Vaughn Smith on Life as a Hyperpolyglot

Vaughn Smith on Life as a Hyperpolyglot

Vaughn Smith is fluent in eight languages but with a beginner's grasp of at least thirty-six (and counting). His talents are so remarkable that the Washington Post did a feature story on him and neuroscientists at MIT requested he do a brain scan for them. But for Vaughn his language skills aren't about attracting attention or monetary gain. "Language is a key to someone's culture, to someone's world," he explains. Whether it's watching a client's face light up when he speaks to them in their native tongue or showing Indigenous children in rural Mexico that their language is valuable and worth preserving, Vaughn views his gifts as a way of connecting with other people.

He joined Tyler to discuss how he began learning languages, the best languages for expressing humor, why he curses in Slovak, why he considers Finnish more romantic than Portugese, what makes Hungarian so difficult to learn, the best way to teach people new languages, how to combat language loss, why he'd like rural Mexicans to have more pride in their culture and way of life, his time as a roadie for a punk rock van, the most rewarding job he's had, why he wants to visit Finland, how enjoying films from different eras is similar to learning new languages, the future of English, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded May 26th, 2022

Other ways to connect

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(288)

Blake Scholl on Supersonic Flight and Fixing Broken Infrastructure - Live at the Progress Conference

Blake Scholl on Supersonic Flight and Fixing Broken Infrastructure - Live at the Progress Conference

Blake Scholl is one of the leading figures working to bring back civilian supersonic flight. As the founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, he's building a new generation of supersonic aircraft and pushin...

19 Marras 202537min

Donald S. Lopez Jr. on Buddhism

Donald S. Lopez Jr. on Buddhism

Register for the Austin listener meetup Donald S. Lopez Jr. is among the foremost scholars of Buddhism, whose work consistently distinguishes Buddhist reality from Western fantasy. A professor at the...

12 Marras 202557min

Sam Altman on Trust, Persuasion, and the Future of Intelligence - Live at the Progress Conference

Sam Altman on Trust, Persuasion, and the Future of Intelligence - Live at the Progress Conference

Register for the Austin listener meetup Sam Altman makes his second appearance on the show to discuss how he's managing OpenAI's explosive growth, what he's learned about hiring hardware people, what ...

5 Marras 202554min

Jonny Steinberg on South African Crime and Punishment, the Mandelas' Marriage, and the Post-Apartheid Era

Jonny Steinberg on South African Crime and Punishment, the Mandelas' Marriage, and the Post-Apartheid Era

Tyler considers Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage one of the best books of the last decade, and its author Jonny Steinberg one of the most underrated writers and thinkers—in North America, at ...

28 Loka 202552min

George Selgin on the New Deal, Regime Uncertainty, and What Really Ended the Great Depression

George Selgin on the New Deal, Regime Uncertainty, and What Really Ended the Great Depression

George Selgin has spent over four decades thinking about money, banking, and economic history, and Tyler has known him for nearly all of it. Selgin's new book False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise ...

15 Loka 20251h 8min

John Amaechi on Leadership, the NBA, and Being Gay in Professional Sports

John Amaechi on Leadership, the NBA, and Being Gay in Professional Sports

John Amaechi is a former NBA forward/center who became a chartered scientist, professor of leadership at Exeter Business School, and New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, It's Not Magic:...

1 Loka 202559min

Steven Pinker on Coordination, Common Knowledge, and the Retreat of Liberal Enlightenment

Steven Pinker on Coordination, Common Knowledge, and the Retreat of Liberal Enlightenment

Steven Pinker returns to Conversations with Tyler with an argument that common knowledge—those infinite loops of "I know that you know that I know"—is the hidden infrastructure that enables human coor...

24 Syys 202545min

David Commins on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Future of the Gulf States

David Commins on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Future of the Gulf States

David Commins, author of the new book Saudi Arabia: A Modern History, brings decades of scholarship and firsthand experience to explain the kingdom's unlikely rise. Tyler and David discuss why Wahhab...

17 Syys 202551min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-luonnollinen-synnytys-podcast
rss-narsisti
rahapuhetta
kesken
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-niinku-asia-on
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta
aamukahvilla
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
dear-ladies
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi