LANGUAGE LEARNING

How I Learned 7 Languages

And why you should, too

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

A Polyglot — that’s what a person recently called me. It means a person who knows and can use several languages. I did not know the existence and the meaning of the word “polyglot” till 2023. But I felt honored that my entire lifetime’s dedication had gotten me a title. Knowing multiple languages is typical for many Americans who hold on to their ethnic and cultural heritage by not letting English be the only language they know. According to Voice of America, 1 in 5 people in America speaks a second language at home, estimating it to be 68 million people.

Growing up in Bangladesh, my mother always told me about Muhammad Shahidullah and his fluency in 24 languages. At first, I thought it was impossible, almost a superpower. But It was true. Muhammad Shahidullah was a Bengali linguist, philologist, educationist, and writer. According to The Daily Star, Muhammad Shahidullah knew 24 different languages. Just like Shahidullah inspires me, Shahidullah himself was inspired by Harinath De, a legendary polyglot who learned 34 languages in a very short lifespan of 34 years.

I know seven languages: Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Spanish, and Japanese. I am not fluent or an expert on all 7 of them, but I can carry out conversations and know the basic grammar…