Category talk:Polyglots
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[edit] Is this a useful category?
I wonder at the usefulness of this category. It is hard to imagine, for example, an educated Dutch, Romanian, Catalan, or Indian person of recent times who could not be categorized here. -- Jmabel | Talk July 7, 2005 21:43 (UTC)
- I think the note at the top of the category makes it clear that this category is for noted polyglots. There are a surprising number of these. See the list article for a list of them and a discussion of the difficulty of defining a polyglot. I agree that "ordinary" people who happen to know two, three or four languages, but are not notable for this feat, should not be included here. Carcharoth 09:59, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
- I think at its most basic polyglot is someone who can is fluent in four or more languages. Possibly that is common in India, but I think generally the term is used to mean people who can use those languages well ie be a translator or writer or public speaker in all of them. I'd imagine that's not very common even in Europe or India. (The Europeans I've known who could fit are considered exceptional in their own nations)--T. Anthony 15:12, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
