At simply 19 years previous, Mahmood Akram from Chennai has achieved what many contemplate not possible. With the power to learn, write, and sort in 400 languages and converse 46 fluently, his journey speaks volumes about his ardour for studying languages.
Mahmood’s achievements have earned him world data, awards, and the respect of linguists world wide. His story is not only about his success but additionally about appreciating the range of languages that carry folks collectively.
A linguistic journey
Akram’s fascination with languages started early, guided by his father, Shilbee Mozhippriyan, who himself speaks 16 languages. “I had struggled as a result of I didn’t know the language of a selected state or nation once I needed to transfer to locations like Israel, Spain, because of my job,” shares Shilbee, who additionally owns a doctorate in cognitive psychology amongst different levels.
“I didn’t need my son to be snatched away from alternatives based mostly on language. When my spouse was conceived with Akram, we had conversations about languages in hopes that they might assist to pique the child’s curiosity. It appears to have labored in Akram’s case,” Shilbee provides.
As Akram remembers, “My journey began on the age of 4.” “My mother and father started instructing me Tamil and English alphabets, and I mastered the English alphabet in six days. They have been astonished.” His aptitude didn’t cease there. He learnt the 299 alphabets of Tamil in simply three weeks, a job that sometimes takes months.
His father’s steering launched him to historical Tamil scripts like Vatteluttu, Grantha, and Tamizhi, which Akram rapidly mastered. “By the point I used to be six, I had surpassed my father’s information and wished to discover extra languages alone.”
Achievements and data
Between the ages of six to eight, Akram’s self-driven quest for linguistic mastery led him to be taught 50 languages. “Again within the day, I needed to depend on just a few textbooks and Omniglot to be taught totally different languages,” says Akram. Omniglot is a web-based encyclopedia for writing and studying languages.
This journey led to his first world file because the youngest multilingual typist at simply eight years of age. “I uploaded a video on YouTube, typing and studying totally different languages. A world file organisation in Punjab invited me to try a file, which I efficiently accomplished,” he remembers.

At 10, Akram achieved his second world file by writing the Indian nationwide anthem in 20 languages inside an hour. His starvation for linguistic excellence continued, and by 12, he may learn, write, and sort in 400 languages! He earned his third world file in Germany, competing towards 70 linguistic consultants.
“We needed to translate a sentence into as many languages as we may inside three minutes. I received the Germany Younger Expertise Award for translating probably the most. Even the consultants couldn’t sustain with my pace,” Akram shares proudly.
Challenges in schooling
As Akram’s ardour for languages grew, it posed challenges to his typical schooling. He studied in Chennai till the fifth grade however quickly realised his ardour required a unique strategy. “I wished to attend a college centered solely on languages, however I couldn’t discover one in India. I ended up learning on-line with a college in Israel, studying mainstream languages like Arabic, Spanish, French, and Hebrew.”
Regardless of his success, he admits to having realised the significance of educational certificates in life and the way they will generally matter greater than expertise.
“Once I wished to affix a daily college, nobody in India accepted me. They insisted I begin once more from the sixth grade. So I made a decision to check by the Nationwide Institute of Open Education and cleared my exams that approach,” says Akram.

He participated within the expertise present, and obtained a possibility to finish his education in any European nation. “I began highschool at Danube Worldwide College in Vienna, Austria, on a scholarship,” says Akram. This expertise allowed him to converse with native audio system and improve his linguistic abilities. “In my classroom alone, there have been 39 nationalities. Conversing with my classmates helped me develop into fluent in lots of languages,” he explains.
At this time, Akram is pursuing a number of levels: linguistics from the Open College in Milton Keynes, UK, a BA in English Literature, and a bachelors in science in Animation from Alagappa College, Chennai. “Since I’ve been studying languages, I don’t have to arrange or be taught something for each my linguistics and the literature diploma,” says Akram, which makes it simpler to handle the levels.
“I largely go to Alagappa College for my exams, and when they need me to attend lessons,” Akram shares.
“Languages are my expertise, however animation is my curiosity,” he says with amusing. “I’m additionally thinking about singing, however my voice says in any other case.”
The artwork of talking
Akram’s journey advanced as he recognised the significance of talking languages fluently. “Till I used to be 14, I may solely say random phrases like ‘howdy’ or ‘good morning’ in most languages,” Akram admits.
At this time, he’s fluent in 15 languages and continues to grasp the others to the extent of a near-native speaker. “It’s one factor to learn and write, however talking a language requires understanding the dialect and pronunciation,” he provides.

