How many languages do you actively maintain and study at the same time?

[lichtrausch]

Three hours seems excessive. When you are at a native or near native level in a language, one hour a week of maintenance is plenty.

[devilyoudont]

I too kind of find it strange that some people don't seem interested in maintenance... like, what was the point of climbing the mountain if you don't get to enjoy the view...

[Denzagathist]

I too kind of find it strange that some people don't seem interested in maintenance... like, what was the point of climbing the mountain if you don't get to enjoy the view...

I think it comes down to differing interests and goals. For some, language learning is interesting because it is a means to the goal of being able to enjoy various media in the original, or to communicate with people of a certain background. For others, the learning process is itself the interest. I've come to realize that while I do enjoy the former to some extent, I typically enjoy the process/challenge of unraveling a previously unknown language much more. To me, cross-linguistic comparison of structures, vocabulary, expressions, and so on is far more interesting than actually using the language for regular purposes in most cases. I find intensive grammar study fun, but I usually can't sit through a film without getting bored. It's actually a bit of a problem because I frequently lose interest in the language altogether just when I get to the point of actually being able to use it at a decent level, and have to force myself to maintain it.

[tarvos]

All of them in some crazy rotating schedule I've lost the hang of.

As for maintenance and keeping languages at a high level - you try it with 15-odd languages if not more and see how many YOU can maintain. :p

[Neurotip]

For others, the learning process is itself the interest. I've come to realize that while I do enjoy the former to some extent, I typically enjoy the process/challenge of unraveling a previously unknown language much more. To me, cross-linguistic comparison of structures, vocabulary, expressions, and so on is far more interesting than actually using the language for regular purposes in most cases. I find intensive grammar study fun...

+1.

[Serpent]

I answered 6. These are the ones I use the most. This doesn't include Croatian, Polish or German, because my opportunities to use them are less consistent (though I don't feel the need to seek additional opportunities just for the sake of it).

In practice I care more about minutes or even seconds than hours.

[zenmonkey]

I live in a foreign country, some weeks, I make an 8 minute call with my father and some weeks I spend 2 hrs reading in Spanish. After 50 years, I still speak Spanish reasonably fluently. I'd say I maintain.

I could spend 0 minutes on English and it would maintain. Maintain means maintain it doesn't mean "unneeded busy work used for stats" - some languages you can maintain with little or no effort. My French needs almost zero effort to maintain but I certainly use it every week for more than an hour. I'm sure I could maintain it on 15 minute calls with my kids. (Thankfully, I speak a lot more than that with them.)

On the other end of the spectrum - Setswana is a new language - maintenance at current level is probably at least two hours a week - learning is anything beyond that base. If I'm spending 3 hours a week I'm learning something, IF I'm spending less time, not likely.

It's far from linear and it's user dependent. For example, I'm pretty sure Tarvos needs less time than I do to do so, she's younger, more focused and more experienced in language self-management - these things matter.

(Also marked 6 - I don't think I'm actively maintaining Italian or Portuguese these months. More the shame.)

[Iversen]

Three hours per language each and every week isn't realistic - and not even necessary.

When I went to Portugal to attend this year's Universal Esperanto congress I spoke Portuguese and only Portuguese to the local people there and Esperanto and only Esperanto to the Esperantists. OK, it took me maybe a day or so to get my Esperanto thinking and speaking fully fluent, but I could understand written and spoken Esperanto from the beginning so I would definitely claim that my Esperanto had been sufficiently well maintained. And with Portuguese I didn't even need that first day to get back into the groove - I bought my Lisboa transport card in the airport using my slumbering Portuguese, and it woke up immediately when summoned.

I maintain my languages on a regular basis, but in one week I might spend four or five hours on a language, and then I don't touch it the next week. Another language may get several sessions in a week, but each one only lasting a quarter of an hour. There is no regular pattern in this. I might have reached a higher level by spending more time on my old and well-established languages, but that time would be taking from securing my foothold in my latest acquisitions, and I don't need to be totally perfect in any one of the old ones to communicate efficiently. If you first have learnt a language well enough to think and write and maybe even speak it then it has also become quite resistent to neglect. On the other hand neglect is a serious threat to new and weak languages, so that's where I need to put those three hours per week per language.

[白田龍]

I have 10 languages that get some maintenance every once in a while, but only 3 consistently get more than 3 hours a week.

(that is, only one other than native language and English)

[smallwhite]

5 people / 10% voted 10+ languages so 30 hours per week at the very least Never noticed that. Glad they don't take part in the 6WC