Polyglots and AD(H)D?

General discussion about learning languages
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reineke
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Re: Polyglots and AD(H)D?

Postby reineke » Sun Jun 05, 2016 10:09 pm

Feel free to discuss anything only please don't link to anyone's posts to prove a point about mental conditions. I agree wholeheartedly with you Cavesa though I don't think anyone was building a case for being envious of people with ADHD etc. To add something positive, there are posts out there by people who discuss how they deal with ADHD while learning languages.
Last edited by reineke on Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MCK74
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Re: Polyglots and AD(H)D?

Postby MCK74 » Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:37 am

I don't think OP or anyone else was posting anything inappropriate - I'm sure learning about how people with ADD or other psychiatric conditions learn languages would be fascinating reading for anyone interested in psychology, particularly with regard to motivation.

I agree talking about psychiatric conditions is sensitive - which is why most psychology classes forbid tape recording of lectures, you never know what a student might want to discuss.
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Re: Polyglots and AD(H)D?

Postby gallo1801 » Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:51 am

Haha I've heard the autism theory; that is to say that some polyglots are on the spectrum and that linguistics/languages are their thing that they excel at. I don't beleive you have to have some form of autism to be good a languages, similar to how to be good at math you need not be Rainman...

The first thing I want to say is that I know that people who are into languages, be us polyglots or whatever - let's call ourselves language enthusiasts lol - are not a monolithic group in the slightest. We are in fact very diverse! Our love of languages being the only common theme really.

I guess I was prompted to ask this question because I remember the 16:9 (Canadian Newsmagazine) special I saw on YouTube that featured a number of famous polyglots, and included a panel interview with the host. She asked them if they fell into certain categories, such as left handedness, did they play an instrument, etc. Many of them did, but as you can imagine, no one ticked every box. But there were commonalities.

Refer to this quote in an article about polyglot wunderkind Tim Doner:
Many people want to know what makes a voracious language-learner tick, a question Michael Erard set out to answer in his book "Babel No More", reviewed here. Most hyperpolyglots are male. Many have some combination of being gay, left-handed or ambidextrous, and poor in visual-spatial skills. A surprisingly large number are boorish anti-social types. A variant of the theory has it that hyperpolyglots might have a highly "male" brain, driven to systemising rather than empathising. (A subset of this theory is that autism is the result of an "extreme male brain".) Mr Doner hardly fits the profile (except for being a left-handed male). He has the will to sit and memorise verb tables, as one must do to come as far as he has. But he is a sociable and confident teen with a ready smile. He loves memorising pop lyrics and watching movies. He virtually inhabits the languages he speaks; as a colleague said on seeing his video, "he shrugs like a Frenchman and frowns like a Russian." Most of all, it is obvious how much he enjoys speaking his languages with other people, not just learning them for the purpose of translation or reading (or boasting).


Obviously these are common characteristics. We have many talented females amongst us (Sofrid Christen, Serpent come to mind). I doubt all of us are left handed. But something I found funny was that there are many gay men among us (myself included), something that was also true at the Polyglot conference this Fall and at Middlebury when I worked there.

Regarding ADHD, I am curious if that is a common trait that some of us share. It's not a bad or a good thing, it just is, as they say. Would just be interesting to see. I think for me it makes me incredibly interested in talking about languages/linguistics and engaged when using my TL in conversations, but when I have to sit down and study I do Albanian for a little then Swahili, all the while not making much progress in either!

My final comment is that you could be a straight, right-handed, sociable, female, and athletic polyglot who speaks 16 languages! (ie the opposite of all the "polyglot traits") I just find it interesting to find commonalities is all. :-)
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Re: Polyglots and AD(H)D?

Postby sfuqua » Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:45 am

In the words of the great philosopher, Ricky Nelson, "you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself."

Some people think I'm weird, or so I've heard.

That might bother me if I cared what they think, but I don't so it doesn't.


I just wish that other people could see some of wonders I see everyday... the spider species from So. Cal that have moved north with the California drought (climate change?), the beauty of almost any music by Bach, the glory of seeing 50 million year of light with you own eye, light that started out before humans were even a dream, the simple beauty of looking at a living, wild plant, the joy of figuring out the story of a rock, the hundreds of millions of years that led to it being in your hand.

Or the wonder of hearing, reading, and speaking a language that at one time you did not know.

I'm pretty happy the way I am. :D

I think it is time to pour the family's glasses of wine for the night.
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Re: Polyglots and AD(H)D?

Postby Tillumadoguenirurm » Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:34 am

Interesting subject. I know that there have been a lot of discussion in the past about whether or not ADHD/ADD can be considered to be on the autism spectrum, but I don't know what the status quo is today.

A link to your American NIMH about Autism Spectrum Disorder: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/a ... ndex.shtml

I do know that people with Aspergers syndrom tend to be very strong at theory but have trouble putting it to practice, whereas people with ADHD tend to be very strong at putting things into practice, but weak at theory. I imagine that either extremes is disadvantageous. Add to that that they both involve communication difficulties in varying degrees. Shrug?

I think Cavesa made some excellent points.
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