In a province where language debates often dominate headlines, a conversation with renowned linguist Steve Kaufmann offers a refreshing perspective. The polyglot, who speaks more than twenty languages, recently shared his observations on Quebec's linguistic evolution during a visit to his native Montreal.
From Montreal to the World: A Linguist's Journey
Steve Kaufmann, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, is no ordinary language enthusiast. The former diplomat founded the language learning platform LingQ and hosts the popular YouTube channel "Lingo Steve" with 1.4 million subscribers. Remarkably, he acquired ten of his languages after turning 60, challenging assumptions about age and learning capacity.
Kaufmann's connection to Montreal runs deep. Born in Sweden, he moved to the city in 1951 with his Jewish parents who had fled Europe to escape Hitler. He recalls that era as a time when "the city was very divided linguistically." Despite enrolling in English school and receiving basic French instruction, he found the traditional teaching methods uninspiring.
The Turning Point: Finding Passion in French
Everything changed during his time at McGill University. "I had a French professor who made French civilization interesting," Kaufmann remembers, still recalling the professor's name, Maurice Rabotin. This experience sparked a transformation, leading him to read Le Devoir regularly and develop a genuine attraction to everything French.
This personal revelation became foundational to his approach to language acquisition. "When the content is of interest to you, the language, too, becomes interesting," he explains. Kaufmann emphasizes that learning a language purely from obligation rarely leads to success.
His passion for French took him to France, where he wrote and passed the Canadian government's diplomatic service exam in French at the Paris embassy. When the government needed someone to learn Chinese in preparation for recognizing the People's Republic of China, Kaufmann immediately volunteered: "I said, 'I'm your man.'"
Observations on Modern Montreal's Bilingualism
Having grown up in pre-Bill 101 Quebec, Kaufmann expresses genuine admiration for the changes he observes during his Montreal visits. "None of the people I went to school with in Montreal in the '60s could really speak French," he notes. "And if they spoke some French, it was less than basic."
Today, he finds the transformation remarkable. "I'm impressed by the evolution," Kaufmann says, explaining that he sometimes struggles to identify a bilingual speaker's mother tongue. He wishes this progress received more recognition, noting that "very rarely do I hear a French speaker say, 'Anglophones have become far more bilingual.'"
The linguist explicitly credits Quebec's language legislation for this positive development. "Give credit to the Quebec government's language legislation, like Bill 101," he states. "Give credit to allophones who've taken the trouble of learning the French language, and anglophones who are now comfortably bilingual."
Practical Advice for Language Learners
Kaufmann's method, developed during his time in Hong Kong, emphasizes "high intensity, lots of listening and reading." His approach focuses on comprehension first: "Worry about what you can understand. And when you get the opportunity, speak. You have to get the language in you."
He strongly believes that "language aptitude is something that can be developed," quoting the French proverb "L'appétit vient en mangeant" (appetite comes with eating). For those struggling with perfectionism, he offers reassuring wisdom: "Language is about communication, not about performance. People won't think badly of you. You learn through mistakes."
Kaufmann describes language acquisition as "an error-driven probabilistic process" and encourages persistence. "You'll only get better. You can't get worse."
Ultimately, he views language learning as fundamentally about human connection. "We have this short period of time on this planet," Kaufmann reflects, "and we share this world with all these other people. It's immensely satisfying to connect with them."
