Breaking the language barrier | Tim Doner | TEDxTeen 2014

Summary

In this TEDxTeen talk, Timothy Doner reflects on his journey as a teenage polyglot, initially celebrated in a New York Times article. He discusses the media's sensationalized portrayal of his language skills and the misconceptions it created about language fluency. Doner emphasizes the deeper connection between language and culture, highlighting the importance of understanding a language's nuances beyond mere vocabulary. He shares personal anecdotes and techniques that have aided his language learning, urging the audience to appreciate the cultural significance embedded within each language.

Takeaways

• 🌏 The speaker, Timothy Doner, gained attention for his ability to speak multiple languages, which he pursued as a hobby rather than a chore.
• 🎭 The media sensationalized his language skills, reducing the depth of language learning to mere performance and entertainment.
• 📚 Timothy initially struggled with traditional language learning methods in school, feeling disconnected from real conversation and cultural understanding.
• 🎓 His breakthrough in language learning came from studying Latin, which taught him to see language as a system and a puzzle.
• 🎤 Listening to music and engaging with native speakers, Timothy learned Hebrew and Arabic, emphasizing the importance of immersion and practice.
• 🌐 Uploading videos of himself speaking different languages to YouTube allowed Timothy to connect with a global community and receive feedback on his language skills.
• 🏙️ Despite living in a linguistically diverse city like New York, Timothy observed a predominantly monolingual mainstream American culture.
• 🤔 Timothy experimented with various learning techniques, such as the 'Method of Loci', to improve his memory and interaction with the languages he studied.
• 🔊 He found that associating vocabulary with similar sounds helped him overcome the challenge of learning many languages simultaneously.
• 🌱 Learning languages opened Timothy's eyes to the deep connection between language, culture, and thought, emphasizing the importance of understanding cultural nuances.
• 💔 Language death is a significant issue, with a language disappearing every two weeks, taking with it a unique cultural worldview and history.

Q & A

What was the title of the New York Times article that featured Timothy Doner two years prior to his TEDxTeen talk?

The title of the New York Times article was 'Adventures of a Teenage Polyglot'.

How did Timothy Doner initially feel about the media attention his language learning hobby received?

Initially, Timothy Doner felt great about the media attention, as he loved the fact that language learning was getting more attention and it seemed less isolating.

What shift occurred in the media's focus regarding Timothy Doner's story?

The media's focus shifted from discussing the why and how of Timothy's language learning to sensationalizing his story, emphasizing the number of languages he could speak or insult in.

How did Timothy Doner feel about the way his language abilities were portrayed in the media?

Timothy felt that the portrayal cheapened what it meant to speak a language, reducing it to a rigid, compartmentalized, and quantifiable skill rather than a means of communication and cultural understanding.

What method did Timothy Doner use to learn vocabulary in different languages?

Timothy used the 'Method of Loci', associating vocabulary words with specific locations in a familiar environment, integrating them into his spatial memory.

How did Timothy Doner's approach to learning languages change from his school experiences?

In school, Timothy found that languages were just another subject, but his approach changed when he started learning languages on his own, focusing on communication and understanding rather than just vocabulary.

What sparked Timothy Doner's interest in learning Hebrew?

Timothy's interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sparked his desire to learn Hebrew, as he wanted to understand more about the culture and people involved.

How did Timothy Doner's experience with learning Latin influence his approach to language learning?

Learning Latin taught Timothy to see language as a system with rules and as a puzzle, which helped him break down languages and understand their structure.

What was the significance of the YouTube video 'Tim speaks Arabic' for Timothy Doner's language learning journey?

The YouTube video marked a turning point in Timothy's journey, as it connected him with a community of language learners and provided him with feedback and interaction that enhanced his learning experience.

How did Timothy Doner's language learning experience reflect on the monolingual nature of mainstream American culture?

Despite living in New York with its linguistic diversity, Timothy observed that mainstream American culture remained largely monolingual, which contrasted with his own multilingual experiences and abilities.

What is the importance of language learning according to Timothy Doner's TEDxTeen talk?

