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On today’s episode, I debate the concept of language talent with two guests. Yong Jun is a PHD student researching the philosophy of language. Katherine has appeared on the podcast before to discuss the culture of Chinese politeness. She is a Masters student in translation studies.
Both guests are language learning enthusiasts and have ample experience of learning languages to high levels. We discuss whether it’s meaningful to talk about having a gift for languages and whether it’s true that some learners really are more gifted than others.
This debate follows on from a blog I wrote a few months ago in which I outline why I don’t think ‘language talent’ is a helpful or meaningful concept.