Can you think in your mind with other language than your first language?
By hotsummer
@hotsummer (13835)
Philippines
September 25, 2009 4:32am CST
When i think in my mind. i usually think in my own language. i don't think in english. can we tell actually in the first place in what language do we think if we know different languages.
BUt of course when i start a discussion here i do have to think in english but other than that usually i have to think in my local language in the philippines which is called as Tagalog. that is our main language. most people here though they speak their own dialect know how to speak our main language. i speak only our main language i don't have any dialect cause i grew up in my capital city of Philippines, which is Manila.
So do you usually every day think in your mind using english if english is not your first language. or do you know spanish , italian and think in that language.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@missybear (11391)
• United States
25 Sep 09
The first couple years I thought of the German word in my mind first and then translated it to English. Now I automatically think in English. Sometimes now it's the other way around.
@hotsummer (13835)
• Philippines
25 Sep 09
yeah me too. when i am trying to learn english i do the same thing. but now i don't do that any more. but still i don't it the way around. i don't need to do that. i just think either in my language or in english.
@webearn99 (1742)
• India
25 Sep 09
I am from India, a multi language country. We have 23 official languages. I speak 6 of them. I think in the language I am speaking at that time. If I am speaking in English to some one, then I tend to think in English.
I think it is natural as you need to understand and respond in a language, so you have to think in the same language. It is a part of the thought process needed.
All my private thoughts are in my mother tongue.
@hotsummer (13835)
• Philippines
25 Sep 09
wow you know so many languages. i too like to learn more languages beside my own and english. but it is quite hard to learn a new one. i too feel weird to think in english when i am on this site.
@onlinerep01 (490)
• United States
26 Sep 09
Hello Hotsummer,
That is a really good question that you have asked, this is a question I know I would not never though of , that is why I decided to respond, I'm learning the Arabic language at this time, my first language is english, but is all depends on what I'm thinking about , it all depends on what translation sticks out to me at the time, I'm thing about that particular thing or subject, again this was a excellent question Hot summer.
@debbie_19 (226)
• Las Pinas City, Philippines
26 Sep 09
Technically, "languages" other than your national language is called dialect.
I don't usually speak other dialects or languages but I do understand some of them a bit. Some dialects I know other than Filipino are Bicolano, Ilonggo and a bit of Cebuano... :)
Whenever I get mad, I think and speak in English. It's kinda weird but I like it... :)
@yourbetteroffasian (178)
• United States
26 Sep 09
I speak fluent English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. So I can think and talk in different languages. When I was growing up, I had to take Vietnamese school on the weekends every week. When I was in primary school, I also had to take vietnamese summer school on top of that. In high school, I took 4 years of Spanish. And of course, 4 years of English Classes. (= So I have plenty of experiences of languages. I can think about any language in my head that I am fluent in. I also speak some french as my sister took 4 years of french in her high school years. I love to learn new languages and do new things. I've traveled to Vietnam twice and Mexico once on vacation so the three primary languages that I have learned have helped me a lot in my life. Have a good day MyLotters!
@mariahp (28)
• Mexico
25 Sep 09
Well, I am from Mexico and my first language is spanish.. I've been learning english for 6 years. Obviously when I'm talking or chatting with someone else (from another country) I think in english and sometimes I do it too without having a conversation with someone else.. some people say it's good cause it means you're feeling more identified and comfortable with the other language so you can speak it more fluently :)
@kalav56 (11464)
• India
25 Sep 09
When I speak at home my words naturally flow in my mother tongue Tamil.But when it is a matter of writing, be it in English or Tamil the thinking automatically takes place in the respective language used to write at that point of time.In fact at present , for this ansswer of mine I just am writing spontaneosly without pausing to think.So, situation determines my action.I think in English before writing in English without even being aware of it.Similarly the same thing goes for my mother tongue too.
