According to the ‘Guinness World Book of Records,’ Ziad Fazah, a 40-year-old Lebanese immigrant living in Brazil, is the world’s greatest living polyglot. He is fluent in 56 foreign languages, 54 of which he taught himself, without having to visit the native countries of those languages.
Pope Benedict XVI and Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid FC manager are also on the list of great polyglots, although not directly after Fazah. Pope Benedict XVI, who is fluent in nine foreign languages is well travelled, having worked as a priest in many countries, and Mourinho. He’s proficient in five foreign languages as he worked in Spain, Italy, England, France and Portugal.
However, ahead of Mourinho and the Pope, is Kogi-born Victor Moody, a final year medical student at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. He has lived all his life in Nigeria, yet, he is a master of 11 international languages. And like Fazah, he learnt them himself without attending a language school.
When most of his colleagues would relax by sleeping and dreaming about their medical books and their patients, Moody would sit in front of his laptop with headphones and rummage avidly through non-English websites, eBooks and e-dictionaries. He would also watch movies made in other foreign languages.
Narrating how he knew he could speak Portuguese fluently, Moody said: “I was attending to a patient one day in the hospital and on discovering that he was Brazilian, I spoke Portuguese to him. He was surprised, but he replied. And then we started chatting in the language. But, the truth is that I also shocked myself. I didn’t know I could be so fluent.”
Apart from his native Yoruba and Hausa, a language he picked up while living in Niger State with his parents, Moody is also fluent in French, Spanish and Italian. He understands, reads and writes German, Arabic, Dutch, Nihongo (Japanese), Hangul (Korean) and Hindi (India), languages.
He told Saturday Sun: “I am not just going to stop at those 11 languages. My target is 22. But my biggest challenge now is finding those who speak these languages, so that I can continue to hone my fluency.”
Moody’s journey to language acquisition began some 16 years ago. He had read Journey to the Centre of the Earth, a novel by Jules Vernes. In the adventure story, the protagonist and his uncle, Prof Von Hardwigg, were in Iceland, on an expedition when a volcano erupted and threw them beneath the earth. Prof. Hardwigg’s multi-lingual ability led them through the scary journey beneath the earth and up to Sicily, Italy. They survived the ordeal because of the professor’s multi lingual gift. This, Moody affirmed, was his driving force.
He said: “After reading that book, I wanted to be like Prof. Von Hardwigg. I wanted to speak as many languages as possible. So, while taking French in secondary school, I paid special attention and, of course, I got an A1 in the subject in my WAEC exam.
“An interesting incident happened when I was writing my NECO. Six of us went in for the exam, but at the end of the day, I was the only one who submitted. Others pulled out because the questions were exceptionally difficult. But, at the end of the day, I also got an A1. That convinced me that I could also do it in other languages.
To sharpen his French skills, therefore, Moody watched French movies and read French literature, including Bible.
“I love reading French novel. I even read medical books written in French and other languages that I can understand,” he said, adding: “When I finished secondary school, I was at home for 10 months before the University of Ibadan resumed. So, all I did for those 10 months was watch thousands of French movies on satellite television. I also watched English films subtitled in French. I even enjoyed them better than English movies because I was being entertained and I was learning at the same time.”
The satellite TV is one of Moody’s obsessions, as it affords him the opportunity to watch foreign channels and test his understanding of the languages he is learning. He says: “I like Japanese TV a lot, especially their interviews. I don’t only learn the language, I also learn their culture. Respect is an integral part of Japanese culture. So, learning other people’s language also helps you learn about their cultures.”
Learning other people’s culture is not Moody’s only reason for studying languages. He believes that knowledge of foreign languages “opens you to the world because language is the vehicle of the feelings, the culture and the traditions of a people.”
He also admits that his thinking is more international because “I feel like a citizen of the world. I even sing Asian songs.”
Moody’s ultimate ambition is to work with the United Nations and its agencies and impact the world from an international standpoint. He argues: “In medicine and every field of endeavour, ideas come from various parts of the world. No region has a monopoly of knowledge. I study language more than my school books, but it has not affected me because language adds richness and international appeal to your knowledge as long as you can read many languages.”
The young polyglot, who hopes to add 11 new languages, which include Swahili, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Chinese and Finnish, to his vocal kitty, is interested in learning Nigerian Languages, but according to him, “Nigerian language literature are in short supply. They are not available online and their dictionaries have very few words, some of them less than 650 words. Besides, hard copy materials are tasking.”
When a lot of people find it difficult to learn languages, even in the best language schools, Moody finds it very easy, learning by himself, “because right from when I was a child, I liked teaching myself. I refused to be taught the time by my parents. I did it myself.”
Explaining his self-teaching magic, he says: “To me it’s very simple. I like my laptop, so it is my teacher. All I do is download e-books and dictionaries in those languages. I also visit their websites and read stuff on them. I read medical books and newsletters in foreign languages.”
Websites are not his only source of knowledge and inspiration. The soft spoken gentleman said the Gideon’s Bible, which has been translated to over 1,500 languages is one of his major inspirations.
“I started learning other languages apart from French, by reading the various translations of John chapter 3 verse 16, in the Gideon’s New Testament Bible,” he said.
For those who want to take the initiative, to start learning new languages, like Moody, he has this advice: “It takes determination and discipline, because you’ll get discouraged and frustrated at the beginning. Then start with the verbs of the language because the verb is the most important part of a language.”
