Famous Polyglots in History and Today

This is the second part of It’s a Polyglot World Out There

Cleopatra VII (late 69 BC – 12 August, 30 BC)

The Queen of the Nile and Ancient Egypt’s last pharaoh was of Greek descent. A member of Greece’s Ptolemaic dynasty, she ruled the country after Alexander the Great’s demise. Just like the other Ptolemies before her, Cleopatra chose not to speak Egyptian although she knew the language. Some say Cleopatra knew Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew and Latin on top of Greek and Coptic/Egyptian. She was also believed to have spoken Syriac, Median, Parthian and Trogodyte and actually used her facility for languages to her advantage.

Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543)

Talented astronomer Copernicus, the one to devise a heliocentric model of the universe was a known polyglot. Born in Germany, he was said to have spoken at least four languages including Polish, Latin and Greek. Aside form being a noted astronomer Copernicus was a mathematician, physician, classical scholar, artist, and translator.

No Room to Be Lost in Translation or Interpretation

Nobody in the world ever wants to be misinterpreted. Misinterpreting someone’s words can lead to hilarity, mortification, or embarrassment. It can also lead to disastrous consequences that can affect one’s personal or professional relationships. In the world of politics, misinterpretation may inadvertently cause animosity, violence or even death.

The Carlos Tevez Incident

Recently, there arose a brouhaha over the mistranslation of a television interview given by Carlos Tevez, player for Manchester City. Tevez, who plays forward for the English club, is a professional Argentine footballer. In the interview with Sky Sports after the Champions League game against Bayern Munich a week ago, Tevez’s comments were apparently mistranslated causing the footballer to be suspended by Manchester City for two weeks while an investigation on the matter was underway.

Tevez was accused of refusing to play during the Champions League tie and refusing to play for the Manchester City again. Kia Joorabchian, adviser to Carlos Tevez, claimed that the Manchester City’s backroom staff who acted as interpreter got both the questions and the answers wrong. However, an independent translation of Tevez’s response seems to indicate that he actually refused to play.

The Language of the Māori, A Taonga of New Zealand

Taonga means “treasure” in the language of New Zealand’s indigenous people, the Māori. Their language is also called Māori or Te Reo Māori, which enjoys official language status in New Zealand together with English and New Zealand Sign Language. Commonly referred to as “te reo” or “the language,” Māori is under the Eastern Polynesian language group. As of the 2006 Census, around 157,110 residents of New Zealand claimed that they could speak Māori. The Māori Language Commission currently regulates this language.

History

Māori was the predominant language of the country until 1800s. With the influx of English speaking missionaries, settlers, traders and gold seekers, Māori soon became New Zealand’s minority language.

Brazil, The World’s Ultimate Host

Brazil, the largest Latin American country, is playing the ultimate host this decade. Just recently, this South American country hosted the 60th Annual Miss Universe Competition. As a follow up to this show of mesmerizing beauties, the 2014 FIFA World Cup will also be held in Brazil. Two years after the biggest football event in the world, Brazil will be the host country for two other major sporting events: the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics. With a spectacular line up of world-class events, Brazilians are eagerly preparing for the influx of participants and visitors alike.

About Brazil

Brazil’s motto is “Ordem e Progresso” (Order and Progress). In the world stage, Brazil is the fifth largest country in terms of total land area and one of the fastest growing economies. It borders a number of South American countries including Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Suriname and French Guiana. The Atlantic Ocean lies on the eastern side of Brazil. Brasilia is the country’s capital.

Languages and Dialects: A matter of recognition

Being a controversial subject as it is, the distinction between language and dialect often sparks heated debates not only among linguistics experts but also throughout the entire society. What makes a language to be considered a language instead of a dialect? When and under what circumstances can a dialect thrive and become a national language?

In linguistics, a dialect can be defined as a variant of a given language which is spoken by a specific group or in a particular location, but whose distinctive features – e.g. vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation – are “not distinctive enough” to be recognized as a separate language. Experts analyze mutual intelligibility among speakers in order to distinguish languages from dialects. In other words, if two speakers can understand each other although they don´t recognize the use of some words or their pronunciation is different, they must be speaking two different dialects of the same language.