According to Timothy, language learning is not just about knowing words or phrases; it's about understanding the cultural worldview, connecting with people, and preserving cultural heritage.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Teen Polyglot in the Media Spotlight

In this paragraph, the speaker, Timothy Doner, reflects on his experience as a 'teenage polyglot' featured in a New York Times article. Initially, he enjoyed the attention his language learning hobby received, appreciating the connection it fostered with people globally. However, he felt the media began to sensationalize his story, reducing his passion for languages to a spectacle. The media's focus shifted from his motivations and methods to superficial displays of his linguistic abilities, such as performing tongue twisters or greeting audiences in various languages. This trivialization of language learning disappointed him, as he saw it as more than just accumulating vocabulary or speaking skills—it was about communication and cultural understanding.

05:01

📚 The Journey of a Young Linguist

The second paragraph delves into Timothy's language learning journey, starting from his childhood as an actor with a knack for accents. His formal education in languages like French and Latin didn't satisfy his desire for real conversational skills. It wasn't until he self-taught Hebrew and Arabic that he felt a true connection with language. He discovered methods like the 'Method of Loci' to enhance memorization and make learning interactive. His language learning took a significant leap when he started sharing his skills on YouTube, gaining both a community and a platform for practice. This paragraph highlights the obstacles he faced and his innovative approaches to overcoming them, emphasizing the joy and personal growth he derived from his linguistic pursuits.

10:02

🗣️ Overcoming Language Learning Challenges

In this paragraph, Timothy addresses common concerns about learning multiple languages simultaneously, such as confusion and vocabulary retention. He shares his technique of associating words based on similar sounds, which helps him remember vocabulary across different languages. This method, while not making him fluent, has been instrumental in his learning process. Timothy also discusses the cultural implications of language learning, noting the monolingual nature of mainstream American culture despite its linguistic diversity. He shares his experiences engaging with New York's multicultural community to practice languages and gain insights into different cultures, underlining the importance of language as a bridge to understanding and connecting with others.

15:03

🌐 The Cultural Significance of Language

The final paragraph emphasizes the deep connection between language and culture, highlighting the idea that language is more than just words—it's a reflection of a culture's worldview. Timothy discusses the cultural nuances in languages like Persian and Farsi, illustrating how phrases and expressions are deeply rooted in cultural practices. He also touches on the issue of language death, pointing out that the loss of a language is the loss of a culture's mythology, history, and understanding of the world. The paragraph concludes with a powerful message that while language learning may not stop language death, it can broaden one's perspective and appreciation for the cultural significance embedded in every language.

Keywords

💡polyglot

A polyglot is a person who knows and is able to use several languages. In the script, the speaker identifies as a polyglot, emphasizing the theme of language learning. The term is used to describe the speaker's unique hobby and passion for mastering multiple languages, which is central to the video's narrative.

💡linguistic diversity

Linguistic diversity refers to the variety of languages spoken within a particular area or by a group of people. The speaker mentions the linguistic diversity of New York City, highlighting the coexistence of many languages and cultures. This concept is integral to the video's message about the richness of language and the importance of preserving it.

💡self-teaching

Self-teaching is the process of learning without formal instruction, often through independent study and practice. The speaker discusses his journey of self-teaching multiple languages, which is a key aspect of his story and the video's theme of language acquisition outside traditional educational settings.

💡Method of Loci

The Method of Loci is a mnemonic technique that involves associating items to be remembered with specific locations in a familiar environment. The speaker uses this method to learn vocabulary in different languages, demonstrating a practical application of the technique in language learning, which is a significant part of the video's educational content.

💡cultural world view

A cultural world view refers to the perspective on life and the world that is shaped by one's culture, including values, beliefs, and customs. The speaker emphasizes that language represents a cultural world view, and understanding a language means understanding the culture behind it. This concept is crucial to the video's message about the deep connection between language and culture.

💡language death

Language death is the extinction of a language when its last native speakers pass away or stop using it. The video mentions the impending death of languages, illustrating the urgency and importance of language preservation. This term is central to the video's theme of the loss of cultural heritage that accompanies language extinction.

💡Taaraf

Taaraf is a Persian cultural practice that involves showing humility and politeness in conversation. The speaker uses the term to explain cultural nuances in language, such as how the price of an item might be communicated indirectly. This example from the script illustrates the video's theme of the intricate relationship between language and cultural practices.

