rando post and thoughts in english
which mostly cause of hive has become the dominant language in my head the past few years. I feel like I've had quite a unique upbringing when it comes to languages. I learned many of them quick when I was young, supposedly that's when you learn the fastest and best, i.e. long-lasting, which I think I can verify at this stage.
To easily explain this without giving you too much info, there's a language I started out with as a kid I wouldn't want to mention which for doxxing reasons, then I got into learning german by watching A LOT of tv and ordering comic books/manga home. Germans love to dub their stuff and being in a country with a shit selection of TV channels we had to have a satellite in every home we lived in cause german TV was very entertaining in the 90s. Eventually we moved to Finland where I was the odd one out cause we decided to live in the south and in this specific region majority of people spoke swedish (5% of the finnish population speak swedish as their main language). Switching schools and me being the kid not speaking any of the languages the others did (swedish + finnish), they decided best to just let me learn swedish first so I could understand something in the other classes. This lead to me being behind on finnish which kids would usually start to learn in 3rd grade, here we were in 6th grade and I had just learned enough swedish to understand and speak it okay. Luckily I knew german quite okay which made learning swedish quite easy but finnish was quite a different ballpark and my dislike for it didn't help learning it.
English eventually came along and I did quite alright there in school as well and I remember that it was around this time where my "thinking language" became swedish, away from german and the other language. I was never strong in english though, it would take many more years before the interest came there mostly due to websites/online activities and multiplayer gaming. So for the longest time I had swedish as my main language but that has changed lately too as I moved away from finland and have been moving around a fair bit here and there mostly just happy to escape the cold and darkness after all these years.
Anyway, I do sometimes wonder how this shift in main languages may have affected me, surely many other things may have affected my brain to a higher degree but I'm sure language have had some impact too. When I some times try to speak a language I haven't spoken in forever, like german, it feels like my tone and voice change quite a bit so I wonder if switching back to it fully would also change how I think about things and act, mostly the former of course. I also wonder how switching to english may have changed me. You are what you think I guess but does it change you at all in which language you think?
I've also noticed that sometimes when I dream I may dream in some of the other languages what feels like at random (but of course never finnish cause f that xd (jk i love finnish in heavy/folk metal)). In the dreams I of course speak it fluently, somehow my brain thinks my german is still that strong even though I haven't used it in decades and whenever I happen to read some hive posts in german or comments I prefer to reply in english cause it would just take me forever to write and think of the right words or maybe even need the help of google translate here and there. Surprisingly when I'm drunk it's a lot easier to speak languages you haven't spoken in a long time, all the words you didn't think you remembered anymore are suddenly all there as fluent as the beer (wait that doesn't really make sense in english).
Which brings me to another thing, puns and jokes. Do you know how annoying it is to have great puns or jokes at certain interactions but they don't fucking work with the language used then and there? and being the guy who's like "eheheh, this word actually means this in swedish so haha u said this which also means this and is relatable to the thing but something completely different, get it, is it still funny after the 8 sentences of me explaining it to you? wut, you forgot what we were talking about? ye me too.
Anyway, random latenight shitpost, wonder what language I'll be dreaming in tonight, it better not be python cause don't wanna turn my zzz's into sss's.
You certainly spoke a wider range of languages! This is a topic we often discussed. My mother tongue is Afrikaans (a Germanic language that originated and is only spoken in SA) My hubby was English speaking so when the kids came along we decided we would speak our relevant mother tongues to them. They would never address their Dad in Afrikaans and vice versa. The family conversation would confuse some people, but it worked and they're both very bright,
I do believe we switch to thinking in the language spoken at the time, well that's how my brain works.
PS oh my word! I had to correct my grammar, was half asleep when my curious mind went through my feed last night😖
What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual
What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American
I took four years of German in high school, can still sort of read it and understand the general gist of someone speaking it, but could not longer carry on a conversation.
Briefly studied Chinese in college (mostly gone now) and have taught myself a smattering of Spanish.
I almost always dream in English but a while back dreamt I was speaking Vietnamese, a language I know only a few words off.
Ich tue mir bei Fremdsprachen leider sehr schwer, dass war auch in der Schule schon so.
Wobei ich eigentlich Fremdsprache sagen sollte, weil mehr als ein wenig Englisch kann ich nicht.
Ein wenig besser ist es geworden als ich einige Jahre in der Pokerbranche unterwegs war, aber mehr als ein wenig smalltalk ab und zu mal war das auch nicht.
Als ich mal in Las Vegas war habe ich aber schon bemerkt, dass es schon nach ein paar Tagen besser geworden ist, da musste ich ja Englisch reden sonst versteht dich da gar keiner.
Aber wenn man es im Alltag nicht braucht, ist das alles schnell wieder vergessen.
