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

My grandfather is a Hungarian immigrant who was a refugee who escaped World War II as a boy and eventually made it to the United States. Hearing his stories growing up of how he travelled on foot all the way to Italy and would work at people’s houses just to get enough money to arrive there inspired me. This is one of the reasons he became a polyglot is because he lived in various countries before he made it to the United States. Hearing him have his Italian or Hungarian friends come over and hear him switching languages over like it was nothing inspired me. I wanted to live a thrilling life like him and he always emphasized the importance of learning languages. He explained to me that every language you learn that is how many people you are and how many more opportunities you have.

Therefore, when I was a teenager, I embarked on my journey to learn Spanish. I did a study abroad in Mexico and realized I learned quicker than all of my peers. I had no idea that I possessed this talent as well. After I graduated with a degree in Spanish, I decided to go to China for six years and learned Mandarin. It was the most difficult, yet most rewarding experience in my life. I loved the challenge of it and now I have access to over one billion people that otherwise I would never have known. Learning Mandarin was the catalyst to my language journey after I went into a slump. I realized if I could learn Mandarin, I could learn any language. I started dabbling into German, Hungarian, Russian, etc. I finally continued on to Portuguese as I had a lot of Brazilian friends. I was then offered a job because of my Portuguese language skills as a flight attendant. As I travelled more in Europe, I realized that I could understand a lot of French and Italian and then proceeded to learn these languages subsequently.

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

I would spend more time with all of my languages, however, right now I want to improve my Mandarin as it is the most fascinating language to me. It is a language that bridges the eastern and western world and it has changed my life. I love when you speak the language as no one expects you to know it looking like me. I love surprising people on flights speaking Mandarin.

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

I would love to learn Russian, German, Arabic, Korean, and Japanese. I don’t think the list will ever end; however, these are my starting points.

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

The sexiest language to me by far is Italian. I speak several romance languages; however, the rhythm of the language is just at a different level. Not only does it sound sexy spoken, however, in other artforms such as opera where it is sung it exudes emotion and passion. I feel that Italian is such an expressive language and that is what makes it sexy for me.

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

The greatest pleasure I get is to connect to people on another level. As Nelson Mandela stated “Talk to a man in a language he understands and it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language it goes to his heart.” I believe language learning allows you to better connect with others at a different level and understand humanity in a much more profound sense. It allows you to see the world in different perspectives and understand why people are the way they are.

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 don’t think we will have a few languages; however, I do think that languages are dying at an alarmingly quick rate. Whether that is due to politics, policies, ease of communication, the internet, etc. there is definitely a decline especially among younger generations to keep these languages alive. It is our responsibility to preserve these languages and to keep them alive. Every language that dies is like a death of a civilization, a way of thinking, and should be kept alive at all costs. I hope technology can help keep these languages alive and with the popularity of apps such as Duolingo we could perhaps keep these languages alive and give them more exposure.

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

I would say to stay curious about the world and let that curiosity ignite your passion for the language. I personally am curious about a lot of European countries culturally as I have a personal tie to them, however, find your niche and run with it. I would also say to do what you love in your native language in that language and it does not feel like work, rather like something fun. If you like Netflix, watch a film in another language. If you like playing football (soccer) then find some people who speak the language and join in with them. Also, do not be afraid of speaking correctly 100 percent of the time or this will hinder your process. Keep being persistent and the language will one day flow through you.