💡media sensationalism

Media sensationalism is the practice of presenting information in a way that is designed to attract attention and evoke strong reactions, often by exaggerating or distorting the truth. The speaker criticizes media sensationalism for misrepresenting his language abilities, which is a key point in the video's critique of how language learning is sometimes portrayed in the media.

💡insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. The speaker mentions using his insomnia to study languages, which is a personal detail that adds depth to the narrative and shows the dedication behind his language learning journey.

💡mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory aids or techniques that help in remembering information. The speaker uses mnemonics, such as the Method of Loci, to learn vocabulary, demonstrating a practical strategy for enhancing language learning and memory retention, which is an important aspect of the video's educational message.

💡assimilation

Assimilation is the process of integrating or being integrated into a different culture, often by adopting its language and customs. The video discusses assimilation as a factor in language death, where individuals may abandon their native language for a more dominant one, illustrating the video's theme of cultural and linguistic loss.

Highlights

Timothy Doner was featured in a New York Times article, 'Adventures of a Teenage Polyglot', showcasing his passion for learning foreign languages.

Media sensationalized his language skills, turning it into a circus-like spectacle rather than focusing on the 'why' and 'how' of his learning process.

Doner emphasizes that knowing a language is more than just vocabulary; it's about understanding and connecting with a culture.

He started learning languages for fun, aiming to communicate with people and learn about different cultures.

Doner's language learning journey began with mimicking accents and accents for acting roles, which taught him the basics of sound breakdown.

Learning Latin helped him understand language as a system and a puzzle, which was instrumental in his self-teaching method.

He began learning Hebrew through listening to rap music and interacting with native speakers, highlighting the importance of immersion.

Doner's discovery that he could learn languages as a hobby was solidified when he learned Arabic in a summer program.

His YouTube videos of speaking different languages garnered positive feedback and offered a community for language learners.

Doner experimented with learning techniques such as the 'Method of Loci' to improve his vocabulary retention.

He used similar-sounding words to create associations and avoid confusion between languages.

Doner discusses the cultural importance of language, using the example of Persian phrases that carry deep cultural significance.

He points out the irony of the monolingual mainstream American culture despite the city's linguistic diversity.

Doner's personal experiences of engaging with different communities in New York City to practice languages enrich his learning.

Nelson Mandela's quote is used to illustrate the deep connection between language and the heart of a culture.

Doner reflects on the issue of language death and the loss of cultural worldviews that accompany it.

He concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding that while words can be translated, meaning often cannot.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Take A Mile Reviewer: ngoc son Huynh

So about two years ago,

I was featured in a New York Times article called,

"Adventures of a teenage polyglot,"

which featured my passion for learning foreign languages,

this peculiar hobby that I had.

And at first I thought it was great.

I loved the fact that language learning was getting more attention

and that it wouldn't always

seem like an isolating hobby

that was suddenly putting me into contact with people all around the world.

And as I spent more time in the media spotlight,

the focus of my story began to shift.

So whereas I've always been interested in talking about the why and the how,

why I was learning foreign languages, how I did it,

instead, it turned into a bit of a circus,

in which media shows wanted to sensationalize my story.

So it would go a little something like this,

"Hello, I'm here today with 17-year-old Timothy Doner

who's fluent in 20 languages.

Oh, I'm sorry.

He actually can insult you in 25 languages

and he's fluent in another ten.

Tim, how about you tell our audience 'Good morning'

and 'Thank you for watching', in Muslim?"

(Laughter)

"Er... Arabic."

(Arabic)

"Great Tim. Now can we get you

to introduce yourself and say,

'I'm fluent in 23 languages' in German."

"It's not really true. But..."

"No, no, just tell the audience."

(German)

"Perfect. Now how about

a tongue twister in Chinese?

(Laughter)

"Well, we could talk about Chinese,

you know, a lot more Americans are learning Chinese these days,

and I think there's a lot of value in that."

"No, no, no. Just give us a tongue twister."

(Laughter)

(Chinese)

"This guy! Tim, how about

another tongue twister in Chinese?"

"I will prefer not to, but you know

we could talk about China.

