8 year-old Wendy Vo speaks 11 languages fluently

K. T.   Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:47 pm GMT
I don't think J.C. is jealous. I want to be clear about that. I DO think, however that many people ARE jealous of other people, their children, etc., and it's better to express things in a more modest way (while still being truthful) if possible if the subject is foreign language or foreign travel.

I listened to at least part of the Russian demonstration that Wendy gave.
I would still call myself a student of Russian, but I noticed that Wendy seemed very relaxed in Russian. I can't really judge her level though, because most of what I heard was very short and basic. I just got the impression that she was more comfortable with Russian than with Japanese. Perhaps she has had more exposure to speakers of Russian.

If we compare Wendy to most children in the US then we have to say that she is remarkable. If you want to stop there in your opinion, that's okay.

If we compare Wendy to children of the same age in Japan or France, then no, I would not say that she is on the same speaking level as her age mates.

J. C. commented on the level of Wendy's book. I have a book for Japanese children which gives the number of Chinese characters they should know according to their grade in school. In first grade, students have to learn 80 Chinese characters ( I used to think it was 100, but it's only 80.) In second grade they must learn 160 characters. In third grade they have to learn 200 characters. Japanese children have to write these words many times to get the "feel" of them.

I didn't see any Kanji (Chinese characters) in the book Wendy had. I think she can catch up, but even for a talented young girl it's going to be
a time-consuming task.

Wendy stated that she wants to be doctor. She needs to have time to study science and math, plus music. That's a lot on the schedule of a little girl.

So, if you compare her to her age mates in the US, then she is doing great, but if she were to move overseas, she'd have some catching up to do. People who teach or who are very interested in language are going to notice these things.

It's okay to say that she can speak in eleven languages. In college, my French professor told me that fluency means that one can understand and answer any questions thrown at you. If you agree with that definition, then you should simply say it that way: She can say things in eleven languages or she can demonstrate her speaking abilities in eleven languages. Then the big thing: That's a whole lot of languages!

Going back to the beginning of my post, it's just best to leave out the word "fluently" because it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone here.
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Guest   Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:42 pm GMT
J.C. you are clearly a hypocrite. Why is your definition of 'fluency' more stringent with regards to Vo than with regards to yourself. Your English is riddled with mistakes and yet you claim Vo's is not good enough.

K.T, I think he is jealous. He has spent so much time in his life learning languages and then here is a girl who already knows more than him and even if that's not true, she definitely will know more when she reaches his age, because she's only eight and has all the time in the world to bring her languages to true fluency.

By the way, certificates have little significance when it comes to actual ability. I've known countless graduates in languages who can hardly utter a word that's correct.
Guest   Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:52 pm GMT
Good post,K.T.In order to be fluent at the level of native speakers of a language,you have to move to their country and live with them.We all know that.It is therefore impossible for Wendy to acheive that kind of fluency.But yes,she does speak 11 languages.
Guest   Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:59 pm GMT
Her Spanish was very lovely, and also consider that she is only a small child. She has a lot of time to improve.
Jo   Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:24 am GMT
«Does she need a master degree in each of the languages to be called a polyglot?»
Guest:No, but if she can speak 11 languages as well as J.C. expresses himself in English , she surely would be.
J.C.: I myself only speak English, Portuguese and Dutch well and can maintain conversations in German and Spanish. Quite enough for my day-to-day needs, I may say.
J.C.   Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:54 pm GMT
Jo: Thanks for the kind reply. Wow, you're quite a polyglot yourself, nicht wahr? I might start studying Dutch again because I'll be doing business with Suriname pretty soon in my job. Ik heb Nederlands in het universiteit gestudeert maar heb geen kans te praten... :(
Your language skills are more than enough for your daily needs. I wish had more opportunities to use what I've studied, which isn't so easy living on this island...

Tot ziens!!
J.C.   Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:20 pm GMT
"In first grade, students have to learn 80 Chinese characters ( I used to think it was 100, but it's only 80.) In second grade they must learn 160 characters. In third grade they have to learn 200 characters. Japanese children have to write these words many times to get the "feel" of them. "
K.T.-Thanks for the info on the kanjis because I wasn't familiar with the characters learned per grade. Not even my wife knew about that...
I just know that I know more than 2000 kanjis because I read newspapers without problem.

"I didn't see any Kanji (Chinese characters) in the book Wendy had. I think she can catch up, but even for a talented young girl it's going to be
a time-consuming task."
I guess that writing in kanji is a daunting task to anyone. Many people I know complain that the endless number of readings for the characters used in Japanese is the biggest problem. In my opinion writing the the most difficult part of learning a language and takes a whole life to learn...
That reminds me that my Portuguese needs more attention than the foreign languages I've studied because I haven't used it on a daily basis since I came to Japan and have trouble remembering words when I try to teach my son his second language.
How many kanjis do you know? I got curious about your Japanese language skills...

Cheers!!
K. T.   Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:42 pm GMT
J. C.,

I studied all of the Jouyou Kanji/1,945 Kanji a few years ago. Since then I stopped keeping track.

I agree-everyone would agree, lol, that writing is the hardest skill in Japanese.

I like Portuguese a lot-I like Brazilian music, so I guess that's why I got interested in it.
K. T.   Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:52 pm GMT
The show with Wendy Vo is on the Ellen show on AOL television tonight. I suppose that is online TV. I've never tried it.

Ellen is an extremely pleasant comedian/comedienne. Her humour is really very "clean", but I know that her sexual preference or her politics may not please everyone here, so I'm mentioning that in advance for people who may not know about her.
Guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:20 pm GMT
What time KT?
K. T.   Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:21 pm GMT
8pm.

Do you know how to access AOL TV?
JLK   Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:31 pm GMT
This is interesting to watch. A blossoming love affair between K.T. and J.C.
K. T.   Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:31 am GMT
Nothing language-related to note, JLK?

I saw the Ellen DeGeneres listing, but wasn't able to view the show.
J.C.   Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:56 am GMT
"This is interesting to watch. A blossoming love affair between K.T. and J.C. "
JLK: There's no way not to fall in love with a person like K.T., who is kind, smart and doesn't mind sharing his/her expertise.

K.T.:It's been an honor to learn from you. Keep up the excellent job.これからも宜しく!
Jo   Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:32 am GMT
«A blossoming love affair between K.T. and J.C. " »
Who was it that went on about jealousy?