The multi-talented doctor, whose first novel is due to be published in December, also believes that “a language that is not spoken will remain buried inside.” He also wants the prospective readers of his novel not to entertain any fear as his novel would be in English but “with an international feel.”
Pope Benedict XVI and Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid FC manager are also on the list of great polyglots, although not directly after Fazah. Pope Benedict XVI, who is fluent in nine foreign languages is well travelled, having worked as a priest in many countries, and Mourinho. He’s proficient in five foreign languages as he worked in Spain, Italy, England, France and Portugal.
However, ahead of Mourinho and the Pope, is Kogi-born Victor Moody, a final year medical student at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. He has lived all his life in Nigeria, yet, he is a master of 11 international languages. And like Fazah, he learnt them himself without attending a language school.
When most of his colleagues would relax by sleeping and dreaming about their medical books and their patients, Moody would sit in front of his laptop with headphones and rummage avidly through non-English websites, eBooks and e-dictionaries. He would also watch movies made in other foreign languages.
Narrating how he knew he could speak Portuguese fluently, Moody said: “I was attending to a patient one day in the hospital and on discovering that he was Brazilian, I spoke Portuguese to him. He was surprised, but he replied. And then we started chatting in the language. But, the truth is that I also shocked myself. I didn’t know I could be so fluent.”
Apart from his native Yoruba and Hausa, a language he picked up while living in Niger State with his parents, Moody is also fluent in French, Spanish and Italian. He understands, reads and writes German, Arabic, Dutch, Nihongo (Japanese), Hangul (Korean) and Hindi (India), languages.
He told Saturday Sun: “I am not just going to stop at those 11 languages. My target is 22. But my biggest challenge now is finding those who speak these languages, so that I can continue to hone my fluency.”
Moody’s journey to language acquisition began some 16 years ago. He had read Journey to the Centre of the Earth, a novel by Jules Vernes. In the adventure story, the protagonist and his uncle, Prof Von Hardwigg, were in Iceland, on an expedition when a volcano erupted and threw them beneath the earth. Prof. Hardwigg’s multi-lingual ability led them through the scary journey beneath the earth and up to Sicily, Italy. They survived the ordeal because of the professor’s multi lingual gift. This, Moody affirmed, was his driving force.
He said: “After reading that book, I wanted to be like Prof. Von Hardwigg. I wanted to speak as many languages as possible. So, while taking French in secondary school, I paid special attention and, of course, I got an A1 in the subject in my WAEC exam.
“An interesting incident happened when I was writing my NECO. Six of us went in for the exam, but at the end of the day, I was the only one who submitted. Others pulled out because the questions were exceptionally difficult. But, at the end of the day, I also got an A1. That convinced me that I could also do it in other languages.
To sharpen his French skills, therefore, Moody watched French movies and read French literature, including Bible.
“I love reading French novel. I even read medical books written in French and other languages that I can understand,” he said, adding: “When I finished secondary school, I was at home for 10 months before the University of Ibadan resumed. So, all I did for those 10 months was watch thousands of French movies on satellite television. I also watched English films subtitled in French. I even enjoyed them better than English movies because I was being entertained and I was learning at the same time.”
The satellite TV is one of Moody’s obsessions, as it affords him the opportunity to watch foreign channels and test his understanding of the languages he is learning. He says: “I like Japanese TV a lot, especially their interviews. I don’t only learn the language, I also learn their culture. Respect is an integral part of Japanese culture. So, learning other people’s language also helps you learn about their cultures.”
Learning other people’s culture is not Moody’s only reason for studying languages. He believes that knowledge of foreign languages “opens you to the world because language is the vehicle of the feelings, the culture and the traditions of a people.”
He also admits that his thinking is more international because “I feel like a citizen of the world. I even sing Asian songs.”
Moody’s ultimate ambition is to work with the United Nations and its agencies and impact the world from an international standpoint. He argues: “In medicine and every field of endeavour, ideas come from various parts of the world. No region has a monopoly of knowledge. I study language more than my school books, but it has not affected me because language adds richness and international appeal to your knowledge as long as you can read many languages.”
The young polyglot, who hopes to add 11 new languages, which include Swahili, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Chinese and Finnish, to his vocal kitty, is interested in learning Nigerian Languages, but according to him, “Nigerian language literature are in short supply. They are not available online and their dictionaries have very few words, some of them less than 650 words. Besides, hard copy materials are tasking.”
When a lot of people find it difficult to learn languages, even in the best language schools, Moody finds it very easy, learning by himself, “because right from when I was a child, I liked teaching myself. I refused to be taught the time by my parents. I did it myself.”
Explaining his self-teaching magic, he says: “To me it’s very simple. I like my laptop, so it is my teacher. All I do is download e-books and dictionaries in those languages. I also visit their websites and read stuff on them. I read medical books and newsletters in foreign languages.”
Websites are not his only source of knowledge and inspiration. The soft spoken gentleman said the Gideon’s Bible, which has been translated to over 1,500 languages is one of his major inspirations.
“I started learning other languages apart from French, by reading the various translations of John chapter 3 verse 16, in the Gideon’s New Testament Bible,” he said.
For those who want to take the initiative, to start learning new languages, like Moody, he has this advice: “It takes determination and discipline, because you’ll get discouraged and frustrated at the beginning. Then start with the verbs of the language because the verb is the most important part of a language.”
The multi-talented doctor, whose first novel is due to be published in December, also believes that “a language that is not spoken will remain buried inside.” He also wants the prospective readers of his novel not to entertain any fear as his novel would be in English but “with an international feel.”
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