There's a lot you can gain by learning a language.

"Oh Tim, I'm sorry, That's all the time we have."

(Laughter)

(Applause)

"Now why don't you to tell our audience

'Goodbye' in Turkish

and we will be over here?"

"You know we haven't talk about anything substantive."

"But Turkish please."

(Turkish)

"How about that kid, right,

wonder if he gets any girls...

(Laughter)

Now stay with us because up next,

a skateboarding bulldog in a bathing suit."

(Laughter)

(Applause)

So, as funny as that was,

it highlighted two pretty major problems

in the way my story was covered.

On a personal level,

I felt that language learning was now becoming like a bit of a task, almost.

It felt like something that was suddenly had to be rigidly organized.

Something that had to be compartmentalized, rationalized,

expressed in a concrete number.

I speak X languages.

I know Y languages.

As opposed to what I'd always done,

which was just learning languages for the fun of it.

Learning to communicate with people,

learning about foreign cultures.

And on a bigger level, it's cheapened what it meant to speak a language,

or to know a language.

Now if I can impart you with anything today at TEDxTeen,

it's that knowing a language

is a lot more than knowing a couple of words out of a dictionary.

It's a lot more that being able

to ask someone where the bathroom is,

or telling them the time of day.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So for those of you who aren't familiar with my story,

maybe a lot of you here don't know what the word polyglot is,

and it's a pretty weird one.

I started here.

So this little tot is me, circa 2001,

and this is the beginning of my language learning journey.

I actually was a child actor

before I'd learned any languages.

And I always had a little bit of a gift for accent.

So I'm going to auditions for radio commercials,

or for TV commercials,

and I'd do an Austin Powers impression.

I'm not going to do one now.

(Laughter)

Or maybe I would do

Apu from the Simpsons.

In fact there was actually one time an audition

which I was asked to leave,

because they told me to speak like a little kid with a lisp,

and I wanted to do Darth Vader in a French accent.

(Laughter)

But, that taught me the basics of

of how to breakdown sound.

How to pick up a foreign accent,

or foreign speech patterns,

and really live with it.

Now fast forward a little bit,

I'm now in about third grade,

and I've just started French for the first time.

But six months into a year,

into even two years later,

I can't converse with anybody.

French is just another subject in school,

and even though I can tell you words

for elbow, knee bone, shoelace.

I couldn't really have a fluent conversation with anybody.

Fast forward a little bit more.

In seventh grade, I started Latin.

So Latin of course is a dead language,

and in learning Latin, you really learn

how to breakdown language,

to see language as a system

with rules, and as a bit of a puzzle.

So that was great,

but I still didn't feel like language was for me.

So, forward a little bit more.

About 13,

and I've been interested in learning more

about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,

I started studying Hebrew.

Now, I had no way of doing it.

I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing,

so I listen to a lot of Rap music.

I memorize lyrics, I'd spit them back out,

and I would just try to chat with native speakers,

once a week, once a month,

and I've got that incrementally,

I started to understand a lot more.

Now I didn't sound like a native speaker,

I couldn't speak very articulately and

I certainly didn't know the grammar.

but I had done what I'd never managed to do in school,

which was to pick up the basics of a language

all on my own.

Forward a little bit more.

I started taking Arabic when I was 14

in a summer program going into 9th grade.

This is summer of 2010.

After a month I found that I could read and write

without a problem.

I'd learned the basics of the formal language

and one of its major dialects.

And it turned me onto the fact that I could really pursue languages as a hobby.

So, it finally came to March 24th 2011.

So I've pretty vicious insomnia,

and as I was studying more languages

using grammar books or watching TV shows,

and let's say Arabic or Hebrew, became one way of focusing my time.

So on that night, while I was awake till some ungodly hour,

I recorded myself speaking Arabic into my computer screen,

subtitled it,

and I uploaded it to YouTube

under the title, "Tim speaks Arabic."

(Arabic)

Next day I did the same thing,

(In Hebrew)

Tim speaks Hebrew.

And the comments, when they trickled in, were fantastic.

I got things like,

"Wow, I've never seen an American speak Arabic before."

(Laughter)

You blame them?

In addition to that I got things like,

"Wow, maybe you should fix your vowels here."

