the most languages in the world knows. That was kind of worded badly but I couldn't think of another way to say it. Anyone have an educated guess? Or know how many languages it is possible to know? Would it be possible to learn every language in the world (of course only the ones that are still alive and you have access to)? Thanks.
2006-08-26 07:47:13 · 8 answers · asked by imaqtpai 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Hmm interesting so it sounds it wouldn't be possible for the human mind to learn much more than 50?
2006-08-26 07:57:59 · update #1
Oh wow, maybe it's possible to learn a lot more than 50 then. I want to try and see how many languages I can learn fluently in my lifetime, hmmm.
2006-08-26 08:22:54 · update #2
There was a linguistics professor at London University a few years ago who claimed to know 270 languages - though just how fluent he was in them all would be anyone's guess.
As for learning every language in the world - almost certainly not. There are supposed to be well over 100 different languages spoken on the island of Borneo alone.
2006-08-26 08:00:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's the best info I could find on the subject.
"One of the record-keepers of multilinguality was undoubtedly Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti (1774-1849) who was the head of the Vatican library. There are different accounts of the exact numbers - part of the confusion is due to the difficulty in distinguishing between languages and dialects, and also to the definition of fluency. When he was 12, he already spoke nearly 10 languages; when he died at the age of 75, he spoke about 40 fluently. In 1846, he himself claimed the knowledge of 78 languages and dialects."
2006-08-26 14:53:23 · answer #2 · answered by I Know Nuttin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that's so awesome you want to learn as many languages as you can!!! if i could devote my whole life to that, i would!!!! so far i know spanish, and am learning french and italian, and i hope to eventually tackle russian. i once read a history text that told of this pirate who knew about 26-32 languages (i don't quite remember the exact number) but i was SOOO inspired by that!!
i love finding people who have this same interest!!
makes it more encouraging that there are others out there doing it too and that it's not impossible.
:)
2006-08-26 20:20:32 · answer #3 · answered by WiseWisher 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thorstein Veblen allegedly knew 26 languages.
Friedrich Engels allegedly could stutter in 27 languages.
2006-08-27 01:50:02 · answer #4 · answered by Jane N Hottie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My late wife had a Russian grandfather who spoke seven languages.
He played in the Military Band under Czar Nicholas.
2006-08-26 14:53:43 · answer #5 · answered by ed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
26 according to Guinness.
2006-08-26 14:52:49 · answer #6 · answered by helixburger 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She/he knew 60 something. I don't know excatly. Sorry!
2006-08-26 14:52:39 · answer #7 · answered by ♫♥chocol8roxღ♫ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a pastor i know, knows 8 languages....
2006-08-26 14:52:27 · answer #8 · answered by E 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