The worst thing about being a polyglot

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

In this video, I discuss the pros and cons of learning many languages, from cultural connections to language interference.

SOURCES:

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
0:54 Learning languages to learn about the world
3:24 One language at a time or exploring many?
4:12 Flexibility
4:51 Confidence
5:56 Interference from other languages
7:16 Executive function
8:43 The takeaway

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[Thelinguist]

❓Have you find any downsides to being multilingual? Share in the comments!

[adriantepesut]

Learning another language absolutely increases your eloquence and expressive capacity in general because on top of having to learn to express ideas differently due to the necessarily distinct nature of the new language, you also will have to adapt and find creative ways to express what you want to say in a language that isn’t so familiar to you

[LanguageKing]

I was reading a book about how to improve your memory, and the author said as you age your brain capacity and memory decreases, and I thought to myself this author never met Steve Kaufmann❤

[JemRochelle]

I kind of speak French, and when I've been traveling through non French speaking countries in Europe this past year, I keep almost saying "bonjour!" to everyone. My brain thinks "foreign language? Must be French!" So I have to put a significant amount of effort into not speaking French!

[jackbombay]

This has been my experience so far, but I haven't done any research, I think we all have only one language. The more you use one of them, the stronger it gets in your brain, in terms of that one becomes the first to pop-up, but they are all there mixed as one. This is like talking to your mother, to your teacher or to your friends, even if you do all of that in the same language, you don't use the same nuances or even words, but they are all there and sometimes, inadvertedly, you use the more colloquial way in a context that wasn't supposed to.

[DJKartvelo-zruf]

I am so glad to hear that even experienced polyglots mix up words from non-native languages. I keep throwing out random Korean and Spanish when trying to speak or even think in Georgian.

I wonder if this problem is similar to how very young children, if taught multiple languages as a toddler on up, frequently learn both much much slower but eventually completely master both languages. It is frequently said to hamper or even cause a learning disability, when in fact, it is just part of a greater, more complex learning process!

[smockytubers]

You're the first person I've ever heard talk about the "interference" subject but it's always been such a problem for me. The first person to speak Spanish to me in Honduras asked me a question and I responded with نعم by default and by instinct. I speak Spanish well enough and of course know how to say sí, it was just when that switch in my brain was flipped to "foreign language mode" the default was Arabic.

In the same place, a French friend who spoke English, French and Spanish (better than I did) was listening to a clerk at a desk explain something. Afterwards he turned to me and "translated" for me into French. I don't know any French. It was the same issue. His brain went from foreign->native and he didn't even realize until after a few seconds of me starting blankly at him.

[o.fulano.johndoe]

You are an important inspiration for me in learning languages. Unfortunately, I will only be able to watch your videos when I no longer need the subtitles to understand the video, as they are still out of sync (too far ahead of what is being said). Maybe one day I will be able to follow your tips, which are always very useful for those who are trying to learn other languages ​​on their own. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[varunvidwans]

Interference bothers me quite a lot actually. I studied german in middle school 8 years ago and now I've been studying mandarin since about 3-4 years, now when I hear some german phrases i understand them quite well, however when i try to say anything, even the most basic of phrases in german, I somehow end up using words from mandarin very naturally, I don't even notice these unless someone points it out!

[pmatzl]

Crossover was a problem for me.
Thanks to two excellent teachers, I had a comfortable command of French after three years of study in high school. For my fourth year I switched to introductory German. Another excellent teacher, but we both were frustrated because my German kept lapsing into French in mid-sentence. That's as far as I got with German. I added one more year of French in college, then stopped as adult life intervened.
Five decades on, I'm taking up language study again. I'm concentrating on Japanese, while reviewing French, re-starting German, and beginning Italian at ground zero. It's too early to tell how much of a crossover problem I'll have, but so far it hasn't been an issue.

[valentina_fantasy]

AMAZING!!!! MANY THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR ENERGY AND INSPIRATION! BRAVO!!!

