Polyglots vs Linguists vs Philologists

A lot of people are confused by the term "linguist". A linguist is a scientist of linguistics, not somebody who can speak many languages. I know many linguistics professors who are not sufficiently bilingual, but they can still call themselves linguists.

Speaking and studying are two different things.

Multilingual or polyglots speak many languages. And this ability is not related to the science of linguistics, although I'm sure linguists could study or analyze polyglots.

Philology was replaced by linguistics and there aren't really any practitioners of it today, except Professor Arguelles. Professor Arguelles is not a polyglot unless he has the ability to speak the languages he studies.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• linguists
• polygots
• philology
• linguistics
• definitions

[stormbouy]

you might be a cunning linguist but i'm a master debater

[Glossika]

@stormbouy Let's hear it!!!

[krazykraut]

I get asked how many languages I know every time some one asks what my major is...

[nephrenmalinari]

"Asking a linguist how many languages they speak is like asking a doctor how many diseases they have."

Just thought I'd share, since a lot of people seem to have a hard time distinguishing the differences between polyglot and linguist. One learns languages; the other studies them, but a linguist can be a polyglot and vice versa, although it seems most polyglots simply like to learn languages without getting too in depth with the linguistic aspect of language. I'm fascinated by both.

[einsamaberfrei]

How about someone who can imitate many dialects of the same language? I have a friend who can speak American English, the Queen's English, East London English, Scottish English, Irish English, Australian English, Canadian English...but he find that he is not good in learning other languages.

[christopheclugston]

@murdoch1717 Non Sequitur

[murdoch1717]

@christopheclugston also telling polyglots that they are amateurish when they actually can communicate in many languages is like telling world-class olympic athletes ( or Micheal Jacson with regards to his dancing) that they are amateurish because they don't have graduate level degrees in kinesiology.

[zawmbees]

Linguists have to be Polyglots for comparative analysis. 

[MrScotchpie]

How many languages must someone know to be a polyglot? Is a bi-lingual person a polyglot or are more required?

Also, On the issue of polyglot v linguist. As "linguist" is not a protected name or a legally regulated profession, such as a medical doctor or accountant, anyone can freely call themselves a linguist.

The OED defines a linguist as "a person skilled in foreign languages" and "a person who studies linguistics". So in modern usage can it not mean both a scientist and polyglot?

[mphello]

I wasted 12 years of my life learning Russian, French, and Chinese, and now I recall only isolated words. I have moved away from being a polyglot to being much more interested in being a linguist. We'll soon have instant machine translation to replace human polyglots and interpreters. Better to put effort into studying language at a sufficiently abstract level that you can knock ALL of them out at the same time (by machine) rather than slave over one at a time.

[ippolytos1]

This reminds me a little of the argument in art about the difference between "fine art" and "illustration." An illustrator once said "The difference is one sits down to pee the other stands up." Uggh not agree with a somewhat sexist thing..on the otherhand, there is a difference....i guess im not any of these, Im someone who studies languages, without a title, or want for one. So Im not a conformist. Sometimes "foreign" languages attract some conformist people, so, its a bit ironic.