Is it possible to measure someone’s intelligence by how fast and how many languages they can learn?
I’ll personalize this by using an example of what i’ve seen.
There is a woman who I know, who learnt the English language in 8 months, and speaks like shes been learning it for years. her literacy skills are incredible. Not only does she know English, but 4 other languages.
Also, are you born intelligent? do you learn it yourself? or are you influenced by ‘educated people’ who you are constantly surrounded by - ie your family?
is school a good way of gauging your intelligence?
It’s becoming distressing for me because I cannot do any problem solving AT ALL. When I look at a problem, it’s in some cryptic language to me. Although I excel in English (my writing and grammar is bad) but I excel in imaginative thoughts and ideas… people don’t usually measure this type of intelligence (is this a type of intelligence?)
I realise my post is all over the place, but I think i covered everything I wanted to ask!
thankyou.
stat.
Not at all. Being able to learn a language well (or many languages well) is not in and of itself an indication of overall intelligence. The person who is good at languages might be lousy at math. Does that make them stupid?
Simply stated people seem to be disposed to being better at some things than others. Occasionally someone can really excel in a given area. Even more rarely someone can excel at many areas. Nevertheless no one is good at everything.
Intelligence is a deceptively difficult notion to define when you start thinking about it. To a cat scambling up a tree and catching a bird about to take flight is relatively simple. If the cat watched you try such a thing it’d probably think you are the retarded one. Ask a cat to play chess however and the roles seem reversed.
Oops…I forgot to address a few of your other points.
The born intelligent vs. becoming intelligent debate has raged for a long time. It is more commonly referred to as Nature vs. Nurture. I don’t think any one side can claim victory in this debate. I believe the nurture notion is in the lead today but nature is by no means done with the race.
Chances are it is a combination of the two. You are born with a certain overall capacity for learning (call it a maximum capacity). How what you have available to you is coaxed out has everything to do with your upbringing, the opportunities you get and use, what people surround you and so on. I seriously wonder how many potential Einsteins and Mozarts have been lost to the world because a child was unfortunate enough to be born in (say) a famine stricken part of the world to desperately poor parents.
As for school gauging your intelligence you can forget it. No chance on that. Einstein was thought to be a poor student while growing up (also, his mother was seriously worried at how long it took Albert to learn how to talk). One of the greatest mathematicians who ever lived (Srinivasa Ramanujan )was also a poor student while growing up. What about artists, musicians, athletes and so on? Some of the wealthiest people in the world never graduated from college (ala Bill Gates although I think he very recently actually did receive a degree from somewhere). An education counts for a lot but I wouldn’t put too much faith in school being a reliable yardstick for overall intelligence.
I should note here that cat still probably thinks you are retarded when trying to play chess.
And I’d also say that there’s nothing wrong with saying the woman has excellent foreign language intelligence. It’s as valid as any other kind other intelligence.
Here’s a website that gives two definitons of intelligence. The first is “what the tests test.” and the second, more serious, “we will define intelligence as the capacity to acquire and use knowledge.”
Maybe a good question for the OP to ask would be “does the capacity to learn foreign languages correspond well with the capacity for other intellectual achievements?”
Puff that up a little and you could turn it into a grant proposal, or even a PhD thesis.
I would say no. Intelligence helps adults trying to learn a second language, but it’s way down on the list of factors contributing to success. Age and amount of immersion are key. Be young and be totally immersed in thr language you want to learn.
Your example is a good illustration… as a linguist, becoming fluent in English in eight months doesn’t seem like a remarkable feat given good instruction and total immersion in the language, even for an older person. An older motivated person, of course. If you don’t wanna you ain’t gonna.
As for her knowing four other languages, how old was she when she learned those languages? Children pick up multiple languages effortlessly up until about age seven, and remain markedly better at language acquisition than adults up until around puberty. If she learned them as a child, it doesn’t say much (to me) about how intelligent she is.
One statement I certainly do agree with is that in general, knowing more than one language gives people the impression that you are an intelligent person.
In terms of language, I believe humans are born with an innate language faculty separate from general intelligence (a term which begs a more specific definition… abstract reasoning? faculty with symbols?). If the intelligence was the driving mechanism behind language acquisition, it doesn’t seem to me that age and immersion would be biggest factors. Intelligence would be. But it isn’t.
Born in Bosnia (so Bosnian is the first language)
Moved to Germany at the age of about 14. (Learnt German)
Moved to Australia at the age of 20 (learning English)
I’m unsure of her forth language.
But what you’ve said has got me thinking.
yes, immersing yourself in the language at a young age would definitely help the learning process. For example, rather than spending one year at a bridging course, she opted for a full-blown university course. Rather than surrounding herself with her ‘community’ she mixes with 'English speaking people.
When compared to her parents - who have had to learn 2 languages already, they are reluctant to learn English and have poor English skills, in light of their masters degrees in their given fields.
The fact that the languages have been learnt in the given country, now doesn’t seem like a big feat to me.
I think it would also depend on what AGE she learned all these languages.
If she were an adult, then yeah, I’d say she has a gift.
If she were a child, big whoop. Kids come out with their little brains primed to learn languages. If you had a kid, say, age 5, and you both decided to learn Japanese, your kid would whip your butt. The ability to learn language drops off fast after about 12 years of age.