Not many people are blessed with the gift of becoming polyglots, and Of-course only a very tiny fraction of people become polyglots before the age of 10. Studies have shown that children are able to pick up various languages simultaneously; but not every child gets to showcase that ability. Mabou Loiseau is one of the very few kids who were able to nurture their gifts.
In 2014 when Mabou Loiseau made the headlines, she was already able to speak eight languages; English, Kreyol, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, Mandarin and American Sign Language. The child prodigy from Queens, NYC, was also learning Japanese while taking college level Algebra. What’s more, Mabou, who was just eight years old, could play the piano, harp, violin, guitar, clarinet, drums, conga and the flute.
Mabou Loiseau
“I was born smart, duh!”, the polyglot said when she appeared on the Katie Couric show in 2014. She could not be wrong though. The child genius grew up among a family that spoke about three languages, her mother, Esther Loiseau, said. Esther was a piano teacher who taught French at an American school before leaving Haiti for Queens decades ago.
When Mabou was only one year and a half, she started repeating some words in French that she was not yet taught. Interestingly, she knew the meaning of those words, and this was when Esther realized that her daughter had a gift. By age five, Mabou’s parents were spending $1,500 a week on tutors and lessons, including hiring nannies who spoke different languages. She could sing her ABCs in Spanish, read fairytales in Russian and count in Mandarin, Daily News reported.
Now 15 years old, Mabou recently added more to her list of talents; singing, painting and dancing. Her YouTube channel has more than 9,000 subscribers. She is, however, still working towards her goal of becoming a brain surgeon, singer and lawyer. “I defend myself pretty well, so many I can defend other people. I want to understand the brain. It’s very fascinating. I want to be a singer ….” Mabou said when she was eight.