Can You Think In English??

@else34 (13515)
New Delhi, India
October 22, 2015 7:11am CST
A question to all those whose mother tongue is not English.You can read and understand English,you write in English here on Mylot,and you may also be able to speak in English fluently.But can you think in English? I can't?What about you?
3 people like this
6 responses
Always smiling
@allknowing (153544)
• India
29 Oct 15
It depends on the environment you are in. If you have to deal with people who only talk to you in English most of the time it somehow makes you think in English. I think it is a mixture though
2 people like this
jaishankar
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
29 Oct 15
@allknowing,I lack such conducive environment.Here everyone around me talks in Hindi,even those whose mother tongue is not Hindi.I agree with you thinking in English,for non native speakers,becomes a mixture of English and their mother tongue.
2 people like this
sofs
@sofssu (23660)
•
25 Oct 15
I kind of think in English.. however,, there are certain times when I think in my native language.
2 people like this
jaishankar
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
25 Oct 15
@sofssu,My English teacher had said to me that I should develop the habit of thinking in English.I tried many times to follow his advice,but failed.Now I think in my mother tongue Hindi and then translate it in English.
1 person likes this
Artgirl
@owstalaga (4825)
• Philippines
29 Oct 15
I can. I wish to think in Spanish instead, I'm too used to thinking in English. Can't find motivation to restart my Spanish self-study. If only the office PC had sound I'd probably learn it at work during free time but nooooo, no speakers allowed. Oh well.
Arthur Chappell
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
29 Oct 15
As English is my only language it is the only one I think in, though many might be surprised I think at all
hereandthere
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
29 Oct 15
i'm used to english and filipino, but for those who were born and grew up in the province like my parents, it's filipino and the local dialect.
Yuki
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
22 Oct 15
I can and do, because English is my native language. I've studied a few foreign languages, but the only one I'm proficient enough to think in is Japanese. I've been studying it for more than half my life now, although most of that has been informal and independent rather than classroom-based learning. With Spanish, I have to consciously translate what's being said to me, although I can respond without having to translate from English in most cases.
1 person likes this