Do Polyglots Have Exceptional Language Aptitudes?

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in case studies and surveys by researchers of second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive (neuro-)science to probe into the group of exceptionally talented multilingual learners or polyglots who can understand and speak an impressive number of multiple foreign languages other than their own mother tongue. The current paper reviews these latest developments and elucidates the phenomenon of (hyper-) polyglottism by tracing and analyzing its definitions and synthesizing and highlighting the key findings of case studies and large-scale surveys. Specifically, we aim to illuminate the complex and intricate relationships between hyperpolyglots’ exceptional multilingual talents and their individual differences in language aptitude and other cognitive abilities such as IQ, personality traits, motivational characteristics, and language genetic variations, as well as their brain mechanisms and neural networks. The present paper calls upon concerted efforts from multiple disciplines to determine the critical cognitive abilities and pivotal developmental stages underlying the exceptional performance of these multilingual talents and hyperpolyglots.

Giftedness E Lingue Straniere All’università: Riflessioni Preliminari Verso La Mediazione Della Eterogeneità

“…il caso di Israele in Azzalini, 2021b). Tuttavia, si stanno sviluppando anche studi relativi al multilinguismo come specialità di alta dotazione (rubricati come: gifted multilingual learners, linguistic giftedness, super-learners of foreign languages, multilingual learners with high academic potential) (Biedroń, Pawlak, 2016;Dolas, Jessne, Cedden, 2022;Pereira, 2022) e relativi alla sfera del poliglottismo (Novoa, Fein, Obler, 1988;Hyltenstam, 2016: Wen, Yang, Han, 2022. Questi apporti delineano, a nostro avviso, aree di intervento di rilievo per gli insegnamenti universitari delle lingue straniere, siano esse strumentali o sussidiarie alla giftedness oppure finalizzate allo sviluppo poliglotta.…”

The Dynamics of Mastering Multi-Foreign Languages: A Polyglot's Perspective

“…Individuals who learn and master two languages are bilinguals, while those who learn more than two languages are multilingual (Kultti, 2022). On the other hand, a polyglot is someone capable of speaking, reading, or writing in several languages proficiently (Wen et al, 2022). While all polyglots are multilingual, not all multilingual are polyglots.…”

“…Several previous studies in the field of polyglots focus on different aspects. The first study tries to see the relationship between the foreign languages mastered by a polyglot and their cognitive and IQ abilities (Wen et al, 2022). The second study emphasizes how education can adapt to cultural and language changes and influences teaching approaches toward multilingual students (Rifa'i, 2021).These studies view polyglots from different perspectives, but both focus on how language proficiency affects other aspects of life, such as education and individual cognition.…”