SIBF 2026 | "I Read Books in 9 Languages" – Ahmed Al Shaikh on Language

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📚 Live from the Sharjah International Book Fair 2026 – 45th Edition | Expo Centre Sharjah 🇦🇪✨Alya Al-Nuaimi caught up with Ahmed Al Shaikh — a former university colleague, avid reader, and one of the most remarkable polyglots you'll ever meet — live at the floor of SIBF 2026. Ahmed reads, speaks, and studies in nine languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, and Mandarin Chinese. And he had one clear message for every reader at the book fair: if you've only ever read a book in translation, you've only had half the experience.---👤 WHO IS AHMED AL SHAIKH?Ahmed Al Shaikh is a multilingual enthusiast and language learner who has dedicated years to studying and reading in nine languages — including two of the world's most structurally complex: Turkish and Mandarin Chinese. A graduate of the American University of Sharjah (AUS), Ahmed brings a rare, intellectually curious perspective to what it means to be a reader in the modern world — someone who doesn't just consume stories, but experiences them in the voice, rhythm, and cultural texture of the language they were originally written in.---🎙️ WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT📌 SIBF AS A GLOBAL MELTING POT OF LANGUAGES & STORIESAhmed described the Sharjah International Book Fair as one of the most important events in the region for anyone passionate about language and world literature — a place where readers from across the globe come together around the shared belief that stories matter and that books open worlds.💬 *"It's a very important event to expand your horizons — reading people's works in as many languages as possible."* — Ahmed Al Shaikh📌 WHY READING IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCEOne of the central themes of the conversation was Ahmed's passionate argument that reading a translated book and reading a book in its original language are fundamentally different experiences — not better or worse, but genuinely distinct. The rhythm, the cultural references, the emotional weight of words — these things live in the original, and they can only be partially carried across by even the most gifted translator.💬 *"It is definitely a new experience rather than reading a translated book. Reading in a foreign language made me concentrate further, because I want to understand every word."* — Ahmed Al Shaikh📌 LEARNING MANDARIN: TONES, PINYIN & THE JOY OF A DIFFICULT LANGUAGEAhmed spoke about the particular challenge and joy of learning Mandarin Chinese — a tonal language where the meaning of a word shifts entirely depending on how it is pronounced. He explained how the Pinyin romanisation system became his bridge into the language, and why the difficulty of Mandarin only deepened his love for it.📌 ADVICE FOR ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNERS: START WITH VIRTUAL PRIVATE CLASSESFor anyone intimidated by the idea of learning a new language as an adult, Ahmed's advice was practical and encouraging:💬 *"My best advice is to begin with virtual classes — and even better, virtual private classes — not group classes. You set the pace. You focus on what you need. It's the most efficient way to begin."* — Ahmed Al Shaikh📌 BOOKS MENTIONED: LIU ZHENYUNAhmed referenced the work of Chinese author Liu Zhenyun — one of China's most celebrated contemporary novelists — as a gateway into Chinese literature and a perfect example of why reading in the original rewards every bit of effort it demands.

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