Twenty-year Old Alex Rawlings Ups the Ante for British Polyglots

Alex Rawlings from London is the most multi-lingual student in the United Kingdom and the media call him a hyperpolyglot. Rawlings speaks Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, and Russian. That’s a total of 11 languages, and he has not even graduated from Oxford University. Rawlings won a competition sponsored by Harper Collins (book publisher). He took the top spot on a list that included young British polyglots aged 16 to 22 years. The search was launched in June 2012. Rawlings expressed shock upon winning. Apparently, he only entered for the grand prize – an iPad.

From cradle to university

Alex Rawlings heard English, French and Greek from his mother while growing up. Greek came easy because his mother’s family lived there and they often came to visit relatives. Having three cradle languages instilled in him a passion for learning languages. His dad worked in Japan for four years and being unable to speak the vernacular frustrated him so, he shared in an interview. When he went to The Netherlands. He experienced the limitations posed by not knowing the language, so he put it upon himself to learn Dutch. When he came back he could communicate with the Dutch, and this motivated him even to learn more. And when he stepped into college, he became interested in learning Deutsch and Russian.

Rawlings has explained his motivation and passion for learning languages using all the 11 languages that he can speak fluently. But, of the 11 that he speaks, what is his favorite language? It’s Greek, says Rawlings. Greece has a special place in his heart, he expounds.

Fully motivated

Nothing is stopping Rawlings from adding to his roster of 11 because he has already met many friends and this is motivation enough to keep learning more. For him, it has become easier to learn new languages, and the next one he intends to take on is Arabic, but not until he graduates since Russian and German seem to be taking up his time. He also plans to travel around the world, meet people, and speak to them in their native tongue. He believes that making the effort to learn even the most basic phrases of another language is a sign of respect for the culture that speaks it. He does not approve of speaking “loud English” when one visits another country and for him, the frustration expressed by English speakers when they are not understood is rather rude.

A very exclusive gang

The ability to speak many languages is not unusual. But the ability to speak 11 is quite a rare feat. Another British subject by the name of Ray Gillon (54 years old) sets himself apart by having the ability to speak 18 languages, most of which were learned informally. Gillon is reportedly fluent in eight and conversational in the other ten. He can respond to any inquiry in Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Thai and Turkish. Learning a foreign language is now optional in England for children 14 years onward. Will another Rawlings emerge from this generation of young British subject?

Video by: Richard Simcott