A polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. (A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, a trilingual three. The word hyperpolyglot for a person who can speak six or more languages fluently is rarely used.) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A hyperpolyglot is one who can speak six or more languages fluently. ... -1... The term bilingualism (from bi meaning two and lingua meaning language) can refer to rather different phenomena. ... A multilingual person or a polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. ... A hyperpolyglot is one who can speak six or more languages fluently. ...

The following list must be seen as anecdotal. Calculations as to "how many" languages anyone speaks are impossible for several reasons.

To start with there is no clear definition of what it means to "speak a language". A tourist who can handle a simple conversation with a waiter may be completely lost when it comes to discussing current affairs or even using the past tense. A diplomat or businessman who can handle complicated negotiations in a foreign language may not be able to write a simple letter correctly. A four-year-old French child usually must be said to "speak French fluently", but it is unlikely that he can handle the subjunctive as well as even a mediocre foreign student of the language does.

In addition there is no clear definition of what "one language" means. The Scandinavian languages are so similar that a large part of the native speakers understand all of them without much trouble. This means that a speaker of Danish, Norwegian or Swedish can easily get his count up to 3 languages. On the other hand, the differences between variants of Chinese, like Cantonese and Mandarin, are so big that hard studies are needed for a speaker of one of them to learn even to understand a different one correctly. A person who has learned to speak five Chinese "dialects" perfectly has achieved something impressive, but his "count" would still be only one "language". Another example could be that a person who learnt five different languages like French, Spanish, Romanian, Italian and Portuguese, all belonging to the closely related Romance languages, has accomplished something much less astonishing than a person who learnt Hebrew, Standard Mandarin, Finnish, Navajo and Hawaiian, of which none is remotely related to another.

Furthermore, what is considered a language can change, often for purely political purposes, such as when Serbo-Croatian was split into Serbian and Croatian after Yugoslavia broke up, or when Ukrainian was dismissed as a Russian dialect by the Russian Czars to discourage national feelings.

A widely-cited statement concerning this issue, published by Max Weinreich, quoting a remark by an auditor of one of his lectures: "A language is a dialect with an army and navy."

With this in mind, the following list contains some people who for some reason have a reputation of good language skills.

Highest claims

• Uku Masing (1909–1985), an Estonian linguist, theologian, ethnologist, and poet. Claim: fluent in approximately 65 languages, translated from 20. ^[1]
• Harold Williams, New Zealand journalist and linguist. Claim: over 58 languages. ^[2]
• Narasimha Rao (1921–2004), Indian politician and former Prime Minister. Claim: fluent in Telugu, English, Hindi, and Marathi,^[3]. Claim: could read and write 17 languages.
• Ziad Fazah (1954– ), raised in Lebanon, living in Brazil since the 1970s. Claim: reads and understands 58 languages.^[4]

Uku Masing (August 11, 1909 - 1985) was an Estonian philosopher, translator and theologist. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Harold Williams (6 April 1876, Christchurch, New Zealand - 18 November 1928, London, England) was a New Zealand journalist, Foreign Editor of The Times and polyglot who is considered to have been one of the most accomplished polyglots in history, said to have known 58 languages and other related dialects. ... Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (June 28, 1921 - December 23, 2004) was the ninth Prime Minister of the Republic of India. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language (South-Central Dravidian languages) primarily spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union along with English. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Ziad Fazah is reputed to be the worlds most accomplished polyglot. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language (South-Central Dravidian languages) primarily spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language. ... Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union along with English. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ...

External links

• Data on multilingualism in India
• Discussion forum about polyglots
• Non-profit Polyglot Community
• Multilingualism and Word Memorizing