Thinking in another language

magevampjoe · 2 Feb 2008

Hi. Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

Anyway. My question is this:
Does anyone else think in a different language to their 'mother-tongue'?

I sometimes learn a Japanese word and then think it, and have even been known to reply to people in Japanese accidentally, as a bit of a habit... (And then feel embarressed as I reply again in English...)

Anyone else have this? Like people that live in Japan, or people in other countries find themselves accidentally thinking in the language of that country?

Joe

pugtm · 2 Feb 2008

one should always develop different thought processes based on different languages. i am learning my fifth and have developed 5 one for each. this allows you to learn easier instead of going through a translation to your mother tounge and then back again. it will help you learn the language faster and better. and yes slip ups are normal if you are thinking in one and are spoken to in another.

Mikawa Ossan · 2 Feb 2008

magevampjoe said:
Like people that live in Japan, or people in other countries find themselves accidentally thinking in the language of that country?

There's nothing accidental about it!

__shrink · 2 Feb 2008

I always do that. =D!! My mother tounge is Indonesian, I never think in Indonesian anymore. >_< My second language, English. But currently I'm trying to learn Japanese. So sometimes I listen to a catchy phrase, and then remember it. It does slip occasionally to my friends, but those who study Japanese know what it means - Others think I'm weird. :3

Han Chan · 2 Feb 2008

I often realize that I am thinking in English. First time I experienced this was on a trip to India. I was in Calcutta and I was telling myself: "This place is just too depressing". When I realized that I had forgotten the word for "depressing" in Danish - I became even more depressed.

Now I often realize that I have been dreaming in english, because I can remember fragments from my conversations after I wake up.

Just this morning, I was confused about the time because "halv to" or "half two" means 13:30 in danish and 14:30 in english.

kameron · 2 Feb 2008

Han Chan said:
Now I often realize that I have been dreaming in english, because I can remember fragments from my conversations after I wake up.

More and more frequently I've been having dreams where people/objects are using Japanese rather than English. Always makes me feel happy when I wake up, I think it means I'm getting closer to my goals. It used to just be gibberish but these days things are actually making sense including myself.

Some Japanese phrases have replaced English phrases through bad habit, such as "soudesune" when someone asks me a hard question.

I'd love to not be able to think in English, it would have to slow down my Japanese conversation skills come to think of it.

mika_r · 2 Feb 2008

it happens to me a lot x)

even if spanish is my mother tongue, i go to a full french school, so there i usually think in french xP

Annubis · 2 Feb 2008

I was raised speaking French Spanish and English, to this day I still think a bit in French... especially when spelling words... and sometimes, I can't figure out the English word and end up saying the French word...hehe

Living in Japan and learning Japanese, I have a tendency to always say "eto-o", and "kore, kore", and "arigato gozaimasu" all the time... so instead of saying "well...", or "ce chose si" I say the Japanese words. I rather enjoy thinking in other languages.

Arlet · 2 Feb 2008

Lol, so there are many more people like that~!
I always think in English eventhough im raised with dutch.
Sometimes, its soo bad, that i know the english word and i dont know the dutch word anymore.
But like Annubis, i also use japanese words like its normal.
I speak dutch, then something in English, then i use a japanese sentence or something like that and then in the end i say: Tu ne comprends pas?

Davey · 2 Feb 2008

My native language is Dutch, but I also always think in English since about 5 years ago. Recently I also started to think a lot in Japanese, but not really using sentences but more words such as "nandeyanen" and stuff like that.

My Dutch is getting worse every day .

Tsuyoiko · 2 Feb 2008

I have just a couple of phrases. I always want to say arigato gozaimasu, and have to consciously change it to thank you when necessary. And I have a word 'gila', that means 'crazy' in Iban. That is the word that always pops in my head and I have to translate it back consciously if I want to say crazy.

hideway · 5 Feb 2008

Lot of times, I've the problem of thinking in English instead of Portuguese.

Often, I even get to the point where I "suddenly forget" about a Portuguese word and can only remember it's English equivalent.

I also have no idea about the Portuguese translation of some countries I learned in English.

K_von · 5 Feb 2008

this happens to me a lot too, i grew up wit spanish and then after i kept on using english i forgot spanish , but there are random times where i do think in spanish, once, my teacher asked me a quesiton and i was like "what" in spanish and was kinda embaressing but i was a kid. Lol >_< but now that im learning japanese i want the language to run through my head all the time

magevampjoe · 10 Feb 2008

Some good answers. I'm just trying to bump the topic back up, seeing as everyone looks normally only at the top (eg, why you should be banned, or birthday conrats threads etc) and not at 1week old topics which people missed.
Any more answers?

Kinsao · 11 Feb 2008

I sometimes think in French rather than English. It just depends if I am using it quite a bit, then obviously there will be more tendency to think in it. Also I reckon there are some phrases (as is the case in every language) that don't translate too well.

Thinking in another language

magevampjoe

Sempai

pugtm

Jewish Samurai

Mikawa Ossan

いかんわ！

__shrink

先輩

Han Chan

先輩

kameron

かめです

mika_r

... La La //

Annubis

Tokyo and Beyond

Arlet

Tell me, Tell me ~!

Davey

先輩

Tsuyoiko

DON'T PANIC!

hideway

still hiding

K_von

先輩

magevampjoe

Sempai

Kinsao

Horizon Rider

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