London: Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden from the UK’s Manchester are polyglots, who can speak 26 different languages. Their deep love for languages began when they were just toddlers. The first language they learned together was invented by them and called Umeri.
The twin brothers, residing in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, now run a language-learning company. Speaking to BBC about their language Umeri, the duo claimed that it was more than just a language to them. The usage of Umeri helped them keep their secrets among themselves and is seen as a reflection of their shared bond and experiences as twins. The twins recalled that Umeri often left the elders around them confused as they failed to get a hint of the twins’s conversations.
Identical twins from the UK speak 26 languages and created one as toddlers
Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden developed their own language as toddlers.
Image credits:
superpolyglotbros/Instagram
Further, they opined that most twins develop a shared private language. However, as years pass by, they stop using it as they feel embarrassed and sometimes, alienated. The twins claimed that their relatives and friends would shrug them off when they spoke in Umeri in their midst. “They’re off doing the language thing again,” they would say.
The Youlden siblings said that they grasped Spanish when they were around eight years old during their Spain vacations with family. Later, they learned Italian and several Scandinavian languages.
Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden can speak 26 languages.
Image credit: superpolyglotbros/Instagram
According to the BBC, about 30-50 percent of twins have a unique method of communication. This phenomenon is called cryptophasia. Some experts claimed that those twins continuing to speak in their private languages can result in a negative social impact.
