Polyglot agenda over the years: data of round table discussions since 2013

Abstract

This paper is a review of organised discussions on polyglottery from 2013 to 2022. The starting point of the present study is the round table “Polyglottery and Education” that took place during the International Conference on Multilingual Proficiency: Language, Polyglossia and Polyglottery (New York, 2013). This event is notable for being the first academic discussion of polyglot issues, which brought together both established linguists and renowned polyglots. It also pre-signified the beginning of the modern period for polyglottery as a movement and a science, the latter being marked by the emergence of regular research publications on the subject. The main topics of the 2013 discussion are used as a reference point to compare with the agenda of subsequent polyglot round tables. The data for comparison is drawn from panel discussions held as part of the Polyglot Gatherings and Polyglot Conferences, on the one hand, and at academic symposiums, on the other, thus embracing both the first and third person perspectives (polyglots as the subject vs. the object of study). Presentation of data from the said events is followed by a conclusion about the dynamics of polyglot discussions over the years. The study shows that polyglottery has become a more frequent subject in scientific discourse. It also demonstrates that the topics addressed at the initial 2013 New York round table (such as defining a polyglot, efficient methods of language-learning, etc.) found their way into subsequent forums and are still relevant among polyglots today. At the same time, new issues have been added to the agenda (using internet platforms to learn languages, studying multiple languages simultaneously, raising multilingual children, etc.). This may reflect the stable and the changeable elements in the structure of interests in the polyglot community.