity of what humans have to say. For example, if I yell loudly and angrily most humans, regardless of their native language, will be able to understand that I am angry. Other animals, as far as my knowledge goes, simply display simple ideas like this when they meow or bark.
      Now if we later find out that dogs are actually reciting the events of the day when they bark to each other then we can all be impressed.

  • Samuel KAPOOR

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    Mar 15 2013: Hi Edwin,

    I was browsing through the website (that I have just discovered) and when I saw your question, I couldn't help myself to register and answer you.

    I do think there is a limited capability to learn and retain, but it is possible to extend this capability (by doing memory exercises for instance). But anyway I could get off-topic here and I don't think I'd want that as my first comment on this website.

    I have the chance to have parents from different origins: my mother is from the US and my father is from India. Also, I was born in France.
    I have to admit that even if english should be my first language it is not. I spoke only french until I was 10 years old and fed up with the fact that I couldn't communicate properly with my family in India and in the States.

    So I got lucky and got into an international school in my hometown where I started to work on my english and spanish as a second language. I'm now 20 years old, I can speak french and english fluently and I can speak spanish and chinese (that I started as a third language in High school).

    Even though it might sound good I still want to learn more. I have this friend I've known since junior high and he now speaks fluently: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and as a good knowledge of Chinese, Russian, Arabic and maybe some others... At only 20 years old !

    I still hardly believe it sometimes and your story amazed me.

    I just want to conclude on the fact that languages are important to learn because they give us the power to communicate with each other and to know about different cultures.
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 17 2013: Hi Samuel

      Many thanks for your comment. I am glad you find such a interests in learning languages.
      surely this is one of the ways to get to know others and their culture.

      wish you all well.

      and welcome to TED Community.

      Edwin
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    Leo Taylor

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    Mar 15 2013: I have met people that claim to know 7 or 8. On a recent trip to Iceland I heard some of the tour guides speaking 3 or 4 while I was amongst them. They claimed that many of the citizens spoke multiple languages.

    Personally I find it difficult in my area (Seattle) as English is dominant. Although Spanish is getting poplular so I will probably learn that language next. I have been studying German for a year. (Rosetta stone, YouTube, radio, movies, and some small groups) The challenge I find with this is that I really have to go out of my way to get meaningful interaction and everyday use. My wife and I took a trip to Germany and I learned a lot in the two weeks when it was spoken everywhere.

    Anyone have any other tidbits? I like the idea of labeling the household items. Perhaps I can label them with German and Spanish while I learn both languages.

  • Richard Sussan

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    Mar 12 2013: Are you related to John Nazarian from New Jersey, USA ? He was a childhood friend of mine. His parents were missionaries.

    Concerning language, I believe the more musical ability a person has, the easier it is for them to acquire additional languages. There is a strong link between the temporo-parietal lobes, language and music. When I lived in Brasil, I learned Portuguese very quickly & with it Spanish and Italian. I currently speak, read and write 3 languages. English has become the lingua franca in today's global village.I would like to learn Chinese (Mandarin). I especially like Chinese calligraphy.
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 12 2013: Hi Richard,

      thanks for your comment... it is very interesting combination you have made, Language and Music.
      to be honest I have no musical ability, I play no musical instrument whatsoever ( but I love Piano, Violin, Guitar)
      as far as I could understand there are three (in fact they are five) main sensors humans used to decode information. Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthatic(feelings) ... and we actually learn new thing according our preferred neuronal system. (in most cases we communicate in that way too)
      ex: Painters are Visual people, they see/imagine things and talk about things in pictures and images.
      Musicians are auditory based people, they hear things and used words that has to do with listening and hearing when they communicate.
      doctors are kinaesthatic based people, they are talking about feelings, they express things in that way,
      (please note that they are not set on stone) we all have these neuro systems but one is that we use mostly.

      now it comes to learn languages. for example, I had to see a new word in order to know what it is... (but when I hear a new word, it is difficult to know, (picture in my mind that word) am I a visual person? YES. maybe that was the reason I couldn't hear the notes in order to play an instrument.

      these kind of approach is missing in our education system, because in every classroom, students have different preferred neuro system, and with who teacher's system match, they learn better.
      that is why not ever student is good in every thing, it comes from how they are taught and communicated.

      Portuguese - Spanish - Italian - French - belong to Romano Language group (if you know one, it is easy to learn another of them)
      English - Dutch - German - Denis - belong to Germano Language group (they are like each other : like brothers and sisters)

      thanks for participating to this talk.

      Edwin
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 12 2013: I was trying to send you mail about your first question... I have to say that I HAVE GOT half of my family in US (and I haven't been there yet) and so far I don't know anyone named John Nazarian from New Jersey., unless he has changed his name and moved to New Jersey.

  • Sam Austin

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    Mar 12 2013: I only speak the one language, but am learning spanish, so hopefully one day it'll be two.

