Harmony of Babel: Profiles of Famous Polyglots of Europe by Kató Lomb

Not quite what the subtitle promises, but still educational
During her lifetime, Kató Lomb (1909-2003) was one of the world’s most renowned polyglots (a master of multiple languages). Languages were not only her passion but also her vocation. After earning a PhD in chemistry, she discovered her love for languages and pursued a successful career as an interpreter and translator, including simultaneous interpreting at scientific and political conferences. She was also an advocate for language learning and wrote four books on the subject. Her last book, Harmony of Babel, was published in 1988. The subtitle Profiles of Famous Polyglots of Europe leads one to believe that the book will consist of biographical sketches of renowned multilinguists, but such profiles comprise less than half the book. The rest is a discussion of languages and language learning techniques similar to the material featured in Lomb’s first book, Polyglot: How I Learn Languages.

Early in the book, Lomb provides biographical sketches of six great polyglots of the past. The best-known is Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti (1774-1849), a Vatican scholar who was famous for his facility with dozens of languages, even though he never left Italy. Mezzofanti gets the most coverage, at 26 pages, while the shortest profile is less than a single page in length. The depth seems to be determined by the amount of information available on each person, which in some cases is pretty scant. Lomb only cites one or two references for each biographical sketch.

The bulk of the book is taken up by Lomb’s “Imaginary Round Table of Polyglots.” She interviewed 21 living (in 1988) polyglots and combined their answers to her list of questions into a sort of mock symposium on linguistics and language learning. Some, like Lomb, work as interpreters and translators, but others include linguists and philologists, reporters, poets, an archbishop, and the grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph von Habsburg. All are European except for one American and one Japanese. Each of these polyglots gets their own introductory profile, and it is fascinating to read how they learned their languages and how they use them. In the mock discussion that Lomb has compiled, they all provide interesting perspectives and tips on language learning, but they agree on very little.

Though her works have been translated into multiple languages, Lomb is Hungarian and wrote the book for a Hungarian audience. Consequently, Harmony of Babel includes an essay entitled “Why Is Language Instruction Ailing in Hungary?” In her writing, Lomb often makes references to Hungarian authors, poets, painters, and politicians, which actually makes the book more interesting to an American reader with little knowledge of Hungary, its history, or its arts and letters. The editor of the English-language edition provides helpful explanatory footnotes when needed. The book ends with a transcript of an interview of Lomb by a Hungarian TV host in which they engage in an in-depth discussion on the profession of interpreting.

A pdf file of this book, and two other Lomb books, can be downloaded for free from the website of The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language. The primary audience for this book is language educators, but self-educating language enthusiasts will also find much useful wisdom. Given the subtitle, I was disappointed Harmony of Babel didn’t have more biographical information on historic polyglots. It turned out to be more of a miscellaneous grab bag, but I still enjoyed the read and gained a lot of insight into language learning methods.
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