How is it possible to learn 6+ languages?

[Preya_M]

Some people in today's world know 6+ languages. Sadly, I'm not one of them (I only know 2 languages, and they're fairly similar), but I find it very fascinating how they can do that. How do they do it? How many languages do you know? Do people often confuse each language and mix them up some times?

[rgaz83]

I know one person who knows/speaks 4 languages almost every day and is studying a 5th. Local dialect, national language, English and German. In addition to those, they know/have studied another 2-6 (I lose count, honestly; not sure how many they 'know' and how many they just know the basic greetings, etc. in).

From what I understand, it can be a lot of effort to maintain that many languages. However, it also get somewhat easier somehow. It helps if you're able to start early in life, too (which I, sadly, didn't really).

[TABL]

I wish I could speak 6 languages!  That would be so cool!  I think people who speak fluently in many languages have the ability to use those languages daily.  You have to speak it often to keep it, is what I think. So if they are bilingual, and speak both languages often, they will retain them.

But how cool!!  I would love to go to another country and speak their language enough to get by, without relying on English.

[Miya]

I think it's possible to learn 6+ languages if you're not learning them all at the same time. If you learn them all at the same time, then you'll probably get confused and mix them up. But if you learn them separately, you'll be more 'on track'.

I know some people who know more than 6 languages because they're always living in different places. For those people, it's probably easier to maintain their 6+ languages because they use them daily.

[nkaujntses]

My father spoke 6 languages: Hmong, English, Laotian, Thai, Mandarin, and French. He is ethnically Hmong, so that is his native language and what he spoke the most. He learned Mandarin from speaking with his grandfather whose father migrated from Southern China. He was born and lived in Laos until the after the Vietnam War, so of course he learned Laotian. He learned French because there was a lot of French influence with the Hmong villages in Laos after the first Indochina War (We still carry French coins on some of our traditional clothing). He learned Thai while he was in the Hmong refugee camp in Thailand. And of course, he learned English after we immigrated to the US.

I believe is is possible to learn. To retain the languages learned is something else. You have to use it on a daily basis or you'll lose it. My father is rusty in his French and Mandarin. He is currently living in Laos, so he speaks it the best out of all the languages he has learned.

[JessiFox]

Well obviously it's possible, but I imagine it would be extremely challenging. I really want to know a minimum of 5 languages, I'm on my third so far. It's hard to learn more than one at once, and it's hard if you don't keep up with them consistently.

[Beverly]

I know four languages and speak four languages back at home daily. At work I'd have to speak English and at home,have to speak two of my Chinese dialect. I found learning language easier once you know more than one language because you start to pick up what to learn first. You know your weakness as well as your strength ,you know what motivate you and you also know the trick. When I first time learnt English, I've learnt Chinese dialect and a little mandarin here and there. So I know that I am terrible with memorizing vocabulary. I'd start writing a diary and when I came across words that I wanted to use but didn't know, I'd open my dictionary ,used the word and highlight it. I'd then use the word often in so I'd remember it.

[sayitwell]

I fear that it would cripple my mind.  I would implode.  I can't compartmentalize all of that knowledge.  I know that we only use ten percent of our brain's capacity but it seems nearly impossible to master six languages.  I'd like to meet the person who has accomplished this.  I respect the talent and devotion.  They probably do it by starting foreign language learning classes at a very young age.

[rand paul]

It takes a very special kind of person but it is possible.

Although saying that, if you work hard enough theres nothing that cant be achieved.

[ghanashyam]

I know 3 Indian languages and 1 foreign language i.e. English. I know a bit of Urdu, can understand but cannot write or read it. For a man who has all the time like a man doing teaching job in language learning college, it is possible to learn multiple of languages because he can practice also with other teachers and students.

But here is a person who can speak more than 36 languages fluently.

"Now, I can read about three dozen languages and speak most of them fluently, and I've studied many more. The more of them you know, the more you see how inter-related they are."

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/16/i-speak-50-languages-experience

[zambothegreat]

I fear that it would cripple my mind.  I would implode.  I can't compartmentalize all of that knowledge.  I know that we only use ten percent of our brain's capacity but it seems nearly impossible to master six languages.  I'd like to meet the person who has accomplished this.  I respect the talent and devotion.  They probably do it by starting foreign language learning classes at a very young age.

What happened to your campaign against capitalization?

6 languages isn't out of the realm of possibility for most people. Learning languages that are similar is obviously easier than learning languages that are completely different in their lexicon. Learning Portuguese when you already speak Spanish would be easy. I speak English, French, and Greek. I don't think I would have too hard a time learning Russian or Spanish or Italian.

[mareebaybay]

I don't understand how it's possible to learn at least 6 languages either. I mean to learn 6 languages you will have to have a great amount of brain capacity. Learning that many languages can have a great benefit for the body and mind.