Do you feel like a different person when speaking a foreign language?

[True2marie]

At times, when I speak in my second language, I feel unlike myself. I think it's because I realize the beauty of being able to communicate with a culture outside of my own.  Do you feel like a different person when you speak in a foreign language?

[Meera]

Yes I do sometimes. Itkind of  feels like you are taking on a new charecter.

[mareebaybay]

I won't say that I feel like a different person when speaking a foreign language, because I know who I am. However when I speak a foreign language I feel pretty accomplished as if I have done something very good and that makes me feel great in turn.

[lizbeth19hph]

I don't ever feel like a different person once I use my second language which is English. The reason maybe because I use it daily at work that I feel comfortable with it and it's like it's just natural for me to speak. But I do not sound nor feel like a foreigner. I am still my old self.

[Trellum]

Well, it depends on where I am in the precise moment I'm speaking that language. If I'm in my own country, I might feel weird with all those stares of the people around me, who probably think I'm a foreigner. When I'm in the US  I feel a bit weird speaking that language, because I know they're all natives!  So I might feel a bit shy too!  But when I'm in a different country where the mother language isn't english, then I feel super natural and don't feel like a different person at all.

I think it really depends on the context But in general, I feel better speaking english! I feel weirder when I speak my own language and I hear myself!

[pandandesign]

I only speak English and Chinese, which English is my second language. I don't feel like a different person when I speak English, which I think the reason for that is I get used to speak both languages interchangeably throughout the day. I think the only think I feel like a different person is that I tend to speak louder when I speak Chinese.

[Daimashin]

Be one with the language you're speaking and you won't feel different no matter what language you use. It's also a very efficient way to be good at that language. Speaking another language should be second nature. So no, I don't feel like a different person since I technically I don't feel like I'm using a foreign language.

[Banister]

Once speaking a foreign language I always feel calm and pleased that I am trying to do something innovative. Speaking or writing on a foreign language gives me the will to have enough delight to get into the world of exploring languages. That being said I don't mean I feel a different person when speaking a new language.

[Astdua]

When I switch to a secondary language, I feel like the new rules and possibilities shape the way I express myself. and expressing yourself, or different parts of you, can be very different on different languages, although there are core universal basics.

I guess it's more of a thing where you explore the way you perceive and express different aspects of yourself, rather than being a whole new person.

[ashishkashyap25]

Although "Hindi" is my native and first language, I like English the most instead. I love the beauty which emerges when I talk to someone who is not of my nation. I feel that everyone should be as comfortable in its second language as in its own. so I may end up concluding no, I don't feel different but oneness.

[rodserd]

I feel like an idiot when I speak another language.  I don't speak very quickly or very well in another language, which is completely the opposite of how I am when I speak English.

[babols15]

Yes, somehow I feel like a different person when I speak English (Filipino is my native tongue). I can't describe it fully, but it's like a different side of me emerges. I've been speaking English almost my whole life but the "real me" surfaces when I speak Filipino.

[LauraM]

I have sometimes had that experience of feeling like a different person.  When I was more fluent in Spanish, back in college especially, I was taking some literature courses that were conducted entirely in Spanish and the days that I attended those classes was very much like stepping into a different life.  It was enjoyable.  I had a passion for the literature and it was a challenge to keep up both with the spoken conversation as well as the reading.

In other situations I have also had that feeling as well, especially in casual social settings with native speakers whom I felt more at ease conversing with in Spanish than in English.  It's hard to explain, but I did get that feeling, perhaps because they were so welcoming, accommodating and encouraging.  These were very positive experiences which I would not otherwise have had if I didn't know the language.

[Baburra]

Yes, definitely. A lot of the mannerisms and intonations have to be changed to sound as naturally as possible, not to mention complete opposite sentence structures. I wouldn't say I feel like a different person, though, but I can certainly feel the big shift in my mind when I start talking in a second language.

[Rosa]

When I speak my second language I wouldn't say that I feel like a different person but it does let me feel a little more complete. To be speaking a language that I've always liked to hear someone fluent in it speak is a great accomplishment for me and it makes me feel great.

[LivetoErr]

I can't say that I feel like a different person. I just feel like I'm an idiot because I don't know why I have such a hard time grasping everything. I have to ask people to repeat themselves because I don't hear exactly what they're saying. Except, they think I don't understand them so they try and say it a different way.

[fredkawig]

Yes. I've experienced what you are talking about, I have this feeling like I'm not used to it or it's like someone else is speaking when I use a different or foreign language. But for English, I have grown accustomed to it and have been fluent in speaking English.

[lllllllllllllllllllllllll]

Well it boosts my confidence when conversing in a foreign language (especially if I am in a foreign country) and it makes me feel one with the people of the country, so I guess it does make me feel like a different person.

[jubvman]

I wouldn't say I feel like a different person but I definitely feel a lot smarter when speaking a foreign language. It's a great feeling being able to communicate with people who you couldn't previously. Makes me feel like I've accomplished something really great

[marmunmrhundun]

I think I feel more intelligent when speaking another langauge, but I don't feel like a different person. I might feel like something has changed about me but I don't feel brand new or anything lol.

[ilikemoney420]

I dont really feel any different because the only time Im speaking another language is when I give commands to my dog. Even then I dont feel different.