Vietnamese History Genius: Fluent in 26 Languages ​​at the Age of 25

That was the scholar Truong Vinh Ky (1837-1898). His father was a Confucian scholar, appointed as a military leader under the Minh Mang dynasty of the Nguyen dynasty.

According to historical records, Mr. Ky had memorized the Three Character Classic at the age of 3, learned to write at the age of 4, and went to school at the age of 5 to learn Chinese and Nom characters with a teacher. After a few years, he had mastered the Minh Tam Buu Giam, read the Four Books and Five Classics, and memorized many Tang and Song poems...

After his father passed away, Truong Vinh Ky was sent to a Frenchman named Borelle (Vietnamese name is Thua Hoa) in Vinh Long to learn Latin and French. Later, Mr. Thua Hoa had to go far away so he asked a Frenchman named Bouilleaux (Vietnamese name is Co Long) to take care of Ky's upbringing and education.

Scientist Truong Vinh Ky.

When Vinh Ky was 11 years old, he was sent by Co Long to study in Pinhalu, Phnom Penh, Cambodia with more than 20 students from many different countries. Also here, he was fluent in most of the languages ​​of his classmates such as: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Japan, India...

In addition to learning from his friends, he also studied by himself from books and dictionaries in the school library. Contemporary linguists believe that Truong Vinh Ky discovered the similar and different grammar rules of other languages ​​to learn quickly and easily.

At the age of 14, Truong Vinh Ky continued to be sent to school in Poulo Penang (a small island in the South Pacific, Malaysia). During the 7 years there, he studied Latin and Greek. In addition, he also self-studied other languages ​​such as Indian, English, Spanish, Malaysian, Japanese, Greek, Thai, French, Italian, etc.

Because he was fluent and had a firm grasp of the rules for learning foreign languages ​​of countries in the region, by the age of 25, Truong Vinh Ky knew 26 different languages.

In the late 1880s, he published books on Thai and Cambodian languages. By 1892, he had compiled three sets of books on Burmese (now Myanmar). From 1893, he continued to publish books on Lao, Malay, Tamil, and Cham languages.

In 1874, Truong Vinh Ky was voted by the world as a linguistic scholar, included in the list of 18 world scholars of the 19th century, and listed among world celebrities in the Larousse Encyclopedia.

Émile Littré - French writer once wrote: "On this earth, it is very difficult to find a second person as passionate about languages ​​as Truong Vinh Ky. When meeting the British, Truong Vinh Ky spoke English as fluently as a Londoner. When interacting with Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Japanese, Malays, Siamese... Truong Vinh Ky always spoke according to the musical rules of that country's capital. Truong Vinh Ky's knowledge of 26 foreign languages ​​is enough for humanity to honor him as the greatest linguist of our time."

Libra

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/thien-tai-lich-su-viet-thong-thao-26-thu-tieng-khi-moi-25-tuoi-ar933824.html