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Alexander Argüelles | |
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 Argüelles in 2011 | |
| Born | (1964-04-30)30 April 1964 (age 61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Spouse | Park Hyun-Kyung[5] |
| Children | 2[5] |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
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| Thesis | Viking Dreams: Mythological and Religious Dream Symbolism in the Old Norse Sagas (1994) |
| Doctoral advisor | Wendy Doniger[1] |
| Other advisor | Ioan P. Culianu[2] |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Linguist |
| Institutions |
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| Main interests | |
| Website | alexanderarguelles.com |
Alexander Sabino Argüelles[a] (born 30 April 1964) is an American linguist notable for his work on theKorean language. An avid language learner, he was profiled inMichael Erard'sBabel No More.[6] He is one of thepolyglots listed inKenneth Hyltenstam'sAdvanced Proficiency and Exceptional Ability in Second Languages,[7] and has been described byThe New Yorker as "a legendary figure in the [polyglot] community".[8]
Argüelles is highly proficient in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Catalan, Swedish and Korean, and has a knowledge of more than 60 languages.
He has taught in South Korea, Lebanon, Singapore, and Dubai, and was a Group Director of Immersion Language Programs atConcordia Language Villages inBemidji,Minnesota.[9]
Argüelles reportedly devotes an average of nine hours a day to language learning,[10] though he has stated that in his twenties he spent as much as sixteen hours per day. He advocates working on multiple languages daily for shorter periods (as little as 15 minutes), working on different areas in different languages, from reading novels, to writing grammatical exercises. He sets daily goals to language learning and has recorded his daily progress in logbooks going back over 20 years.[11]
Argüelles is highly proficient in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Catalan, Swedish and Korean,[5] and is accomplished in many more, such as Latin, Greek and Sanskrit, which he had studied by the end of college. He has studied over 60 languages to various degrees of proficiency.[12] He stated in late 2022 that he had learning resources in his library for 155 languages.[13]
He is the son of the poetIvan Argüelles and the nephew of theNew AgeistJosé Argüelles.
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