MONTREAL —
Georges Awaad politely answers the phone "Hello", but he can also answer easily in Arabic, French, Japanese or any of the other 15 languages he speaks.
At the age of 20, the Montreal linguistics student has been able to speak 19 different languages, most of which are self-taught through Internet video, music and conversations with friends.
"I am a very auditory person, so if I find music, videos, movies, I will reach out to the language as much as possible, he said in a telephone interview: "Let them be with friends by listening to the conversation. ".
He also speaks Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, Hebrew, Romanian, Swedish, Georgian, Armenian, Cantonese, Korean, Esperanto and Dutch.
The first language is the Awaad of French, saying that he learned very early to like the sounds of different languages, but when he asked his Arabic, his interest really started around the age of 10
Help him improve his skills.
Awaad said: "I told my parents that I really like to study with my grandparents and they told me, 'You know, if you want to learn more languages, online
He said his parents showed him Google translate, and he was immediately hooked on Google Translate.
According to Babbel, an online language learning platform, Awaad may only speak more languages than any other student in Canada.
Earlier this year, Babbel, along with the Student Life Network, launched a search to find students in Canada's most languages.
Awaad became an obvious winner, showing his language ability through two rounds of video, which was judged by native speakers of each language and left a deep impression on the judges.
"As a team of hundreds of linguists from all over the world, George's mastery of language has left us with a deep impression, especially for a person so young, "Pakistan said in a statement.
Despite his achievements, Awaad believes that he does not have any special skills in learning the language.
His secret, he says, is that it's interesting.
"I think I'm more enthusiastic about it," he said . ".
"It's easier for me to work hard on them because I really love them. . .
It doesn't feel like work.
"Awaad found it difficult to accurately locate his favorite language.
At first, he said, he just liked the different sounds and twists they made.
But as he grew older, he began to realize how they made him establish new connections and explore new cultures in a more comprehensive way.
For example, he said he was able to serve as a translator for his family during his trip to Japan.
In the process of finding someone to talk to, he also made many new friends.
"It started to show me that learning a new language can open your mind and mind to many others and new cultures around the world," he said . ".
"You can understand the world better at a deeper level.
Awaad said that his favorite language to learn is Mandarin and Georgian, in part because they are very different in structure from English and French.
His plans for the future include completing a degree in linguistics at McGill University before eventually obtaining a master's and doctoral degree.
He also hopes to learn more languages in the process.
Currently, he is working on a project to document the Mayan language spoken in northern Guatemala and southern Mexico, and says he has started learning words and phrases on the road.
"I think this is the next one on my list," he said . ".