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'''Ioannis Ikonomou''' ({{lang-el|Ιωάννης Οικονόμου}}; born 1964) is a [[Greece|Greek]] translator who has been working for the [[European Commission]] in [[Brussels]] since 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-703_en.htm|title=European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - FAQs on multilingualism and language learning|website=europa.eu|access-date=2019-04-10|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410214621/http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-703_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
'''Ioannis Ikonomou''' ({{lang-el|Ιωάννης Οικονόμου}}; born 1964) is a [[Greece|Greek]] translator who has been working for the [[European Commission]] in [[Brussels]] since 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-703_en.htm|title=European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - FAQs on multilingualism and language learning|website=europa.eu|access-date=2019-04-10|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410214621/http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-703_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Considered a notable contemporary example of a [[Polyglotism|polyglot]], he knows 32 living languages including Greek, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Finnish, Danish, Russian, Swahili, Hebrew, Arabic, Mandarin and Bengali, and reportedly as many as 47 languages including dead languages like [[Old Church Slavonic]]. He speaks 21 out of 24 official EU languages.<ref name="Rice">{{cite news |last=Rice |first=Xan |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2015/08/man-who-speaks-32-languages-and-counting |title=The man who speaks 32 languages - and counting |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=2015-08-03 |accessdate=2016-03-03 |archive-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831131154/http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2015/08/man-who-speaks-32-languages-and-counting |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DieWelt">{{cite news |last=Schiltz |first=Christoph B. |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article131957711/Der-Mann-der-32-Sprachen-fliessend-spricht.html |title=Der Mann, der 32 Sprachen fließend spricht |language=German |trans-title=The man who speaks 32 languages fluently |work=[[Die Welt]] |date=2014-06-09 |accessdate=2016-03-03 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410214156/https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article131957711/Der-Mann-der-32-Sprachen-fliessend-spricht.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jovanovska |first=Svetlana |url=https://www.derwesten.de/wr/wr-info/ioannis-ikonomou-beherrscht-47-sprachen-id679383.html |title=Ioannis Ikonomou beherrscht 47 Sprachen |language=German |trans-title=Ioannis Economou mastered 47 languages |work=Neue Ruhr Zeitung |date=2009-06-05 |accessdate=2016-03-03 |archive-date=5 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105170506/http://www.derwesten.de/wr/wr-info/ioannis-ikonomou-beherrscht-47-sprachen-id679383.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He considers the [[Mandarin language]] as the most complicated language to learn.<ref>[http://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/the-ultimate-polyglot-this-man-speaks-32-languages/?xrs=CNNHP This Man Speaks 32 Different Languages.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914061123/https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/the-ultimate-polyglot-this-man-speaks-32-languages/?xrs=CNNHP |date=2018-09-14 }}. Great Big Story.</ref> Chinese is also his favorite language. He is the only in-house translator of the European Commission who is trusted to translate classified Chinese documents.<ref>[http://linguesenzasforzo.over-blog.com/article-ioannis-ikonomou-the-man-who-speaks-32-languages-114738398.html Ioannis Ikonomou: The man who speaks 32 languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224021904/http://linguesenzasforzo.over-blog.com/article-ioannis-ikonomou-the-man-who-speaks-32-languages-114738398.html |date=24 February 2020 }}. linguesenzasforzo. 2013-01-15.</ref>


== Education ==
== Education ==

Revision as of 06:38, 21 September 2024

Ioannis Ikonomou
Ιωάννης Οικονόμου
Born1964 (age 59–60)
Heraklion, Crete, Greece
NationalityGreek
Education
OccupationTranslator
Known forPolyglottism

Ioannis Ikonomou (Greek: Ιωάννης Οικονόμου; born 1964) is a Greek translator who has been working for the European Commission in Brussels since 2002.[1]

Education

Inspired by foreign tourists visiting Crete,[2] he began to study foreign languages at a young age: English at age five, when he moved to Athens with his family, German at seven, Italian at 10, Russian at 13, East African Swahili at 14, and Turkish at 16.[3] He had learned 15 languages by the age of 20. He studied linguistics at the University of Thessaloniki before pursuing an MA in Middle Eastern languages and cultures at Columbia University in the United States. He continued with a PhD in Indo-European linguistics at Harvard University.[4] The subject of his dissertation in Harvard was a text by Zarathustra written in Avestan, a form of Old Iranian.

Personal life

He identifies as gay, and is married to Tomek, who is Polish. To maintain his language skills, he chats online with native speakers from around the world.[5] His favorite hobby is reading Chinese books and taking notes.

See also

References

  1. ^ "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - FAQs on multilingualism and language learning". europa.eu. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  2. ^ Doulami, Maria-Christina (18 December 2013). "i speak 32 languages". Cafébabel. Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. ^ Tsagari, Daphne (19 September 2014). "A Greek Translator Equipped with 32 Different Languages". Greek Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Nee's Language Blog: A Greek Who Speaks 32 Languages". Nee's Language Blog. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference DieWelt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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