Alexander Argüelles

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| name = Alexander Argüelles

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| image = Arguelles Alexander.jpg

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| caption = Argüelles in 2011

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|4|30|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

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| spouse = Park Hyun-KyungLim Yan Liang (2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150811032020/http://www.pdf-archive.com/2014/12/08/one-man-50-languages/one-man-50-languages.pdf 'One man, 50 languages']. The Sunday Times (Singapore), 1 April.

| children = 2

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| discipline = Linguist

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| education = {{ubl|Columbia University (B.A.)|University of Chicago (M.A., Ph.D.)|Freie Universität Berlin}}

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| thesis_title = Viking Dreams: Mythological and Religious Dream Symbolism in the Old Norse Sagas

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| thesis_year = 1994

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| doctoral_advisor = Wendy Doniger[https://web.archive.org/web/20170311203603/http://divinity.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/imce/pdfs/employment/doniger_CV.pdf 'Wendy Doniger: Curriculum Vitae'].

| academic_advisors = Ioan P. CulianuAnton, Ted (1992). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070522190633/http://linguafranca.mirror.theinfo.org/9209/culianu.html 'The Killing of Professor Culianu']. Lingua Franca, Vol. 2, No. 6.

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| main_interests = {{ubl|Second-language acquisition|Language pedagogy|Korean language}}

| workplaces = {{ubl|Handong University (1996–2004)|American University of Science and Technology (2004–2006)|New College of California (2006–2009)|SEAMEO Regional Language Centre (2009–2012)|American University in the Emirates (2012–2019)[https://web.archive.org/web/20170807022132/http://aue.ae/portfolio/dr-alexander-arguelles/ Dr. Alexander Arguelles: Associate Professor]{{cbignore}}, Member of Committee (Promotion - Planning & Accreditation).[https://web.archive.org/web/20180830201515/http://aue.ae/portfolio/dr-alexander-sabino-arguelles/ Dr. Alexander Arguelles: Associate Professor, College of Education].|Concordia Language Villages (2019–2021)}}

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| website = {{url|https://www.alexanderarguelles.com/|alexanderarguelles.com}}

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Alexander Sabino Argüelles{{efn|The original Spanish pronunciation of Argüelles is {{IPA|es|aɾˈɣweʎes|}}.}} (born 30 April 1964) is an American linguist notable for his work on the Korean language. An avid language learner, he was profiled in Michael Erard's Babel No More.Erard, Michael (2012). Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners. New York: Free Press. He is one of the polyglots listed in Kenneth Hyltenstam's Advanced Proficiency and Exceptional Ability in Second Languages,Hyltenstam, Kenneth (ed.) (2016). Advanced Proficiency and Exceptional Ability in Second Languages. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. and has been described by The New Yorker as "a legendary figure in the [polyglot] community".Thurman, Judith (2018). 'Maltese for Beginners'. The New Yorker, 3 September. (Published online as [https://web.archive.org/web/20180830162201/http://4gp.me/bbtc/1535646030878.pdf 'The Mystery of People Who Speak Dozens of Languages'].)

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.

Career

He has taught in South Korea, Lebanon, Singapore, and Dubai, and was a Group Director of Immersion Language Programs at Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, Minnesota.[https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-arguelles-3799756/ LinkedIn].

Language learning

Argüelles reportedly devotes an average of nine hours a day to language learning,{{cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49138/how-many-languages-it-possible-know|title=How Many Languages is it Possible to Know?|date=27 February 2013 |publisher=Mentalfloss.com|access-date=10 September 2020}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oudgdh6tl00&feature=emb_title|title=A Polyglot's Daily Linguistic Workout|date=10 July 2009 |publisher=Youtube|access-date=10 September 2020}}

Argüelles is highly proficient in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Catalan, Swedish and Korean, 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23331100-800-i-could-speak-a-different-language-every-week-for-a-year/#ixzz6Xfb9aUaX|title=I could speak a different language every week for a year|publisher=New Scientist|date=25 January 2017|access-date=10 September 2020}} He stated in late 2022 that he had learning resources in his library for 155 languages.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34jo77HVQMk| title=The World's Largest Language Library: 155 Languages|publisher=ProfASAr|date=1 January 2023|access-date=30 June 2023}}

Personal life

He is the son of the poet Ivan Argüelles and the nephew of the New Ageist José Argüelles.

Notable works

=On Korean=

Argüelles, Alexander, and Jong-Rok Kim (2000). A Historical, Literary and Cultural Approach to the Korean Language. Seoul: Hollym.
Argüelles, Alexander, and Jong-Rok Kim (2004). A Handbook of Korean Verbal Conjugation. Hyattsville, Maryland: Dunwoody Press.
Argüelles, Alexander (2007). Korean Newspaper Reader. Hyattsville, Maryland: Dunwoody Press.
Argüelles, Alexander (2010). North Korean Reader. Hyattsville, Maryland: Dunwoody Press.

=Other works=

Argüelles, Alexander (1994). Viking Dreams: Mythological and Religious Dream Symbolism in the Old Norse Sagas. Doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago.
Argüelles, Alexander (1999). 프랑스동사변화안내: La Conjugaison des Verbes. Seoul: 신아사.
Argüelles, Alexander (2006). English French Spanish German Dictionary. Beirut, Lebanon: Librairie du Liban.