Eliciting Multilinguals’ Strategies in Studying Ancient Languages

Abstract

This paper discusses the ways polyglots study ancient languages. Understanding their methods helps to expand the inventory of effective linguo-didactic strategies. The relevance of this study is corroborated by the growing number of recent foreign publications devoted to the study of ancient languages by multilinguals. The introductory part of the article focuses on terminological differences between the concepts “polyglot” and “multilingual”. This issue is essential for selecting respondents participating in the study. Definitions of basic concepts are compared based on quantitative, value, ontological, teleological and behavioral criteria. The paper starts with the analysis of the interview with Maria Flaxman, a researcher of ancient Germanic languages. The discussion centers on how her experience of self-studying modern languages shaped her strategy for learning ancient languages. In the second part of the article the identified strategies are compared with the strategies of three other polyglots learning ancient languages. Altogether four polyglots (three men and one woman), who speak, in addition to many modern languages, several ancient languages (two to four languages), took part in the study. A comparison of their responses to a questionnaire, which included 21 points on quantitative and qualitative (age, period, value, behavioral and other) aspects, helped to reveal a number of general patterns, such as: ■ strong internal motivation; ■ the indispensable learning of Latin, regardless of the varying set of other ancient languages; ■ effectiveness of parallel study of modern and ancient languages; ■ the favorite ancient language for all respondents was the one in which they applied their individual strategies; ■ all respondents noted a reduction in the time it took to study their last ancient language compared to the first, as well as ■ the regularity of practicing these languages in the reading mode. The study, thus, makes a contribution to methods of acquiring ancient languages both within the framework of a university curriculum and in the process of self-study.