In the tradition of the bestsellers "Word Freak" and "The Language Instinct" comes a fascinating exploration of linguistic superlearners whose abilities shed light on the intellectual potential in us all. What do an Italian cardinal, a Connecticut blacksmith, and a German diplomat have in common wit[...]
In "Babel No More," Michael Erard, "a monolingual with benefits," sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like the nineteenth-century Italian cardinal Joseph Mezzofanti, who was said to speak s[...]