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Russian Polyglots. 15 writers who knew several languages

Who are polyglots and how do they differ from bilinguals? Is it true that you can learn several languages just by starting in early childhood? We have also gathered 15 famous Russian polyglot writers, with an impressive list of languages.

Polyglots - what kind of people are they?

According to scientists, polyglots are people who know several foreign languages to a greater or lesser extent. But there is no clear number of languages to be considered a polyglot. Some sources cite from 5 to 11 foreign languages. Although, you must agree, for an ordinary person, 5 languages is already a prohibitive figure for the human memory.

By the way, polyglots differ from bilinguals and multilinguals in that they learned most languages at a conscious age. While bilinguals usually equally learn 2-3 languages in parallel since childhood. And this is mainly due to the environment.

Polyglots usually have a conscious desire to learn foreign languages and make a special effort to do so. Interestingly, there is a myth that they are people with a special type of memory. But, as a rule, the first 2 foreign languages are given to polyglots like other people. That is, with effort. But, as new language systems are mastered, everything becomes easier. Especially if the new languages belong to a familiar group.

Russian polyglot writers

Below is a list of famous Russian figures who knew several foreign languages. Many of them independently translated foreign works, and some of them even wrote their works in other languages. The list of polyglots is given in chronological order.

Writers of the 18th century

  • Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711-1765) - Russian genius, writer, scientist, inventor. He did not know Russian literacy until he was 14 years old. It is not known how many foreign languages he learned during his life. But there is evidence that Mikhail Vasilyevich knew German perfectly, and also spoke French, Italian, English. He also knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew. In addition, he independently learned other languages: Polish, Hungarian, Finnish, Mongolian, Irish, Norwegian. In other words, he had more than 13 languages!
    • Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin (1745 - 1792) - one of the first Russian playwrights of the era of Catherine II. He knew 3 foreign languages - German, French and Latin. Translated from German Holberg's fablesVoltaire's Metamorphoses, from the Latin, Ovid's Metamorphoses.

    Writers of the 19th century

    • Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (1795 - 1829) - Russian writer, poet, diplomat, translator - it is impossible to enumerate all the talents. According to biographers' calculations, he knew 9 foreign languages. Among them were rare languages - Persian, Arabic, Turkish.
    • Pushkin, Alexander Sergeyevich (1799 - 1837) - the poet's native language, as is known, was French. There are different counts of languages the poet knew, but it is believed that he could read and translate from 6 languages. These are French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Church Slavonic.
    • Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev (1803 - 1873) - knew 5 foreign languages: French, German, Italian, Latin and Greek. It's a well-known fact that at the age of 12. translated Horace's odes into Russian.
    • Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov (1814 - 1841) - few people know that, in addition to excellent command of 4 foreign languages, the poet loved to draw. In addition, he played 4 musical instruments. 
    • Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818 - 1883) - knew the classical languages - Latin and Greek - as well as the "new" European languages. These are English, German, French and Italian. The writer translated into Russian fairy tales by Charles Perrault, poems by Goethe, Heine and Byron. And also Turgenev translated Pushkin's poems into French.. Thus, the writer created a school of translators of Russian literati into French.
    • Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881) - knew 6 languages and was fluent in reading books in these languages in the original. The writer's working languages were: English, French, German, Italian, Latin and Greek.
    • Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) - is believed to have mastered more than 15 foreign languages. The writer's home library contained several tens of thousands of books in 39 languages!
      • Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828 - 1889) - officially knew 9 languages. His first foreign languages were Greek and Latin. He translated historical works by Schlosser, Weber and Rousseau.

      The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the 20th century

      • Konstantin Dmitrievich Balmont (1867 - 1942) was a unique polyglot who, according to the memories of contemporaries, spoke 30 languages! It is noted that he spoke 16 languages fluently. Among the rare works that translated into Russian Balmont, the sacred book of the Mayans "Popol Vuh". Translated from the ancient language of the Indians - Kiche.
      • Ivan Alexeyevich Bunin (1870 - 1953)- the first Russian writer - Nobel Prize winner for his novel "The Life of Arsenyev". Ivan Alekseevich translated from at least 6 languages: Italian, French, English, Ukrainian, Polish and Armenian. He received the Pushkin Prize for his translation of G. Longfellow's "The Song of Gaiavata".
      • Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960) - from childhood he knew 3 languages: English, French, German. In addition, in gymnasium he studied Latin and knew Georgian. For more than 30 years he translated and rewrote his translation of the play "Hamlet" by W. Shakespeare into Russian. The famous monologue of Hamlet "To be or not to be" is the merit of Boris Pasternak.
      • Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891 - 1940) - knew 5 foreign languages: French, German, English, Latin and Greek. It is known that the writer independently corresponded with foreign publishers about the publication of his books abroad.
        • Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899 - 1977) was fluent in English and French. In addition, he made brilliant artistic translations from these languages. For example, he translated from English L. Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", as well as works by W. Shakespeare.

        In conclusion

        Our blog has articles about the works of Pushkin and Chekhov, as well as an interesting selection of films - screen adaptations of Russian classics. You can read them at the links:

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        Submit a request for a free first session with a guidance counselor to get to know each other, determine your goals, and match your child with an educator
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        Submit a request for a free first session with a guidance counselor to get to know each other, determine your goals, and match your child with an educator