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

Spanish is my mother tongue, and I am bilingual in English because I’ve got family in the US and had the chance to speak it since a very early stage of my childhood. So, although I did not “learn” English, the fact that I switched constantly between these two languages allowed me to become interested in learning other languages.

This interest led me to learn French. I was “awarded” a French course at one of the Alliances Françaises which are worldwide to widen the scope of the French language. This knowledge allowed me to apply and be awarded with the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Scholarships from the EACEA (European Education and Culture Executive Agency) from the European Commission. Thanks to it I got to study a master’s degree in urban planning. Linked to this, I got so interested in French that I signed up and studied another bachelor’s degree in LEA (Langues Étrangères Appliquées). As I wanted to “fully prove” my level in the language, I decided to also pass the DALF C2 (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française), which is set to be “impossible to pass” even for native speakers. I successfully obtained it, as I had set it as a personal challenge.

While studying my bachelor’s in architecture, I got also rather interested in learning Italian. It’s almost impossible not to study architecture and fall in love with Italian Architecture. Therefore, I decided to study the language, as I dreamt of one day going to Italy. Ironically, as part of my Erasmus Mundus studies, one option was to study in Italy and so I took the opportunity to not only further my already intermediate level in Italian but to further it. I got to do an internship at an architectural studio where I needed to fully communicate in the language. This allowed me to eventually succeed in the CILS-TRE (C1 certificazione di Italiano come lingua straniera) by the University of Siena.

While studying the LEA in France, I took up German and decided to study not only a language course to have a Goethe-Zertifikat B1, but I went onto studying a full third bachelor’s degree in German Philology, so a fully-German-based degree which was pretty hard at first but which I’m really satisfied to have achieved. I also decided to prove my proficiency in it by succeeding the Goethe-Zertifikat C1 and later on by obtaining a C2 certificate from the languages division of the European Commission.

Later on, I got interested in Portuguese because of one trip I took to Lisbon. As a Spanish, French and Italian speaker, I could understand a great deal of what I heard and read while travelling in the city and afterwards the country. So, I decided to prepare and pass and succeed the DAPLE C1 (Diploma avançado de português como língua estrangeira) from the University of Lisbon.

Nowadays, I work in Luxembourg and so thought that it made sense to learn the language, as speaking with locals in it has its delight. You can really get by through the country speaking English, French or German. Nonetheless, speaking Luxembourgish has really allowed me to have many different opportunities both academically and professionally. I currently have an A2 level, but I’m looking forward to furthering it as soon as possible.

Finally, I also speak Romanian (A2) and Greek (A1), which I took up out of sheer interest. I got interested in Romanian because I did gymnastics when I was little, and the Romanians “ruled” the world of Gymnastics until 2000s. I decided to study Greek because I once read a text and I could make out several words. I’d like to continue it in the future, but it’s been by far, the hardest language to write and read so far for me.

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

I’m currently fully invested in learning Luxembourgish. I’ve been working in Luxembourg for the past 3 years and I think I should master the language out of respect for the country and all the opportunities it’s given me. Once that’s done, I’d like to further both my Romanian and Greek, which I started out of sheer motivation and interest. It would be a shame to “lose” them.

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

Once I’m done with the pending ones I’d begun and haven’t been able to further, I’d like to properly learn Latin and begin with Czech.

4. So, let’s be honest, which language has the most charm for you?

So far, French has really captivated me. Its phonetics, roots, grammar and fixed expressions have been a true delight. Having studied architecture, all the History of Art taught in French had a completely different perspective once studied in French. Not to mention the joy of reading French literature in its original language. It’s an exquisite language from start to finish.

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

The first thing I love when speaking other languages is people’s reaction to it, namely the ones from native speakers. They are first surprised and then it’s amazing how deep the conversation can get once they realise that I understand not only what they say, but what they actually mean. I think the best self-satisfaction any non-native speaker can experience is when they understand jokes or implicit ideas in conversations. To me, that is when one truly reaches “another level” in understanding a foreign language.

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

I might be wrong, but I don’t think so. On the one hand, languages are alive; meaning that languages evolve and will continue to do so. Take, for example, 10-20 years ago: there certainly weren’t words such as “influencer”, “followers”, “streaming”, etc. The digital world has influenced and will continue to modify languages and their course of evolution. It’s simply undeniable.

On the other hand, there’s an increasing consciousness of minority languages and dialects. National and especially local governments are investing all the funds they can to preserve and prevent these precious cultural heritages from being lost. It’s also our task, as linguists or language enthusiasts to take part in it and contribute to their preservation.

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

Having been a teacher of children and teenagers prior to my current position, I cannot stress enough that language learning, nowadays, is easier than it’s ever been.

We’ve got free applications, VPNs, channels, influencers’ accounts and all sorts of free sources not only to start learning a language but also to master it and take it to the next level. Yes, finances may be a hurdle, but there are endless free resources, especially from educational platforms at regional, local, national and supranational level.

Furthermore, languages will always expand your mental, personal and professional horizons. So, why not take advantage of them? They bring nothing but joy and fulfillment.