1. What’s your story? How did you get into all these languages?

It happened gradually over a period of time as I kept exploring the world. Since I was born in Ukraine, my native languages are both Russian and Ukrainian. I have also studied English at school and university, but the real breakthrough happened when I emigrated to Italy to pursue my master degree. There I have picked up Italian quite quickly, and as I moved to France, also French. Currently I live in Germany for a few years and have studied German as it helped me to build a comfortable life and resolve various life issues.

2. Which language(s) do you wish you could spend more time practising?

Being based in Germany, I am constantly looking for the opportunities to practice Italian, French and Spanish. I believe practise is crucial to keep the knowledge at a certain level. Luckily my current work in an international bank allows me to do it, as I do have colleagues who speak those languages. I also watch videos, or read the literature in those languages when I get free time.

3. What are some languages you’d like to learn in the future?

There have been 2 years of my life which I have spent in Seoul, South Korea, where I have worked in an international organization after graduating from my Master studies. While the official working language was English, I did have a chance to learn Korean alphabet and some basic vocabulary. Unfortunately, I never got to develop it to even a solid beginner level, but given the foundation and my experience in Korea, I would like to continue learning the language.

4. So let’s be honest, what’s the sexiest language?

To me that is Italian.

5. What’s the greatest pleasure you get from speaking so many languages?

It makes me feel closer to the people whom I would once deem just foreigners and better understand their perspectives. Language is also connected to a culture of the people who speak it. I did notice how people appreciate when you can say even a few words in their language, it removes certain barriers and helps in building social connections.

6. Some people say the world is really just going to have a few languages left in a 100 years, do you think this is really true?

There is indeed a trend where certain rare languages disappear every year, as the last person who was able to speak it dies. I don’t believe however that only a few languages will be left as there is still a great variety out there and people around the world who study some rare or ancient languages in specialized university courses. So, as far as there is an interest, a language would not completely extinct.

7. What is your message to young (and not so young) people out there who are interested in studying multiple languages?

You don’t need to be perfect in every single language to make a positive difference. In fact even intermediate level in multiple languages could be helpful to build the social bridges and meaningful friendships around the world. And of course there is no limit to further improvement, and you can continue to discover new sides of every language during the course of your life.