LINGUIST List 7.907

Tue Jun 18 1996

Disc: Linguality

Editor for this issue: Ann Dizdar <dizdartam2000.tamu.edu>

Directory

1. Dag Gundersen, Re: 7.881, Sum: Linguality
2. Deborah D K Ruuskanen, Re: 7.881, Sum: Linguality/General Vernon Walters

Message 1: Re: 7.881, Sum: Linguality

Translated from a Norwegian (Nynorsk) dictionary called Norsk
allkunnebok (vol.9, 1959): Sauerwein, Georg Julius Justus (1831P1904),
German "language-genius" born in Hanover, came to Norway firstly 1874,
from 1880 mostly living at Dovre. S. was known to master ca. 60
languages, and was active in translations of the Bible into several
African languages. He was also a spokesman for the rights of language
minorities (i.a. Vends and Lithuanians). Dag Gundersen (Univ. of
Oslo)

Message 2: Re: 7.881, Sum: Linguality/General Vernon Walters

Just a further note to the multi-linguist I mentioned: his name was
Col (promoted to General) Vernon Walters, and he could interpret both
ways (out of and into) all 36 languages he spoke. As far as I know, he
could not WRITE in all these languages, but he wrote letters in at
least five languages, Russian, French, German, Portuguese (Brazilian)
and English of course. The question of proficiency is a good one. I
live in an officially bi-lingual country, and my experience has been
that the better a person here speaks the "other domestic language" the
less likely they are to claim they are bilingual. 
Cheers, kela --

Deborah D. Kela Ruuskanen 	You cannot teach a Man anything, 
Leankuja 1, FIN-01420 Vantaa 	you can only help him find it
druuskancc.helsinki.fi 	within himself. Galileo