How do you think when speaking another language?

Question

I only speak english. I know a few words in spanish, but I can't imagine how it would feel to speak another language fluently. So my question is: How do you think when you speak a non-native language? For me, lemonade means "lemonade" but if you're speaking spanish do you still think in english in your mind? Saying to yourself "the word I want is la limonada". Or does it just come naturally like speaking your native tongue?

If the question doesn't make sense, I apologize, but bottom line is, how does your mind work when you're fluent in another language?

Answer 1

Don't worry, your question makes sense. I speak various languages and based on my own experience I can tell you this...
When you are still learning the language, you are not still fluent in it, you first think in your native language then translate it in your mind. Thant's why when someone speaks a language in which he or she is not fluent, the speech is too slow. Eventually, when you become fluent in it, you do not translate anymore and you do not think in your native language anymore. This is when you might see a dream in a language you are already fluent in. When you become fluent, you might also think in that language.
And by the way, it feels really good when you realize you are fluent in some foreign languages. I hope you'll feel the same too one day.

Answer 2

I speak a bit of several languages. I'm not REALLY fluent in any except English, but occasionally the "shift" happens for me, and I'm simply not thinking any English any more. If I were to think about a particular thing, then to me the Hebrew or Spanish or German (how's that for a weird group???) word for that is effectively synonymous with the English word for the same thing. In a sense, I've just chosen a different "set" of synonyms for the things, ideas, and concepts I usually express in English.

Not sure if that does it, but it's as close as I can come without putting someone in MY head :-)

Answer 3

Yes, I think when you become quite fluent in another language or languages--as I did when I was young, a total-immersion course in Czech for the Air Force--you get into a pattern, sort of a feeling, where once you start speaking and hearing the language, it just flows. We would speak quite rapidly without thinking in English, but occasionally come up against a word or concept we hadn't learned or couldn't remember. In those cases, it seemed to depend on our individual backgrounds: I had studied several years of German, so when I lacked a Czech word, a German one always wanted to come out. Maybe it's different for different people, but this has been my experience, the "flow" of a language. When I was living in Korea, I got quite used to speaking in Korean all the time. Once you start a sentence or thought in another language, the rest just naturally comes out in that language. Or it did to me. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

ok,
i'll answer you in English and while I type I think ENglish, for thats the language of use right now...I don't think in my mother language which is german or the other language I speak mostly if not English, which is chinese...
And if I speak Chinese I think chinese, When I speak English I think English, and when I am with my family on the phone speaking german I do think english, sometimes,...

often I do changes between the language..english and chinese..when I don't know a word in Chinese I say it english

It depends how fluent you are in another language, and how often you use them..when I first came to China I translatet all the time in my mind...always to german, but now I am fluent in all 3 languages and think and dream in different languages

Answer 5

I speak Russian at home, but when at work I speak English.
As for what language what I think in, I guess to me, It's what ever is easier to express. I mean, we all in our minds talk to ourselves. And when I answer a certain thought I think of quickest way of answering the question. If English language has a word or expression to a thought, I use that language to memorize the idea. Did I confuse you yet? E-mail me if you want more.

Answer 6

When you start, you are always translating from your original language.. (english)
When you become fluent you will start to think in the other language (spanish) I am fluent in spanish and can switch back and forth without even knowing sometimes.. My mind just does it, but I now have 21 years in a spanish speaking country and preach and teach in spanish..

Answer 7

I speak 3 languages and could switch them freely while I speak, I could speak to one in english and turn my head and speak with someone else in another language.
It's natural if you can speak them all fluently and use them often. I once had a hard time for a couple of weeks when I first came to USA from Europe to switch from German to English, since I rarely use English in Europe.

Answer 8

It depends where I'm at. If I'm in America i start thinking in English. Unless I'm talking in German to my family, then for a short period i will think in German. If I'm in Germany i think German. But it takes a while for my brain to flip. The longer I'm at a place the more i think in that language. Sometimes my languages get mixed up. I say something in German but think that i spoke in English, because i understand both. ( German is the language i had spoken the most, but it might change now, since i have been living for so long in the states ^_^)

Answer 9

Right now I am living in Mexico and I´ve been here for like 5 months. All I do is speak, when people talk to me in Spanish, I think in Spanish. That way there are no weird delays in the conversation.

Answer 10

Its the same for everyone's language. I speak a little of Japanese and Spanish, and I still think in English. But, if your English and you think Sky, it means the same to be Japanese and think Sora, same words, different language and thinking.