Richard Francis Burton spoke and read about 25 languages, and had near native ability in at least a dozen of them. This is hardly a record talent -- Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti spoke at least 40 languages well, and could get by in about 75. The current record is apparently held by Ziad Fazah, who gets by in more than 50 languages besides his native Arabic, and is fluent in at least 40 of them.
The key? Start learning multiple languages before you're 14.
|