European Day of Languages: Do you speak polyglot?

We celebrate "European Day of Languages". A day that represents more than 800 million citizens from 47 countries and pays tribute to the linguistic diversity of a continent like Europe, with more than 200 languages of its own.

The initiative invites everyone to participate in the rich linguistic-cultural heritage of Europe, seeking to highlight the importance of learning languages, to increase the knowledge and value of languages and, finally, to motivate their continuous learning throughout life.

In order to raise awareness of the wide variety of languages that characterise Europe, the Instituto Cervantes in Manchester, the Alliance Française de Manchester and the Società Dante Alighieri Manchester organise the talk Do you speak polyglot?, where polyglots Richard Simcott and Andreas G. Wolff will talk about the advantages of learning languages, their learning strategies and the benefits it has had in their working lives.

Richard Simcott:
Richard Simcott is a British polyglot, who has studied over 50 languages. HarperCollins described him as one of the most multilingual people in the United Kingdom, and the Goethe Institute gave him the title Ambassador for Multilingualism.
He has many years of consulting experience using languages with diverse clients and offering his expertise on multilingual and multinational projects.
He is the original founder of the Polyglot Conference and The Language Event and manages a popular Facebook page called Speaking Fluently.

Andreas G. Wolff:
Andreas G. Wolff, originally German, holds a BA (Hons) in Gaelic Language and Culture and an MA in International Journalism. He is now a video journalist with the BBC in Scotland, working in English and Gaelic. At home he speaks Spanish and Italian, the native languages of his wife, Jessica. A self-confessed language junkie, he is also fully proficient in French and has colloquial proficiency in Russian and Portuguese. He has a basic knowledge of Mandarin, Irish and most recently Northern Frisian. Andreas has previously taught adult Gaelic language classes and is certified by the International Association of Hyperpolyglots: HYPIA (hyperpolyglots are fluent in more than six languages). He is president of the Taynuilt Gaelic Choir.