    I was brought up monolingual, and was given no opportunity to learn any language until french was forced onto me at 14 for two years. I had a teacher who took offence to me being quiet and had a goal (that he admitted) to make me shout at him by making me angry. He suceeded and I went from loving french to hating it in record time. Spanish I've self taught because I don't want a teacher to make me hate it. It's slow going but I still love the language. If I could learn another, I might go for mandarin, or maybe arabic or russian (too many interesting languages to choose from).

    I think that it is very important for people to start speaking more languages. We need to become more connected, not stay isolated. I have no idea what the unifying language should be, but I think there should be one.

    I would think it is possible to know a great deal of languages, but the upkeep would be huge. You could only practice so many and without practice they would go downhill. I'd say if you spent all day just practicing languages, maybe 20 or so would be possible. To live a life around it, a lot fewer. But it depends what people around you speak. If your neighbour chats to you in a few languages, your shopkeeper another language, the practice would be easier. So maybe as we aquire more languages and share them, we can help others aquire more languages. That would be an interesting world to live in if it did happen that way.
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    NIKI BOEHM

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    TED Translator
    Mar 11 2013: I want to say an infinite number of languages, but somehow I believe that the number is quite finite, if we mean speaking, understanding, reading and writing a foreign language at more than the average asking-for-street-directions-in-a-foreign-country level. Learning the basics is one thing, actually using a language for, let's say, professional purposes is a whole other ballgame. All in all, though, depending on whether one is bilingual or, even better, trilingual, I say depending on where you live (the Netherlands, for example) and how much time you invest in it, learning a fairly extended number of languages is feasible.

  • Thorsten Hersam

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    Mar 11 2013: Thanks a lot!

  • Phan Binh Luong

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    Mar 11 2013: In my opinion, the key for the success of learning a language is we live in the country using that language. I see many people who have chance to live in many countries in their life are fluent languages.
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    John Gianino

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    Mar 11 2013: If you look at some of the other conversations, math is considered a language by many people.
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 17 2013: indeed it is, John,

      just like music, paintings, photos, architecture
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    Andrew Magdy Kamal

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    Mar 11 2013: Considering the brain has an extremely high capacity, the highest possible of number of languages a human can know is 6,900 languages. However, knowning that many languages is likely to make a human confused and have difficulty comprehending other things.
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    Arkady Grudzinsky 50+

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    Mar 10 2013: I was born in Russia, grew up in Ukraine, and now live in the U.S. I'm fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English and can understand a little of Polish and German. I feel that I would learn any language if I happen to live in the country where it is spoken.

    Languages fascinate me. I think, language determines how we think or, conversely, language reflects how people in certain culture structure their thoughts. E.g. Germany has produced many musicians, philosophers, and is known for superb engineering. I believe, punctuality, attention to detail, and structure are reflected in German language. English is very flexible - pronunciation is not set in stone, many words sound similar: (here, hair, hear, heir, hare, hire, etc.) words and names are routinely chopped and abbreviated (William - Bill, Robert - Bob, comfortable - comfy, information - info, memorandum - memo), new words are created all the time. This makes it (and Americans) very practical and pragmatic.

    It's interesting for me to discover how seemingly unrelated languages have common words. E.g. "mur" means "wall" in both French and Ukrainian, "Rat" means "council" and "Dach" means "roof" in both German and Ukrainian. I think, it points to some common cultural roots.

    It's also interesting that speaking common language does not increase our capacity to understand each other. Ironically, trying to overcome language barrier does.

    What would be the global language? I don't know and I don't care. As long as we can understand each other. I'll learn it.

  • Rishabh Chaudhary

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    Mar 10 2013: I can speak Hindi and English very well. I wish to learn French and German beacause there are very good books written in these languages. Difficulty is that I don't have enough money for so called institutes, if anyone can suggest how can i learn these like aome website or anything, it would be a great help.
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 10 2013: hi Rishabh

      there are many ways to study something new. one has to find out his own learning strategies and structures.
      i have used different approaches to build different structures and path ways to learn new things.

      step one: name all the items at home stick a piece of paper using the language you want to learn.
      step two: learn 10 new words a day (repeating the previous one)
      step three: use youtube wisely ... watch movies with the language you want to learn.
      step four: pat a little attention on grammar.

      in English Grammar there (are many) is an important rule: it says:
      Grammar Rule # 1. Break the Rules

      no joke, but a bitter reality, no native pays attention on grammar.

  • Comment deleted

  • Rocio F.M.

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    Mar 9 2013: hi Edwin. Thank you for the motivation.
    I'm new here.
    I want to write and speak English fluently and I think I have a chance here. I find it hard to learn more languages​​, I speak Spanish, Chinese study, I defend myself (as I can) in English, but your words have made me think and I will try.
    thanks
    Sorry my bad English
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 9 2013: Hi Rocio

      Thanks for your comment and may I say; welcome to TED.
      I am glad that my question has got an effect on you. wish you all the best in your studies.
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