Polyglots are people who are able to speak a multitude of languages, varying from mandarin to spanish, and japanese to french.
Polyglots are often seen as intelligent and have an invincible ability to pick up and learn any languages they desire. The record for the most languages spoken, is a man called Ziad Fazah, who is able to speak a total of 59 languages; such as Albanian, Bulgarian, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Samoan, Swahili and Thai.
Assumptions and myths about polyglots (such as them having a photographic memory, being naturally gifted in languages and being perfectly fluent in the languages they speak). The truth to these myths is that not all polyglots who speak multiple languages are able to converse fully with a native. They are also not superhuman or have an incredibly high IQ. They just simply have the willpower to keep learning certain languages, despite the difficulty.
Learning languages is like honing a skill, such as riding a bike, playing an instrument and playing a sport; you don’t get better until you consistently try. Their built up experience of not giving up when learning a language, leads them to develop shortcuts and hacks in order to learn other languages. Some memorisation techniques include mnemonics, where you retain information through association and spaced repetition systems, a way to make sure information stays fresh in your mind.
Some well-known polyglots include Natalie Portman (who speaks English and Hebrew, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese.), Cleopatra (speaking 9 languages, including Egyptian and Greek) and Elizabeth the first.
Therefore, Polyglots should not bear the burden of being put on a pedestal as they’re just normal human beings with a strong will and fascination for languages.