He additionally makes use of social media and leisure to be in contact with the quite a few languages he has learnt over time. “I generally change my social media language to Russian, I watch YouTube shorts in Danish and Fb movies in Arabic,” Akram provides.
Among the many languages he has mastered, Tamil stays his favorite. “It’s my mom tongue and holds a particular place in my coronary heart. Japanese was surprisingly simple for me as a result of its grammar and pronunciation resembled Tamil. Alternatively, languages like Czech, Finnish, and Vietnamese have been the toughest for me to grasp.”
A mission past data
For Akram, his achievements are a part of a much bigger objective. “In Tamil Nadu, many imagine English is sufficient for international communication. I wish to change that and encourage folks to be taught extra languages,” he says.
In 2016, Shilbee based the Akram World Languages Institute in Shenoy Nagar, Chennai. “I felt that it was egocentric on my half to show languages solely to my son. I wished others to profit from the facility of languages,” shares Shilbee.
The institute provides each on-line and offline lessons to college students from India and nations just like the Gulf, Europe, and Australia, instructing not less than 150 college students every month.

“We train college students based mostly on their necessities; some would simply wish to converse the language, whereas others would be taught to clear exams required for visa and inexperienced card functions,” Shilbee says.
Whereas Shilbee and his spouse, Aminal Begum, have been initially the primary lecturers, Akram joined as a trainer at 14 after his YouTube subscribers inspired him. “I needed to first discover ways to train since I had self-studied many of the languages,” Akram remembers.
As his instructing strategies gained recognition, many college students started expressing their appreciation for the strategy.
“Once I was pregnant, I made a decision to be taught languages from Akram Institute. I like the tactic of instructing that they comply with. The price of the lessons appear reasonably priced to me,” shares Malligavathy M, who has discovered Hindi, French, Spoken English, American accent and Telugu by on-line lessons performed by Shilbee and Akram.
His recognition grew, and by 2024, he was instructing overseas, conducting language workshops in Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, at colleges and faculties.
“We train languages based mostly on what the scholars want to be taught. It’s simpler as a result of I usually know their mom tongue,” he explains. Plans are underway to develop this initiative to nations like China and South Korea the place the residents don’t fluently converse English.
Connecting hearts by languages
For Akram, studying languages is about greater than communication; it’s about connection. “If I converse in your native language, you’ll reply together with your coronary heart. But when I take advantage of English, you’ll converse together with your mind. That’s the motivation behind studying all these languages.”
His dream is to translate Tamil literary treasures like Thirukkural and Tholkappiyam into as many languages as doable. “Solely folks talking 50 languages can at present entry Thirukkural. I need the worldwide viewers to know Tamil’s wealthy heritage.”
A polyglot’s routine
Balancing this mastery, schooling, and instructing is not any small feat. Akram depends on a structured routine, dedicating his mornings to practising languages. “I get up at 5 am to practise languages for 2 hours day by day, as my mind will get most oxygen,” shares Akram.
“I revise languages by studying comedian books and watching movies. I’ve an Excel sheet the place I take one explicit vocabulary and see if I can write it in all of the languages that I do know,” quotes Akram. Submit that he goes forward along with his day, finding out the work from his a number of levels if any. He dedicates his evenings in the direction of instructing each on-line and offline.

“Since I primarily cope with folks studying from overseas, my lessons prolong within the night time because of the time distinction and feasibility of the coed,” Akram provides. His love for languages helps him stability his function as a scholar and trainer successfully.
He credit his mother and father for nurturing his expertise. “Expertise lies throughout the particular person, nevertheless it’s as much as mother and father or lecturers to recognise and assist it. If not for his or her encouragement, I may need stopped at 16 languages.”
From a curious four-year-old studying alphabets in Chennai to a world record-holding polyglot, Mahmood Akram’s journey is a robust reminder of the affect of ardour and perseverance.
Akram hopes his work will encourage others to understand linguistic variety. “I wish to be a language professor at a famend college and a task mannequin for others. Realizing a language is a robust approach to make folks really feel at house.”
Edited by Megha Chowdhury. All pictures: Mahmood Akram