Help Should I Continue Maintaining Two Languages

Will learning a third language make me forget some of my second language?

Some people seem to have an incredible capacity to learn multiple languages and to compartmentalize each language so that they are able to use the correct language when they need to. For many of us, it seems that a third language displaces a second language. I liken it to having one auxiliary language center in the brain that is only able to deal with one secondary language at a time.I studied German in high school and university and, mostly due to lack of use, I forgot much of spoken German but was still able understand some written German. Forty years after my last university German class, I decided to study Spanish and this largely displaced whatever German remained.Then, a decade or so after beginning Spanish, I decided to study Portuguese. Because they are related Romance languages, I went through (and still occasionally experience) “Portunhol” moments. However, Spanish words that have the identical spelling and meaning in Portuguese are gradually getting displaced by Brazilian Portuguese pronunciations when I try to speak Spanish. One good example of that is the word, “de”.I suspect that the aging brain makes it more difficult to learn additional languages, particularly in regard to comprehension, when a rapidly spoken foreign language has to be parsed by the brain. Some of this difficulty might be related to decreased hearing and visual cues as we get older. However, the act of trying to study a new language when we are older is said to have its benefits, possibly even slowing processes that might lead to conditions like Alzheimer’s.An excellent and more technical discussion of this whole area will be found in this Quora post: What happens to our brain as we learn more and more languages? The illustration at the top of this post is borrowed from that other Quora discussion.

How can I learn 2 languages at the same time? I'm planning to study French and Spanish next month.

I don’t mean to put a dampener on your enthusiasm, but I’ll put it bluntly - don’t. Learning two languages at the same time is like trying to constantly look left and right at the same time, it’s just really hard.One possible exception is if you’re in a situation where you’re already at a fairly high level in one language, and you need to study a new language while maintaining the other. In this case, you can study two languages at the same time, but you aren’t really “studying” your more proficient language, you’re just maintaining it.Unless you absolutely have to learn two languages at the same time (perhaps because of work or some pressing circumstances), I highly recommend avoid doing it.Just take it one at a time and you’ll be a lot happier! :)Happy learning.

Fellow bilinguals, trilinguals, etc.: How do you best maintain excellent command of your multiple languages daily, especially in multilingual environments? Thank you!

California is cosmopolitan enough and I like to think of myself as being outgoing enough that I usually find someone with whom I can practice a language or two every day, whether it is at a shopping center, health club, or wherever. Last Sunday I visited the sign language branch of the local Mormon church. I am not very religious and I go just for the ASL practice. I found that I seem to be losing my skill in ASL and noticed they are conducting a class in it two times a week, so I plan on attending a class this week. We have a cleaning lady who comes here once every two weeks who speaks Spanish. I usually can recognize an Arabic speaker (especially the women) at one of the big bulk stores and never pass up an opportunity to at least use some of the basics.I guess to sum up my answer would be to keep looking for an opportunity to practice, then do so.