[MKSymphony]

I will have my first experience studying abroad next year in china i been study language by my self but i think its time to take a new step in this beauty experience in languages

[matildawolfram]

Thanks to the author of the channel for the interesting content! The book by Yuriy Ivantsiv “ Polyglot Notes. Practical Tips for Learning Foreign Language” had a profound impact on me, opening new horizons of understanding the diversity of languages and cultures. The author's ideas that learning foreign languages not only broadens one's horizons but also contributes to spiritual development became a real revelation for me. I realized that every language is not just a system of signs, but a whole world with its history, traditions and way of life. Thanks to this book, I learned to see language learning as a path to self-discovery and a deeper understanding of others, which in turn enriched my worldview. Inspired by Ivantsiv's approach, I became more conscious of my learning, integrating the author's practical advice into my daily life. This opened up opportunities for me not only to improve my language skills, but also to develop a personal philosophy based on mutual understanding and empathy. Immersing myself in languages has allowed me to see the world from different angles and realize the importance of cultural exchange, which has been the foundation for my spiritual growth. Reading this book and applying its advice has helped me to become a more open and tolerant person who seeks harmony in my relationships with others.

[LanguageKing]

Understanding the hemispheres of the brain is vital for language learning. People have problems learning languages from exclusively relying on the left brain. The left brain is the analytical brain, and if you rely on that exclusively your not going to learn languages effectively because you won’t be learning languages with emotion. The right brain is the emotional brain. If you want to have a sharp recall of languages you need to utilize the emotional brain because our brain recalls emotional experiences effortlessly. I would say anybody who is Learning languages you must make sure you are engaging emotion while you learn, and to engage your emotion you must mix your lessons around, if not your lessons are going to feel routine and structured (this will make you left brain dominated and your emotions won’t be engaged). Then your emotional brain will connect all the languages together this way, this way you’ll never get confused. If a person studies languages and get them confused or mixed up, it’s an indicator that they’re being to analytical, allow the right brain to do it’s work (recall through emotion) and you’ll be fine.❤

[Poetic-]

Hey steve, you should make a video that teach us, ''learn how to learn'' ... or something like that, or even ''how to find partners to pratice your target language''

that's it!

I love your videos

[C.V.]

I studied Russian at school (but I don't speak the language (anymore)). I came to Germany when I was 22 and learned German. Then I married a French woman and learned French for 15 years. I have been learning English intensively for 1.5 years and after that I don't want to learn another language. I think four languages ​​are completely sufficient..

[Ecosde]

Mr. Kaufmann, me encantó su programa, gracias de nuevo. For me the most important problem when studying more than 2 languages is time management. I can speak Spanish (my mother tongue), French (because I lived in France for several years as a child) and English (because I studied at university in the United States for several years) well. Then I started learning German, I passed the B2 level and went on to C1. I have been studying Japanese for six years and studying Hebrew for two years. The ideal thing for me is to study German in the morning and then Hebrew in the afternoon. Or Hebrew in the morning and Japanese in the afternoon. I love these 3 languages, but sometimes I find it difficult to study 3 in one day. I would like to, but it is difficult for me. No tengo, creo, la plasticidad neuronal necesaria para abrirme mentalmente a estas tres experiencias en un mismo día. Lo intento, lo disfruto muchísimo, pero a veces me cuesta. Por eso este programa me gustó tanto, porque toca problemas o asuntos que enfrento con los que me topo diariamente. Muchos saludos y gracias de nuevo! Ricardo

[coelhoazul]

Estou estudando inglês há 9 meses, a mudança na forma de pensar é muito grande...

[paulwalther]

I've been a one language at a time kind of guy except for a couple years in college. When I was in college studying German/French/Spanish worked fine and I made progress in all 3 and never confused them (my boss at work thought I must confuse them - he was Greek and learned English also growing up and moved to the US so had experience with language learning). But the progress was pretty much divided in 3 so I just focused on German eventually. But middle aged me learning Korean is totally mixing this language up with Japanese which I studied in my 30's and it seems like my head is a mess when it comes to languages particularly if I try to switch back and forth between them on the fly. If I could go back again I think I would make more of an effort to learn several languages at once instead of just focusing on one because it seemed like the younger version of me could but the older me not as much.

[camilapalmeida]

I'm using a lot of my time in learning swedish lately and it's been very hard for me to speak in french and german because lots of swedish words are always coming into my mind... The only languages I don't get confused with and never forget any word is my mother tongue (brazilian portuguese), english and spanish, which I'm fluent in.