Giuseppe Mezzofanti (1774-1849) was an Italian Cardinal who was perhaps the best language learner ever. He spoke more than 38 languages fluently. He never left Italy but he learned to speak these languages without an accent. People from all over the world came to talk to him in their mother tongue. All of them were amazed at his fluency.
At the age of 12, Mezzofanti spoke his native Italian, as well as German, Greek, Latin, and at least five other languages. Then he learned Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Old English and Maltese. He also learned Chinese. This was the hardest language for him to learn: it took him four mouths.
Some stories say he also spoke 30 other languages quite well and that he could understand another 20 (for example, Timbetan and Icelantic).
Another story says that he heard there were two foreigners in a prison in Rome. So he learned their language in one night and spoke to them the next morning!
It’s hard to know if all these stories are true. Some people, for example, ask, ‘How did he learn Old English without meeting anyone who spoke it?’, or ‘Did he really learn a languages in a few weeks — or in one night?’ We don’t know for sure, but we can say for certain that Giuseppe Mezzofanti became a language-learning legend.
1. Mezzofanti spoke over 38 languages. (T)
2. He travelled to other countries. (F)
3. For Mezzofanti, Arabic, was harder to learn then Chinese. (F)
4. One story says that he learned a language in one night. (T)
5. He never met anyone who spoke Old English. (T)
My Italian is good — it’s better than my Spanish. Of course, for me Spanish is easier than German. That’s because it’s got a lot of words that are almost the same as Italian. The grammar is very similar, too.

English pronunciation is difficult for me. But of course Portuguese pronunciation is more difficult! I never know how to pronounce a new word, because the writing and the pronunciation are often very different.

1. Italian is more modern than Latin.
2. The Amazon River is longer than the Nile.
3. Iceland is smaller than India.
4. For most Europeans, learning Chinese is more difficult than Italian.
5. Sydney is closer to my contry than Paris.

Advice for language learners
It can sometimes be a little difficult to learn a foreign language fluently. But there are many things you can to do make your learning more successful.
When you speak a foreign language, it’s normal to have an accent. That’s OK — other people can usually understand. It’s a good idea to listen to CDs and try to imitate other speakers to make your pronunciation better.
If you see a need word, and you don’t know what it means, you can sometimes translate the meaning from words you know, or you can look up the word in a dictionary.
A lot of good language learners try not to guess things from their first language. Translation is sometimes a good idea, but try to think in the foreign language if you can!
It’s also normal to make mistakes. When your teacher corrects a mistake in your writing or speaking, think about it and try to see why it’s wrong. But it’s more important to communicate, so don’t be afraid to speak!
Amazing facts — or just lies
The shortest place names only have one letter. There are towns in Norway and Sweden called A and there is a river in Oregon, USA called D.
There are 820 languages in Papua New Guinea, 742 in Indonesia, and 516 in Nigeria. South Africa has the most official languages in the world.
The longest word in the English language is dispercombobulation — it has 19 letters.
The most frequent letter in English is e. The least frequent is q.
The easiest language to learn in the world is Portoni, a language spoken in Papua New Guinea. It hasn’t got are grammar, and there are only about 1.750 words in the language.
Somalia is the only African country where everybody speaks the same language (Somali).
The longest one-word place name in the world is in New Zealand:
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Չելեբյան Միքայել 