Es ist natürlich auch hier und im www generell ein handicap wenn man nicht gut Englisch spricht, da tue ich mir bei vielen Dingen schwer es richtig zu verstehen.
Gottseidank werden die Universalübersetzer immer besser, die erleichtern mir da das Leben schon ein wenig, aber optimal ist es halt auch nicht.
Das meiste bekomme ich dann trotzdem irgendwie hin, aber halt oft nur mit sehr großem Zeitaufwand.
Haha I was actually on my way to become a german teacher for a while, either that or a translator as I was studying german in university. I decided though that with the rise in technology translation jobs would most likely go extinct eventually and being a teacher didn't sound as nice after having spent so many years in schools at the time. I hadn't even thought about AI at the time so maybe I made the right choice not to pursue it.
and yeah, it helps a lot being surrounded by a certain language to learn it easier.
hahah awesome question! i grew up with dutch and english abroad as well, so I guess I had a couple of years after moving back to holland that Dutch was a challenge..At that point I thought a lot more in English...But that shifted over the years..Dutch became the motherlanguage which I think in.
After moving back to german speaking and english speaking country...I all went very familiar, but Dutch stayed the main thinking language eventually! (although that sucks because dutch is a really ugly language hahahahah)
What a rich language back-story! I see where your question came from 🙂
English is the language that I studied in school and university. Now I use it in communication with my workmates and friends but more often here on Hive. I still consider my English is not good enough but time after time things come to my mind in English first. Although my native language and lang of my environment is Ukrainian.
I have dabbled in a few languages, but English is the only one in which I even approach fluency. I don't have much choice but to think in English when language is part of the process. That said, a lot of my thought structure tends to be in shapes, proportions, abstract connections, and spaces rather than words. The labels are sometimes secondary.
I learned English from a very young age thanks to video games, I don't remember a time when I didn't know at least a little bit of all the words and structures it has, I can't say that I "think" in it but it's funny how some studies say that brains work differently depending on the language they master, I think there is certainly some truth there
Wow, that was a journey. You learned a lot of languages out of necessity it's insane. I grew up in the Philippines, and early on they teach kids both English and Filipino. I haven't really analyzed what language I think in, but I guess it is a mix of both, or Taglish [Tagalog+English, Tagalog is a dialect, and was the one used in Filipino].
What amaze me is not the amount of languages you know but the amount of text you pull from a single thought, my main language is spanish but start learning english when I was a kid then internet came into my life on 98 and thats when the switch happen, now days even my english is not perfect its hard for me to think in spanish and sometimes remember translations, did learn french at school but never like it, sorry 😅
Interesting post. I wmhave always been good in learning foreign languages. I can speak Ebflish, French an German, but besides Dutch English is the second language I can think in. I sometimes have troubles translating an English conversation in Dutch although I fully understand it.
When I speak German or French I'm constantly translating Dutch words and sentences.
My native language is Estonian, but I learned English very early thanks to the Internet. When I think I use Estonian and English mixed, like even inside of the same sentences (It could honestly be that even every other word is in a different language).
Very rarely I also throw in some spanish or russian words that I know too, but then sometimes it gets too hectic in my head and I lose my train of thought.
Me think binary 🤖
Joke apart, I found myself thinking in Chinese when I was learning it. I read it could reconfigure your brain learning it because it's such a different language.
And now that I'm involved in Hive, with so many contacts everywhere in the world, English is taking over my mother language to the point that I sometimes have hard times finding some words.
As so as English not my native language I use it on Hive, in my travels and when I'm on air. But notice when I dive in English speaking environment I start to think on English. The same thing with another one not my native language and Morse code))
But most part of the time I'm thinking and doing in my native. Just it worth to feel myself in other country I'm starting to feel emotions and sounds like a local resident, it's enough month or two to switch for it.
We are mainly taught English as a second language here. Although there are shortages in schools, one has to master the English language on one's own initiative. There is also a shortage of teachers in schools especially in rural areas compared to urban areas. Anyway, due to online based work, I have managed to learn English to some extent. Nice to know your language related information.
What!! I always thought you're a Finn!
The same thing happens to my husband as well when he's had too much to drink, he's English is much better and more fluent. Weird
Other than Let's plays I have not spoken english in probably more than a decade so english is very foreign to my brain. But for example when I read Berserk manga at times it seems that I understand what is written but can't find the right words in my native language.
Can you really know so many languages and not forget them as the years go by? Incredible, I am still working on perfecting my native language when writing, Spanish has so many words and we use so few
I think it's cause I learned them at an early age, at least I have no trouble understanding german even though it's the one I use the least.
Yes, children are like sponges, they absorb all kinds of knowledge faster than adults, at this age it is more difficult to learn a language or another discipline
I'm happy to see more shitposts popping up.
English is my default brought from early exposure to TV shows and books written in English (because I love books). I'd be confident about using English than my local dialect or national language.
