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

I was born into a Ukrainian family, in the Lviv region, in a small town called Drohobych, not far from the border with Poland. My native language is Ukrainian. In addition, I also learned Russian, however, I never considered myself bilingual, as the way I learned these two languages was different: I learned Ukrainian naturally at home and later studied at school. I acquired Russian informally instead by exposure – through people around me, TV and books.

At the age of 4, I started learning English thanks to my grandmother, who was an English teacher. She was the person who played an important role in my language development. She inspired me to follow the path of languages, and I will always be grateful to her for all the time, effort and care she devoted to me.

I also studied German in high school. Later, at university, I studied it as a third language. Unfortunately, after graduating I didn’t use it for a long time and now sincerely regret it (currently, I am trying to brush up on my German).

At the age of 17, I moved to Italy, where I obtained my Italian high school diploma.

After that, I enrolled at the University of Basilicata in the degree program in Modern Languages and Cultures and later obtained a master’s degree in Specialized Translation.

During my studies, I took part in two study experiences within the Erasmus and Erasmus+ programs: in Spain, at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where I got the opportunity to improve my Spanish, and in Poland, at the University of Katowice, where I learned Polish and obtained a B1 Polish certification. Since then, I continue to practise it as much as I can.

Recently, I also started learning French and Euskera.

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

I would like to spend more time improving my German, French and learning Euskera.

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

I am not sure, but I think it would be a non-European language: Chinese or Japanese.

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

All the languages I currently speak have their own charm, but if I have to choose, I would say Spanish.

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

I get the greatest pleasure from speaking all my languages, especially when I can use them to communicate with people every single day!

I am also pleased when my language skills allow me to help and inspire people. That truly makes me happy.

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?

Hopefully, that won’t happen. Recently, there has been more and more attention and respect towards all languages. I’ve also noticed that dialects are being preserved more and more. So, if we all continue to act in this way, no language will be forgotten or left behind.

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

My advice to future language learners: don’t let anything or anyone discourage you, be consistent, and make your learning fun!