Meet the 19-year-old Chennai lad who has mastered 400 languages

CHENNAI: Languages are not just a means of communication —they help us delve deep into a region’s culture, lifestyle, and history in all its glory. Many of us have come across linguaphiles, but have you ever encountered a 19-year-old who knows 400 languages?

“My curiosity about languages took root when I was four years old,” says Mahmood Akram, who was born in Ramanathapuram and later settled in Chennai’s Shenoy Nagar. “Like any other parents, mine taught me English as my first script. I learned all 26 English alphabets in just six days. To my parents’ astonishment, I grasped all 299 Tamil letters within three weeks,” says Akram. His father, Dr Mozhippriyan, is well-versed in 16 languages, having worked in more than 30 countries.

After mastering modern Tamil, young Akram went on to explore its ancient versions, such as Tamili, Vattezhuttu and Grantha. He then learned Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Odia, Japanese, Chinese, and all 16 languages his father knew. “My father taught me to read and write the alphabets, and I learned all these within two years,” he adds.

However, 16 languages were not enough for Akram. By the time he turned six, his curiosity had only grown. That’s when his interest expanded to another skill —typewriting. Within a few months, he learned to type in all 16 languages. “Out of my own interest, I used the internet as a tool and learned 50 languages by the age of eight. When I published this achievement on my YouTube channel, the Universal Book of World Records invited me to participate in a talent show, where I set my first world record by typing in all 50 languages,” shares the prodigy.

But Akram didn’t stop there. He wanted to push further. By the age of 10, he had mastered 200 languages. The India Book of Records and Indian Achievers Book of Records challenged him to write the Indian National Anthem in 20 languages. He proved his skills within one hour and went on to learn 200 more languages before turning 12. His repertoire of 400 languages includes extinct ones as well.

“There are currently around 6,500 languages, but many have gone extinct. Without considering those, there are approximately 500 to 600 active languages in the world. This number keeps changing as more languages disappear over time. After turning 12, I wanted to focus on speaking these languages to set an example for young minds,” he says.

Since it is impossible for a human to speak all 400 languages, Akram filtered out 46 dominant ones and began learning them at the age of 12. Recalling an interesting milestone in his journey, Akram says, “In 2019, Germany invited me to compete against 70 language experts. We had to translate a German sentence into as many languages as we could within three minutes. The winner would be offered the opportunity to study in any European country. I won the competition and was selected to study in Austria's Danube International School, where I completed my high school.”

When it comes to education, Akram took an unconventional path. He left the traditional schooling system after Class 5 and asked his parents to find an institution where he could immerse himself in languages. “Seeing the seriousness of his passion, we were convinced to take a different approach. I even changed my name to Mozhippriyan to reflect my love for languages. I was amazed by my son’s fascination with languages, so we enrolled him in a school in Israel that focused solely on language studies. Taking this risk was worth it, considering his achievements. I hope other parents will also recognize and nurture their children’s unique talents rather than forcing them into conventional education,” says Dr Mozhippriyan, Akram’s father.

In 2016, Mozhippriyan established a language institute to share his knowledge with others. Akram now serves as an instructor there, teaching students worldwide, including in Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, through online classes. Through Israel’s online education system, Akram mastered Spanish, French, Hebrew and German. He continued his formal education up to Class 8 through the National Institute of Open Schooling.

“Studying in Austria was a major turning point, as I had classmates from various nationalities, allowing me to converse with them in their native languages. Now, after completing my schooling, I am pursuing higher education in linguistics,” Akram states.

The 19-year-old’s dream is to translate ancient Tamil texts into as many languages as possible. “I want the world to know about Tamil’s richness. Thirukkural and Tholkappiyam have been translated into 50 languages, but I aim to expand that further,” he adds. Akram credits his parents for paving the way for his achievements.

His journey has not been without challenges. “European languages like Czech, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, and Vietnamese are particularly difficult to master. However, my desire to communicate with people in their native tongue and connect with them on a deeper level kept me motivated,” he explains. Akram also expresses concern over the diminishing purity of Tamil among today’s youth. “Many youngsters are unaware of original Tamil words and instead mix the language with other tongues. They struggle to distinguish between authentic Tamil words and borrowed ones, which hinders the language’s preservation,” he remarks.

In the near future, Akram aims to secure a Guinness World Record as the youngest person to speak 46 languages fluently. He is especially excited about uncovering knowledge written by ancestors in extinct languages. “For instance, if I go to Thanjavur, I can transcribe ancient verses because I know the script. This helps me learn about history and cultural values. I study dead languages through available references and materials. One of my biggest goals is to revive these languages globally, just like Latin, as many natives are eager to learn them,” he explains.

Akram also points out that the dominance of certain languages can contribute to the extinction of others. Through his work, he hopes to preserve linguistic diversity and inspire others to appreciate the value of every language.