Polyglot refers to a person who speaks and writes at least three languages fluently, translations with multiple linguistic sources, and mixed languages. Learning multiple languages as a child is believed to lead to true multilingual abilities. English is a polyglot language, making it difficult to learn. The term can also refer to computer programs written in multiple languages for compatibility.
The term polyglot has several definitions. The term traditionally applies to a person who can both speak and write at least three languages with great fluency, but it can also be applied to translations of works for which more than one linguistic source exists. The Bible, for example, is polyglot in many places because the same text appears in Hebrew, Aramaic, and sometimes Greek.
This word can also refer to a spoken language that mixes several different languages at the same time. Children raised bilingually often communicate in their two native languages simultaneously, looking for the word from either language that fits best. It is quite common to hear bilingual children carry on discussions that switch from one language to another, even within sentences.
There are some cultures that emphasize early polyglot characteristics, although the United States tends not to be one of these cultures. Children may not begin acquiring a second language until their first year of high school in the United States, unless English is a second language for them. Unfortunately, those who wait until they are older, unless they have an extreme facility in learning other languages, tend not to become perfectly fluent in other languages. Many experts believe that, without natural genius, true multilingual abilities tend to manifest only in those who learn multiple languages as children.
In some cultures, multiple languages are learned because they are necessary. In India, for example, a person might speak English, Hindi and Arabic. Languages are also evaluated this way occasionally because they derive words from many different linguistic sources.
In English, for example, there are Greek, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Latin and around 10,000 French words. The polyglot nature of English as a language makes it quite difficult for non-English speakers to learn. Linguistic sources indicate that there are several ways to say the same thing, instead of one or two. Furthermore, for each rule there are a number of exceptions in usage, spelling and pronunciation.
The term can also refer to computer programs written in multiple languages so that they can be compatible with different operating systems, or alternatively, multiple languages can be used in one program to produce the same effects. A multilingual program can also respond to commands from another language, even though theoretically it shouldn’t. There are many such programs, however, that make it easier for people who are familiar with different programming languages to use.
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