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Linguaholic

What Language Do You Think In?


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Unfortunately, I always think  in English. I've been told my old teachers that once you start thinking in a language it makes it much easier to communicate in that language. I hope to one day be able to think in French and Spanish! I remember when I was younger and studying French there were times when my thoughts were in French, I long to get that back!

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I've been living in the UK now for over 5 years, and barely speak my native tongue. I started thinking in English after being here for 1 year, I even dream in English :)

It happened gradually, I never 'forced' myself to think in English.

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I think in English most of the times. I think in my native language only when I have to think really fast. It is way easier for me to think in English because the language seems easier to me than my native language.

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Haha, I spend so much time online writing and reading English that I've begun thinking in it and speaking to myself in it. Now that I'm getting better at Spanish I sometimes think in that language, too. But I'd say it's mostly when I'm alone at home; when I'm in school with friends I'm too "caught up" to think in another language, if that makes sense.

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  • 1 month later...

I am not a native speaker of English. My mother tongue is Tamil. However, I speak in English most of the time, and this has been the case for many years now. I also think in English, and do not remember a time when I actually thought in my mother tongue. I don't speak in my mother tongue much although I live in a region where it is the single largest language.

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I'm not a native speaker of English but I always think in English - somehow. Whenever I need to think critically, English has been the language I've been reliant upon, but when I casually think, it's a mix of my native language and English.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think I'm thinking in English most of the time, because I work using it a lot during the whole day. I'm not quite sure tho, because I haven't even thought about it until now.  Believe it or not I hadn't even thought about this until now that I'm reading this post.  I write in English daily and speak it as well, despite the fact I live in a Spanish speaking country, so my guess is 50/50.

But English is so natural to me now I no longer notice! I guess English is truly my second language now...

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I love this question! I asked it of a teacher of mine who was multi-lingual, and the reply was, "It depends on who I talk to more."

That actually opened my eyes to the real purpose of language and how much more important community is than I thought previously.

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Both professions I engage in, teaching English to Koreans and being a freelance writer would require me to think in the English language almost every waking day. I only get to think in my native language, Tagalog when speaking to friends or at home with my family. :wink:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Jamaican Creole is the language that the average Jamaican speak in on a daily basis. English is only used when speaking or writing something formal. Therefore, I would most likely think in Jamaican Creole even when I am thinking about something that just took place formally.

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English is my native language and I generally think in it, as I have no reason to think in the other language I learned.  I learned Spanish out of need, so I use it when I need to.  I would eventually like to travel and so I am going to need to pick up on another language.  I can see how thinking in the language would help you learn and practice more though.

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I think mostly in English. The language is built in to me. It's the language we use in school, at home and when I am with my friends. So, I am really used to it. I speak rarely in my native language, only when it is required to be spoken.

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