for people who speak more than one language?

Question

what language do you most often think in? your native language or the language you learned most recently? I was asked this question by some friends and I couldn't really answer...sometimes I find myself thinking and not knowing what language I did it in...or sometimes I see or read something and don't know what language I read or heard it in...I just remember what I understood of it...does this happen to any of you?

Answer 1

I speak 3 foreign languages fairly well, and one more on a native-like level, and i noticed i think in the language i've been most occupied with recently. That is, if i learn French, for example, quite intensively, watch some movies in it, talk to some French people and also like French, i think 90% of time in this language. If i use, say, German at work and i work a lot, i start to think in German. Etc.
However, my native language is always there, whether i notice it or not, when i find myself in a situation totally alien to me... This is also true for situations of extreme stress/panic/danger etc, i.e. pretty emotional. It's like, you'll hardly think in a foreign language (swearwords don't count :), when for example you are dressed elegantly and someone suddenly pushes you into the water....

Answer 2

I guess it dependends on your upbringing somehow.

I was born in Spanish speaking Peru but mom is Italian and dad Portuguese. I learned those 3 languages from the cradle and I switch back and forth without even thinking about it. I also went to a school where English was taught as a second language and I added another language to my melting pot of unconscious thinking.

Do I prefer one over another? Well I guess since I lived in the US for so long and I no longer have my folks nearby, I find myself thinking more often in English.

Answer 3

Yes, this happens to me. English is my native language, but I also speak Spanish & Russian. I usually think in English, but I dream in all three languages, sometimes in the same dream!

I know what you mean about reading something and not realizing right away what language it's in, too. And sometimes when I'm trying to speak one language, a word from another language will pop out. For example, I was speaking Spanish with a girl once who was taking classes to learn it and asked me to practice with her. I said something about the number 8 and she didn't understand me. I kept repeating it, thinking how can you not know this simplest of words?! Then it dawned on me I was saying 8 in Russian instead of Spanish! In my mind, it made perfect sense, but she was completely confused! :-)

Answer 4

most people tend to process thoughts in their native language bcuz it's easier to understand. I'm bilingual too (English and Canadian French), and English is what I learned first. Sometimes I try to relate languages to each other to figure out their origin, so I can try to understand . By the way, Happy New Year!!

Answer 5

Usually I think in the language of the country where I am or have been for a few days. In Germany I think in German and in the US I normally think in English. I don't really notice this unless I stop to think about it. This is also true of other languages I speak.

Answer 6

I have the same issue that i dont remember which language i read an article or which news channel i listened but when i am angry i think in english, well mostly i think in english but i dream in different languages

Answer 7

Both English (my first language) and Italian (the language I most commonly use other than English)

Answer 8

I always think in my native language (Spanish). I think in English when Im at work. however... sometimes both languages come across in my head.

Answer 9

I'm a French speaker and when I watch for example a movie in English, I can't remember afterwards if I saw the movie in English or in French.

Answer 10

Usually, I think in English but sometimes, for some strange reason, English suddenly sounds foreign and I feel better listening to Chinese even though I can't understand all of it.