"MANY people are able to speak two languages fluently, or maybe three or even four, but Ioannis Ikonomou, who is comfortable speaking almost three dozen, is not like many people.
In a telephone interview with the Athens News (in English) from his office at the European Commission in Brussels, the 46-year-old translator says he began learning English, his first foreign language, at the age of 6.
“I liked it so much that there was no stopping me,” says Ikonomou, whose mother tongue is Greek.
“The next language was German. Then after a few years I stated learning Italian. And then, more and more. While I was in high school I wanted to learn Russian, Turkish and Arabic. I always wanted to learn more. I feel comfortable speaking about 32 languages.” "
