Mexican Polyglot Speaks 11 Languages

[Xipe Totec]

This is my hero. I'm only on my third language; Russian.

I hope this will be an inspiration to reach out to other cultures, languages, and people, and to share our unique experiences and points of view.

Paz, hermanos.

[PSPS]

1. The old joke...

What do you call someone who speaks three or more languages? -> A polyglot.

What do you call someone who speaks two languages? -> Bilingual.

and

What do you call someone who speaks just one languages -> An American.

[Xipe Totec]

2. And what do you call an American who speaks several languages?

A Company man...



Truth be told, I have scores of American friends who are at least bilingual, if not polyglots. Maybe I'm lucky, and maybe like seeks like. Who knows...

But it is amusing to find this particular example of a Mexican who speaks eleven languages, and reflect upon a majority culture that believes that Mexicans are not smart enough to speak English....

[izquierdista]

3. What, no Gallego?

He could easily double his number if he worked on all the Italian dialects. And Occitan, never know when the TGV will break down and you'll be stuck in the middle of France.

[Xipe Totec]

4. I love Gallego!

Guadi Galego and Borregüeto... My heart melts when I hear her voice!

It is easy to minimize his accomplishments, claiming that some of the languages are "mere dialects" but, speak truthfully, does it not cause you envy to have someone speak all those dialects so deftly? And let's be honest... Polish and German...

I am envious of his skill and determination...

[izquierdista]

5. What doesn't belong on that list?

He's got the Romance languages down good. And Dutch and German are pretty logical to work on after learning English. But Polish? Since he speaks it with a Chicago accent, I will guess that one of his friends is a Chicagoan who has passed on their odd way of speaking to him. Either that or he spends a lot of time listening to WPNA.

What's interesting to me is the accents these polyglots pick up (myself included) when they learn another language. It's usually not L1, but some locally identifiable dialect or accent that makes native speakers of that language raise an eyebrow.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Me sorprenden tus comentarios

Pensé que tendría más apoyo de la comunidad ispanohablante. Puede que estés acertado en tus críticas, pero ese muchacho merece mas que éso, por el simple esfuerzo de intentarlo y esmerarse. Más, si lo logró sin haber puesto pié en Europa. Si los maéstros le enseñaron mal, no es culpa del muchacho, coño.

Mis respetos y salúdos.

[izquierdista]

8. Oh, he has a talent, that's for sure.

His French sounds pretty standard to my ear, but there are plenty of good sources in the US to learn the correct pronunciation. And his Italian sounds like the standard Italian you hear on the TV. I wish I could tell if his Portuguese and Romanian have some regional distinction to them. I'll bet when he does get a chance to travel to Europe, and if he does spend some time in Poland, that jezyk Chicago will disappear.

It's not a matter of teachers teaching it poorly. Teachers naturally pass on their own accent to the student. One thing that is great about modern technology and YouTube is that you can listen to plenty of native speakers. That way you don't find yourself speaking in some easily identifiable accent. Unless that is what you want.

[Xipe Totec]

7. One thing I've observed, is that Russians love a Mexican accent

When I speak Russian, little as I do, Russian native speakers say I have a southern Russian accent, from the Volgograd region. They consider it sexy.

[izquierdista]

9. They take pity on me

Those who can switch over to Polish, because they think I just got off the train from Krakow.

[Xipe Totec]

10. I have a friend who is a Russian Orthodox priest - He's an American

One time, a parishioner told him: Father! You speak Russian just like a Pole...

[izquierdista]

11. Just for fun

THIS is how Polish is supposed to sound:

[font size = 1] I don't know why people have a problem with it. You think they would get over their obsession with vowels, always wanting to stick at least one into a word, sometimes 2 or 3.

[Xipe Totec]

12. How Americans sound to British people...

Just for fun also...