Jump to content
Linguaholic

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


True2marie

Recommended Posts

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...