My Love of Languages: What Being a Polyglot Actually Feels Like

Living and loving languages: When is enough enough?

Krystyna Trushyna

Published in

Language Lab

5 min read3 days ago

I fell in love with languages at a young age.

The sound of different languages interested me, but I was especially swept up in the dynamic cultures that produce various languages.

Language isn’t just a dead after-effect of a culture. It’s a living reflection of the country, people, and habits that produce it.

For me, world languages were and still are absolutely magical. I quickly mastered my native Russian and Ukrainian, and then I stepped up to learn English, German, French, and Italian.

I am currently learning Turkish, but this is proving to be a more challenging language than the others (I’m not going to quit learning though, especially since my family and I are relocating to a Turkish-speaking country).

Of course, people who hear that I am fluent in so many languages find it intriguing that I don’t feel like “enough is enough.”

They often ask me just what being a polyglot feels like.

Here are the answers I give (because they are true).

What People Think a Polyglot Does VS What a Polyglot Really Does

Before I tell you what I’ve found being a polyglot is like, I have to tell you what it’s not.

Being a polyglot isn’t about diving into dense academic texts to master as many languages as you can.

It’s not being obsessed with tenses and vocabulary or swooning over grammar.

Instead, being a polyglot means you love culture, people, and communication. I believe that as a polyglot, I have a unique perspective on the people I meet, their words, and how they speak. It gives me a very nuanced experience of the world.

You can think of it like looking through a kaleidoscope. If you only speak one or two languages, you only see one or two of the many colors — like seeing a black-and-white movie.

But a polyglot sees more colors and shades, giving them a gorgeous and tonal view of the world.

What Should You Read Next?

My Polyglot Benefits

As a polyglot, I have found many advantages to speaking different languages, and these inspire me to keep learning and growing as a linguist.

Here are a few:

My language love means I interact with so many different people, without a barrier (or as much of one) between us.
I have a much better understanding of others and the world as a whole because I think and communicate in languages other than my native language.
My communication has improved, and I don’t use words simply because they are convenient — I speak with greater meaning.
I have developed a massive appreciation and interest in people, their cultures, and how these influence their language use and language development.
I use all the languages I know and my altered perception of the world to create new opportunities within my career path. Being a polyglot has opened doors to me in marketing that I would never have even seen, if not for my comfort with languages.
My brain is more nimble and will stay healthier than that of someone who only speaks one language. Research has proven that learning and speaking multiple languages is great for fighting off mental decline.
My travels are much more enjoyable, as I don’t feel like an “outsider” when I am in different European countries where I can speak a language spoken by the locals.
Speaking multiple languages satisfies a deeply competitive urge that I’ve cultivated, and I genuinely love language quizzes; language learning and speaking are such a big part of my life that I can’t imagine not engaging in non-native languages.
I feel more connected to the people I meet, and they aren’t strangers to me at all, which is deeply moving. Because I speak so many languages, I feel like I belong much more than before.

My Polyglot Challenges

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses when it comes to speaking so many languages.

There are a few challenges that should be weighed up before you dive into mastering various languages, but I don’t believe any of these challenges can deter you if language learning is your passion.

It’s time-consuming to learn different languages. You have to learn the language, and then you have to continue practicing the language to ensure you don’t forget it. I’ve found that the age-old adage of “use it or lose it” is very true when it comes to languages.
Language resources may not suit all learning styles, and if I want to learn a less commonly taught language (like Turkish, which feels like my absolute nemesis at times), the resources may be less easily secured to support immersive learning.
It’s hard to find native speakers of all languages where you stay, so it can be challenging to bring a language to life. If you learn Zulu while living in Italy, you may find it challenging to have a stimulating conversation about “lobola” if nobody there speaks Zulu.

Final Thoughts

I love my polyglot lifestyle.

Being a linguist who speaks several languages may seem like a “nose in the book” situation, but it’s quite the opposite.

It’s about really living, breathing, and seeing the world and its many diverse people.