Or "maybe this word is pronounced this way."

So suddenly language learning had gone

from the solitary pages of a book,

or my computer screen,

into the wide world.

After that I was hooked.

I had a community of speakers to interact with,

and essentially had a teacher or conversation partners

for any language that I wanted to do.

So I'll show you a quick montage of that.

Video: (Arabic) I started studying Arabic roughly, 6 months ago.

(Indonesian) This started... one, two, three, four...

maybe four days ago.

(Hebrew) I actually feel

that reading and writing are easier in Arabic

(Ojibwe) I certainly find Ojibwe difficult!

(Swahili) But I came home the day before yesterday.

(Pashto) How is my pronunciation? Thanks so much!

Have a great day. Goodbye!

(Applause)

Tim Doner: That became my way

of reaching out to the world.

But as I was learning all these languages,

I faced a number of obstacles.

So number one, I had no idea how to teach myself.

In fact, I'm sure many of you if you were told

you have to learn Pashto by next month,

you wouldn't know what to do.

So I experimented.

Here's one thing.

So in my Latin class, I read about something that Cicero described,

called, "Method of Loci."

technically locorum.

But it's a technique in which you take mnemonics.

So let's say you want to learn

10 vocabulary words on a list.

You take each of those words and

instead of memorizing them in blocks.

you integrate them into your spatial memory.

So here's what I mean.

This is Union Square.

It's a place I go every day.

If I close my eyes

I can imagine it very, very vividly

So I imagine myself walking down Union Square,

and in each spot in my mind that has resonance,

I associate it with a vocab word.

I'll show you right now.

I'm walking down Park Avenue,

and in Japanese "to walk" is "iku"

I go a little bit further, turn right,

sit on the stairs where I can "Suwaru".

Directly north of there is a statue George Washington

which I used to think was a fountain,

so that's "nomu", "to drink".

Right next, there's a tree that you can "Kiru", "cut".

If you want to go north for Barnes & Noble,

you can "Yomu", "to read".

Or if I'm hungry and I want to go to my favorite Falafel place,

I can go one block west of there, so I can "Taberu", "to eat".

I missed one.

Alright. So 8 out of 10! Not bad!

So I found that most of the time

by experimenting with methods like these,

it made language learning a much more interactive experience.

It made it something that I can remember much better.

and I had a lot of fun with.

Maybe that's not for you.

Here's another one.

So a lot of people often ask me,

if you're studying so many languages at the same time,

how do you not confuse them?

Or how do you learn so many vocabulary words?

In Spanish I learn a word for table

and the word for book goes out the other ear.

What I do is I embrace those.

So for example,

take these three words in Indonesian.

These were actually among the first 50 words that I learned.

"Kepala", "Kabar", "Kantor".

Lexically there're unrelated to each other.

"Kepala" is a head. "Kabar" is news. "Kantor" is an office.

But they all sound similar "K", "A". Right?

So what I would do,

is I would memorize vocab in batches of sounds that were similar.

So if I hear the word "Kepala" in Indonesian,

I automatically think the words "Kebar" and "Kentor".

Same in Arabic, "Iktissad", "Istiklal", "Sokot".

These three words are unrelated.

One is economy, one is independence, one is downfall.

But if I hear one, it triggers... (Laughter)

(Laughter)

it triggers the rest.

Same thing in Hebrew.

(Hebrew)

Even that those are return, remember and to shine.

Or in Farsi in which they are related.

So for me if I hear the word "Pedar",

which means father,

I automatically think in the words,

"Mada", "Barodar", "Dokhtar".

Mother, brother, daughter.

So again this is one method,

and I'm not saying this will make you fluent in a language,

but it has been one of my ways

of overcoming those obstacles.

So you may be wondering,

what's the point in doing this?

Why learn Pashto or Ojibwe

when you live in New York?

And there's a point to that.

In fact, I've lived in New York my entire life,

and I'm always blown away by the number of languages

you can hear on a given day.

Walking at a street, I see billboards in Chinese or in Spanish.

I see Russian bookstores, Indian restaurants, Turkish bath houses.

Yet for all that linguistic diversity,

mainstream American culture

remains decidedly monolingual.

