HYPERPOLYGLOTS: THE PEOPLE WHO COLLECT LANGUAGES
At a Lisbon train station last summer, two tourists were arguing in Finnish about which train to take. A grey-haired man standing next to them said, in perfect Finnish, "You need Platform 4. Hurry!" The tourists thanked him and asked which part of Finland he came from. In fact, Tom Fisher, 61, has never been to Finland. He began learning Finnish just three months ago.(lines 1–4)
Fisher is a "hyperpolyglot" – a person who picks up new languages at amazing speed and is soon able to speak them fluently1. "Learning another language takes most of us a lot of effort, so we usually do it only when we have no choice – when we go to study at a university in another country, for instance," explains researcher Dr. Ruth Alder. "Even then, it can take years. Hyperpolyglots, however, can chat in a new language after only a few weeks of study."(lines 5–9)
Skills like these are in demand at hospitals and airlines, and Fisher uses his as an interpreter2 for a company that runs international events. "Wherever large crowds from abroad are expected – at music festivals or science conferences, say – my company sends me along," he explains. "I assist visitors who can't speak the local language, sometimes switching between six or seven languages in a day. If a visitor suddenly feels ill and needs a doctor, or parents can't find their child in the crowd, I explain the problem to the organizers so they can act fast."(lines 10–15)
Knowing many languages is not enough to get this kind of work, though. Employers want proof that candidates can move between their languages fast and without mistakes, so everyone who applies must pass several tests first. A typical task is to translate a recording of two people talking quickly over loud background noise3. "Many candidates expect these tasks to be easy, but even hyperpolyglots often struggle with them," says Alder. "Most of them know a few of their languages far better than the rest, and only a handful pass every test."(lines 16–21)
Scientists began looking inside hyperpolyglots' brains only a few years ago. In one experiment, hyperpolyglot volunteers listened to recordings in many languages while a machine photographed their brain activity. The researchers had predicted busy, hard-working brains, but found the opposite. "When hyperpolyglots hear a language they know well, their brains use less energy than an average person's," Alder says. "Understanding is almost effortless for them, which may be why adding one more language feels so easy." She believes these findings could one day help ordinary learners make faster progress.(lines 22–27)