Michael “hyperpolyglottery is the new black” Erard
The Roosevelt University Reading Series is proud to kick off our 2012 season with a reading from writer, journalist, and metaphor designer Michael Erard! He will be reading from his new book, Babel No More. See what all the buzz is about in this excerpt!
The reading will be in the Gage Gallery, Monday, January 30th. Doors open at 4:30, reading begins at 5. Get there early for cookies, coffee, and conversation!
Michael Erard’s new book, Babel No More, deals with the controversial subject of hyperpolyglots, or people who claim to be able to speak multiple languages—anywhere from 11 up to a supposed world-record of 72 different languages. According to an article in The Economist, the book asks objective questions of what it truly means to be multilingual— “Is instant availability of native-like competence the only standard for knowing a language? How should partly knowing a tongue be tallied? What if you can only read it?”
Come ready to discuss these and other rhetorical questions in your language of choice as we welcome Michael Erard!
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