And if you don't think that's true,

look at the reactions to Coca-Cola Super Bowl video.

So as I started to play around more with language learning,

I found that I had my own community

of learners here in New York.

I'd go to outer boroughs,

and for lack of a better word, embarrass myself.

I try to talk to people all day,

get their views on things,

and use my new found language skills.

Video: (Russian) What's your name? - Natan.

Natan. - Good day.

What's your name?

I'm Tim.

Pleased to meet you.

Pleased to meet you.

Where are you from?

(Urdu) This book is written by

Qudratullah Shanab himself.

What is 'nawist'?

It means the writer has written...

Oh okay, Khod-Nawist (self-write).

From khod-nevashtan in Persian!

TD: So maybe you have to use a lot of English,

maybe you're not really

that particularly interesting when you talk,

but the point is you're getting out there

and you're getting exposure.

So I don't speak Urdu that well,

it was kind of an awkward conversation,

but just from that, I've learned a new word: "Khod-Nawist".

I'm not going to forget it now.

So moving on, you may wonder again

what's the point in doing this?

And I try to explain to people a lot

what my various motivations are,

but I often feel that this quote from Nelson Mandela

is the best expression of that.

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands,

that goes to his head.

If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart."

So as I began to see,

there's an enormous connection

between language and culture,

language and thought.

And quite honestly if you want to learn Persian for example,

you pick up a dictionary, you say, "I know how to say 'thank you',

I know how to say 'how much is this?',

and I know how to say 'goodbye'.

Oh, I speak Persian."

Probably not, let's see actually.

In fact, if you want to buy something in a Persian bookstore,

you might ask someone 'how much is this?'.

Generally, he will tell you this:

"Ghabeli nadaareh."

Which means, 'it's worthless'.

(Laughter)

So in fact this is an ingrained cultural practice called, "Taaraf",

in which two people having a conversation,

both try to behave more humble than the other.

So if I go to buy a book,

it's rude for that person to tell me 'it's five bucks'.

He has to say "it's worthless, please.

You're so good-looking, you're so talented,

(Laughter)

Take it for free, I'm so humble, take it for free."

(Laughter)

Or you might find something like this phrase:

if you want to thank somebody,

if you want to show your gratitude towards them,

or say 'nice to meet you',

I could say, "Well, I know how to say 'thank you' in Farsi.

I speak Farsi." Maybe not though.

In fact I've often heard this phrase when I talk with Iranians,

"Ghorbanet beram."

Which literally means,

"May I sacrifice my life for you." (Laughter)

So again, it's poetic,

you might call it melodramatic.

but this is something you really have to understand the culture to get.

I don't want to exoticize this,

because, think about it, we have this in English all the time.

If you ask somebody 'how are you?',

what you're expecting to hear?

'I'm fine'.

If you tell me anything else, I'm not interested.

(Laughter)

But we do it anyway.

We say 'bless you',

even though that has no real religious connotations now,

when people sneeze, right?

So, it's interesting we think about the fact

that most linguists believe

language doesn't inherently affect the way you think.

Right. There's no language that will make you a math genius.

There's no language that will make

logic problems impossible to understand.

But there's a real tie between language and culture.

There're so much language can tell you

about one culture's mindset.

And in fact on planet Earth,

every two weeks, another language dies.

No more people are speaking it.

Because of war, because of famine,

oftentimes just because of assimilation.

Maybe it easier for me not to speak my village language

but to speak, Arabic let's say.

Or maybe I'm from a tribe in the Amazon,

my habitat is cut down

and it just makes more sense for me to learn Portuguese

and lose my culture.

So think about that.

Two months from today is April 1st.

For many of you that day maybe stressful

because you have a paper due,

or the rent is due.

But for two groups of people around the world,

for two cultures that means the death of their language.

The death of their mythology, their history, their folklore.

Their understanding of the world.

Now again, you, brushing up on your Spanish,

going to Japanese class,

is not going to stop language death.

But what is does do, is begin to open up your mind to the idea

that language in its sense, in essence,

represents a cultural world view.

And if I can impart you with anything today at TEDxTeen,

it's this:

you can translate words easily

but you can't quite translate meaning.

Thank you.

(Cheers)