|
|
Marco Polo and his knowledge of Asian languages
Liščák, Vladimír
Marco Polo (1254–1324) claimed (or rather his editors) that he could speak (and read) in other languages in addition to his own, at least five. We do not know whether Marco – whose skills in his native language (Venetian) seem to have never been strong and were certainly influenced by the fact that he had been away from home for more than half his life – was waiting for an opportunity to describe his experiences, or whether Rustichello, who wrote them down, took the opportunity to practice his craft as a writer. Marco often mentions that people in some regions speak their own language. Although he spoke little or no Chinese, he spoke a number of languages used in East Asia at the time – most likely Turkish (in the Kuman dialect: (lingua) tartara, tartaresce, tartaresche), which was also spoken among Mongols, Arabized Persians, Uighurs, and perhaps Mongolian.
|
guest ::
