Talk:Steve Kaufmann

Contested deletion

This page should not be speedily deleted because... (your reason here) --Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:23, 18 August 2020 (UTC) I believe enough RS is listed here establishing Steve Kaufmann as a noted figure in languages and as a linguist. As a Hyperpolyglot, along with Richard Simcott, he is arguably one of the few people in the world who can speak between 12 and 24 languages (depending on the source and how they qualifiy it). Obviously a notable figure. Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:23, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Whether he is notable or not, enough has changed since the AfD, including new coverage of him within the past year, that the new article should not be deleted under speedy criterion G4. Deletion would require a new AfD. —C.Fred (talk) 17:21, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Yes I a agree, its been years since the last one, there is a bit of coverage since then. Deathlibrarian (talk) 23:17, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Awards

I have seen multiple references to Kaufmann having awards, I know it was some award for language blogging - does anyone know the name of it? Deathlibrarian (talk) 07:13, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Non Promotional

Please don't put promotional elements, nameing of products on this page. The page is mainly about his abilties as a hyperpolyglot, and his activities and theories with learning language. Obvious mentions of products on this page will get it deleted. Deathlibrarian (talk) 07:24, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

deletion of page AFD listing

This page has been again listed for deletion - for those wanting to participate int he dicussion, the link is here - Please contribute to the deletion discussion Here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Log/2020_August_19#Steve_Kaufmann

Problem tag

Khiikiat has tagged this for being advertorial, and not neutral. Please advise the specific issues, so they can be removed, because I'm not sure what you are referring to - to me it looks pretty fact based. Thanks! Deathlibrarian (talk) 00:12, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

I agree, as I pointed out in my AFD comments. The article looks fine to me. I'm especially puzzled by the neutrality tag. Maybe it's memories of previous versions of the article? Curiocurio (talk) 00:21, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, I have asked for specifics for exactly what the problem is, because I can't see the issue. Because it was accused of being promotional in the past, I've specifically not mentioned the names of his web app, or even the names of any of his books, just really focussing on his abilities, and his youtube videos which are free (and very popular). Its pretty barebones, not sure what else I can do! If the editor doesn't provide more detail about that the issues are, I will remove the tag...

...as you say, it may be opinion from the previous AFD?. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:59, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

To add to article

Basic information to add to this article: in which city/country he is based. It seems to be West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, yet this isn't mentioned anywhere in the text of the article. That's not very encyclopedic! 173.88.246.138 (talk) 01:21, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Unreliable, heavily biased

Steve and his kids are the only ones who've contributed info to this page, it's been deleted and recreated (by Steve) at least twice, Steve also deleted all warnings about quality of sources, and Steve's account has been repeatedly banned for sock puppetry regarding this page specifically.

He has no training or education in language learning or linguistics in general. He began learning languages at 62 by his own admission, which is awesome and impressive but in no way makes him a leading expert on language learning, let alone one of the world's most proficient polyglots. This is basically just advertising for his app and website. LaymansLinguist (talk) 08:35, 14 June 2023 (UTC)

In broad brushstrokes, I agree, but on the specific claim that he started learning languages at age 62, I would need to see a source (as he has a complex narrative of learning many languages earlier in life). "He has no training or education in language learning or linguistics in general." This is CERTAINLY true, and it shows. " and Steve's account has been repeatedly banned for sock puppetry regarding this page specifically…" (1) Ah, what a tangled web we weave… (2) the actual sources being cited in footnotes are most often Steve himself, so the article heavily relies on his own attestation, even if one of his fans wrote it, instead of the man himself. 20:06, 29 June 2023 (UTC) 2001:569:BEF5:1700:7D8D:D2DB:4433:E4A4 (talk) 20:06, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Firstly I CREATED THIS PAGE and I am not related to Kaufman, or his family, I'm not even in the same country. You can check my IP address. Also, Damn, the guy speaks 20 languages, and he started learning most of them after the age of 60.... I'm pretty sure that makes him a fairly accomplished polyglot!!!! 20 languages definitely does make him one of the worlds most prolific polyglots. There is a list of the most prolific Polyglots here and what langauges they speak.From the detailed lists of languages each people speak, there are only three people alive, Ioannis Ikonomou, Johan Vandewalle and perhaps (?) Richard Simcott who know more languages than him.

About the languages learning, he goes into great detail in numerous videos. He learnt Japanese, French, Chinese and some other languages when he was young, living in France, and working for the Canadian embassy in Asia. Then started learning other languages later in life, after 60.Deathlibrarian (talk) 21:43, 23 July 2024 (UTC)

NPOV dispute

(1) The article as a whole does indeed sound like shameless self-promotion, and is not suitable for the biography of a living person.

