We have a human Google translator in our school. 

Fluent in five different languages, junior Antonella Brunetti can help with most foreign language  homework. She speaks French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, and English. (Sorry Mandarin students).

Earning her seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and French–and being fluent in Romanian, English and Italian–Antonella is a polyglot, meaning she can speak four or more languages. 

Her languages are more than academic achievements, though: they are woven into her daily life. Antonella puts those languages to good use when she travels throughout Europe. She visits Romania nearly every summer and Italy most summers. There, she uses both of those languages daily. 

Even simple moments, like ordering off a menu at a restaurant in Romania, helped build the fluency she has today. 

Antonella’s mom is from Romania, and her dad is of Italian descent, so she learned these languages through her parents. Learning and being fluent in five languages is not easy work: it took many years to master all of these. 

“Patience is key, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The only way to learn is to be around it,” said Brunetti. 

Despite living in Lake Forest, Antonella likes to bring part of her culture into her everyday life. She listens to Italian and Spanish music in the car driving around town and will even listen to the music with her friends too. Even more, she went to a Spanish-speaking school for a few years while growing up. 

Moreover, she participates in many Romanian and Italian traditions. One of her favorites is a Romanian tradition called Martisor where people give out red and white strings attached to small trinkets for good luck to mark the start of spring on March 1st. 

Antonella’s friends enjoy her talent a lot. They play games with her to try and quiz her. Junior Bain Flavin loves to hear Antonella’s languages. 

“We play ‘what does this mean?’ where we quiz Antonella with google translate to see if she gets the word correct,” said Flavin. 

Antonella is only one language away from being fluent in all of the romance languages, which include Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, and Portuguese. She only needs to learn Portuguese to be a full romantic.

“It is cool to have her teach me all the different cultures and traditions of the languages,” said Flavin.