How Do You Speak Different Ways?

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Most Brazilian Portuguese. I would not know how to specifically imitate the accent of Portugal Portuguese because I don't have enough exposure to it. But yeah, I really like the way the Scottish English sounds. As far as other dialects, I spend a lot of time on the bayou and the war to come through the house. What especially stood out to me was the English spoken in rural Kentucky,. The southern tips of Indiana and Illinois, and then going into Missouri. Oh, it's just, it's very different, they're not the super old style of speaking.

Vaughn Smith is fluent in eight languages but with a beginner’s grasp of at least thirty-six (and counting). His talents are so remarkable that the Washington Post did a feature story on him and neuroscientists at MIT requested he do a brain scan for them. But for Vaughn his language skills aren’t about attracting attention or monetary gain. “Language is a key to someone's culture, to someone's world,” he explains. Whether it’s watching a client’s face light up when he speaks to them in their native tongue or showing Indigenous children in rural Mexico that their language is valuable and worth preserving, Vaughn views his gifts as a way of connecting with other people.

He joined Tyler to discuss how he began learning languages, the best languages for expressing humor, why he curses in Slovak, why he considers Finnish more romantic than Portugese, what makes Hungarian so difficult to learn, the best way to teach people new languages, how to combat language loss, why he’d like rural Mexicans to have more pride in their culture and way of life, his time as a roadie for a punk rock van, the most rewarding job he’s had, why he wants to visit Finland, how enjoying films from different eras is similar to learning new languages, the future of English, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded May 26th, 2022 Other ways to connect

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