(2) Do you notice that the article claims that he learned Chinese _IN JUST ONE YEAR_ back in 1969? I have seen him attempting to speak Chinese in youtube videos circa 2020, and he is still not remotely fluent in the language today: it is not credible —generally— for any European-language-speaker to claim that they gained fluency in Chinese in just one year, but it is especially dubious in the context of someone who has (much more recently than 1969!) demonstrated just how little command of the language he now has. Oh, and what source is cited for this extraordinary claim? The man himself, boasting. The same problem, in principle, recurs throughout the article.

(3) He is the C.E.O. of a company that (reportedly!) earns 1.9 million dollars per year: a wikipedia article about someone in that position should have a much more NPOV tone (imagine if this guy were the C.E.O. of a car company, or even a solar power company: all of these claims about him and his work would be much more carefully meted out). 20:02, 29 June 2023 (UTC) 2001:569:BEF5:1700:7D8D:D2DB:4433:E4A4 (talk) 20:02, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Well I don't know how his Chinese was in '69, but you know that with language it's "use it or lose it". Synotia (moan) 14:29, 9 January 2024 (UTC)

The amount of downright lies is insane in this talk page. First of, to say that steve kaufmann is not fluent in chinese is a hilariously obvious lie (I'm curious how you came to this conclusion. I mean do you even speak chinese?). Second of all his fluency in a year claim is based on his time in hong kong where he studied chinese full time to become a foreign diplomat (translator) for the Canadian government. After 10 months of study he passed the british diplomatic service advanced exam so he is objectively fluent in the language. The stuff about the page reading like an advertisement is fair enough if true (although I don't think mentioning the mere existence of his app is "advertising") but please for the love of god do some research before you start trashing the guy. Theres also some guy on here who claims steve kaufmann started learning languages at 63 and that is just ridiculously misinformed. T-Eddy44 (talk) 00:32, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

In terms of him speaking Chinese, there is footage of him conversing in Chinese to other people in Youtube, so I would guess he must be fairly fluent. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:44, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

Promotional Tag removed

HI all, seeing as Mr Kaufman is always being hammered for being promotional (apparenlty) I removed both references to LingQ and the URL for his website. I have just left a reference to him starting a language learning platform. Because of this, I have removed the promotional problem tag. Deathlibrarian (talk) 08:49, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

I dont get how just mentioning the existence of lingq constitutes advertising, it seems unfair to me. T-Eddy44 (talk) 19:51, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

He is NOT a HYPER-polyglot! Knowing smattering of many languages does not mean he knows 20+ languages!

By his own admission, he makes a lot of mistakes and he isn't fluent in the languages, he only learns *some* conversational. And I'm not talking about his making mistakes in the beginning (as we all do), he just macerates in his limitations (hi "laurels") and he just doesn't care about knowing a language fluently. He even admits this in many videos! Like (ALL??) youtube polyglots, all he cares about is his fawning comments, gullible "fans", likes, fattening his retirement account, and basically fooling the public. I am a polyglot. I have listened to him speak in some of the languages I am FLUENT in, and he barely does ok. The videos are PRE-PLANNED, yes even the interviews. All this guy does is learn basic conversational phrases, the pronouns, basic verbs and vocabulary, enough to fool people that he's nailed the language, and this internet "hyper-polyglot" moves on to butcher the next language. Yes, he is a polyglot, for he does know a few languages, being that he is Croatian by parents, Swedish by birth, moved to Canada as a toddler, moved to 2 or 3 other countries where he lived almost a decade each etc etc. But he is NOT the hyper-polyglot (20+ languages) he portrays himself as being for YOUTUBE CASH! So maybe he knows 5-6 languages tops. But make no mistake: this guy does NOT speak 20 languages. Or else, all Americans are polyglots too: we all know how to say pizza, Boboli, bongiorno, buena sera, pasta, pizza and lasagna. Throw in a dozen verbs: are you a fluent Italian speaker, now? No. Neither is he. People just love to indulge him because A) most Americans can't even speak basic English properly, let alone a 2nd language and B) the guy is over 70 yrs old. Started his internet hobby at 62. That's commendable. Good for him. He has great memory. Impressive at 70+. He has devoted fawning viewers good for his ego and his wallet. But that does not make a "20+ languages speaking hyper-polyglot". End of story. 69.75.131.46 (talk) 05:37, 5 September 2024 (UTC)polyGROTESQUE

References