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

It all started when English somehow spawned in my head when I was thirteen. I realized I could actually learn a language just by listening - and that discovery changed everything. At the time, none of my friends spoke English, so it became my flex. Before long, “the girl who speaks English” turned into part of my identity.

English opened my world - not just to conversations, but to countless books, ideas, and a completely new vision. It shaped how I think, how I express emotion, even how I dream. After a billion compliments on my accent and even more late nights with novels I couldn’t have read otherwise, I realized something: language is a superpower. So, I asked myself — what if I applied my “system” to another language? (more on the system later).

Enter Spanish. My first attempt? A total failure. I quit. But then, at university, surrounded by people speaking Spanish, French, Korean… something snapped. I’m not a jealous person. Usually, but there are some exceptions. So, I started listening, again and again, until I found myself sitting for the DELE C1 exam - and aced it.

Then came French. Because, honestly, Sartre wasn’t going to read himself. I devoured it, and once again z DALF C1, aced.

Now, languages aren’t just something I study - they’re my passion. Whether it’s reading philosophy in French, debating with Spanish delegates at EYP, or laughing at TikToks in six languages.

At heart, I’m a speaker and a reader - that duality drives me.

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

When you grow up surrounded by three languages - Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Russian - and then add a fourth, English, at a young age, practice doesn’t feel like effort. You just wake up hearing a mix of all of them: your family speaking in three tongues, your friends texting “tysm,” your brain switching without even realizing it.

Unfortunately, that easy immersion doesn’t happen with my newer languages, French and Spanish. I have my C1 certificates, I read economics in them, I listen to podcasts, yet I still crave the muscle memory that only real-life immersion can give. That’s exactly why I want to join the Association: to be surrounded by people like me, people driven by cultural exchange and linguistics. 

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

Don’t get me started on that - my list is long. Right now, my main focus is Mandarin, and I’m determined to reach a solid B2 level as soon as humanly possible. 

At the same time, I’d love to activate my passive understanding of Portuguese, Italian, and Ukrainian - I can follow conversations and media in them, but I want to start living in those languages, to speak, write, and to express myself fluently. Still, Mandarin remains the core mission.

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

English, English, English! Firstly, it sounds just awesome. Also, I have a great feeling of gratitude whenever I remember how many things speaking English has enabled me to do. I remember all the friends, all the conversations, all the languages. English is my personal superpower, bridge, first love and best friend. Nothing will ever compare and while my native languages, as well as those beautiful Latin pearls all have a special part in my heart - English is the founding father and heart. English. Always English. It’s the language that started everything for me. It's my first love, my bridge, my superpower. It sounds right. It feels right.  Every opportunity I’ve had, from friendships, conversations, to books that shaped my mind, everything exists because of English. While my native tongues and the beautiful Romance languages all have their own place in my heart, English will always be the founding father of my polyglot story. Nothing will ever compare.

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

Two things come to mind. Firstly, that sweet moment when a native French speaker suddenly realizes I speak their language, and their entire tone changes. Suddenly, we’re not strangers, we’re talking politics, jokes, slang, the real texture of life. It feels human, raw, and uniting.

Secondly, the infinite access. Because I speak several languages, I get to consume content as it was meant to be, without the things that get lost in translation. 

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

The world is getting oversimplified, this is true. Yet look at us here, all united for one simple reason - we learn languages. We have this passion. We prioritize culture. We find beauty in things people find boring or useless or too much.

The world is oversimplified, yes, but that doesn’t apply to humans, though. Humans are complex. Humans adapt slowly and can’t forget the language their mom used to wake them up with, or the one they started learning because their high school sweetheart was from a Spanish-speaking family and they wanted to impress them.

The world is getting way too simple, but while the technical stuff gets forgotten, the art, the beauty, and the conversations stand out and leave their traces.

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

Immerse! Textbooks don’t teach you languages, they help you study systems and prepare for exams. I love comparing this to how a child learns a language: constant, sometimes confusing immersion into the depth of the culture.

Be uncomfortable until you understand. Be awkward until natives can’t tell if you’re a foreigner or just someone with a different accent. Fake it till you make it!