Leo Kretzenbacher views language as a collective artwork created by all people who use it. He was born in Austria, grew up in Germany and has been teaching and researching in the German Studies Program of the University of Melbourne’s School of Languages and Linguistics for over a quarter of a century.

While Leo has done literary and cultural studies as well, his main interest is in linguistics. Collectively he and Olivia speak over 15 languages. They discuss the best ways to learn a new language, frankness vs politeness in different languages, proxemics or "closeness" in intercultural communication.