I’ve always consciously thought in English (being English) but when living in China I did start dreaming in Mandarin!
That's interesting. :D
Wow, it's really amazing, you truly have a talent for quickly grasping languages even if you're not accustomed to them. It's not easy, you know. I, for one, struggle with just one language, but you, it's incredible. How do you do it so I can apply it to myself☺️? It must feel great to understand different languages.
dreaming with different language is so cool. it would feel like your in a dub movie.
For me, it's either Bangla or English. I do feel more comfortable speaking Bangla, but English isn't that far away. I have studied in an English Medium school, and all those shows and cartoons in English certainly helped. But I'm just more concise when speaking in my mother tongue, Bengali.
Here reflects on a unique language upbringing, learning multiple languages in childhood and experiencing shifts in their thinking language. From an early language base to mastering Swedish and later English, they ponder how language impacts thinking and behavior. Dreaming in different languages and the challenges of translating humor across languages add layers to their linguistic journey. The author humorously concludes with a late-night reflection, hoping not to dream in Python and turning sleep into code.
Depends on what I'm doing and who I'm with honestly. Probably most recently used spoken language.
Je pense both en francais and in english, depends. Much like you, sometimes they are mostly separate but sometimes they flip flop, example, counting to twenty in my head I might un-intentionally change language as I count 3 or 4 times, whatever information gets there and processed faster I suppose. Born and raised french but now live across the country in englishland. Here in Canada, not many can do that especially if born and raised here as in speak multiple languages enough to un-intentionally think in multiple ones, it's a special skill you posses. As far as your english skills, I never would have guessed it isn't your native language, you do well, obviously Hive has served you an unintentional skill mastery to go with whatever online wizardry you do behind the scene that we don't see and can't begin to understand. Happy holidays. xox
Lol, I definitely don't think in Python😄 English for me.
I started to think in English from time to time a little less than a year ago. An effect of writing a blog every day in English. I'm still thinking in my native language most of the time, though. The brain automatically switches to English when a thought has something to do with Hive.
Learning English was one of the precious side effects of being active here. I often thought "Ah, it would be so nice to know English and understand all that stuff and people who confidently use that language." But learning wasn't in my mind back then. I wasn't in the mood for that kind of effort.
Blogging brought the knowledge in a fun, playful, and sometimes emotionally charged way. Both good and bad emotions played their roles in giving a strong motivation.
So, yeah, I think in English from time to time. And I'm still pretty much amazed at that fact.
Mix of english and french, it really depends on the context and what language I spoke last
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I never put any thought into this topic until recently when I moved to the Netherlands and started working as a hotel receptionist as opposed to doing nothing. I had 6 flags under my name, one for each language I speak. A guest asked me "which language do you count in?" I was like wtf? What does that determine? He told me it determines your personal native language. The primary language your brain processes things with is the language you count in. Interesting take, no? I grew up with 6 major languages surrounding me. Without knowing it, I was native in 4 languages as a kid coz I was too dumb to pick up the other 2. In school I took french but don't remember a single thing. Then moved to Ukraine and learned another language. And now in the Netherlands learning one more just to get my Dutch medical license. In retrospect, all those languages helped me become more open and maybe even friendly. What always worked for me was listening, I pick up languages quickly through that. Reading and watching, not so much. But the languages in my head change according to situations. I think in different languages depending on the topic - which as I am writing makes me feel like I might be a little cuckoo in the head x'D
plot twist, it's just nonsensical shit and everyone just nods their heads 😂😄
I grew up with Spanish but somehow got English mostly ingrained in my brain between English classes during prescolar I didn't remember until years ago when I was told about them...and roaming the internet for a long time while sometimes getting into forums and later on Discord servers.
It feels interesting because of how a lot of times I just write straight into English despite Spanish being my native language, probably because I've got used to talking about stuff that tends to have a bigger audience in English speaking sites or chatrooms.
I definitely don't know a lick of German, Swedish or any of those other languages you mentioned though. Really interesting to hear that because of your childhood and growing up through school in another country you have learned that many languages.
Oh, and by the time you are reading this...Merry Christmas!!
@acidyo I could relate to the post. Though you call it a random $hitpost, I think you bring up an important point.
As for myself, I speak 3-4 languages fluently but I always think in one of the regional languages in which I am fluent. Interestingly, it is not my mother tongue. It is the language of the region I grew up in and learnt in school. Perhaps, as I was growing up, that was the language I used for most of my interactions and even my parents encouraged it because they wanted me not to feel alien among other kids.
A test, supposedly of the language in which one thinks is supposed to see which expletive we use when we suddenly get hurt. For example, I use some bad words when I accidently stub my toe or something. Those are never in any other language but my regional language..
And then there are other languages like my wildlife pictures these days. I sometimes think I prefer to speak jus through my clicks.. 😀
Cheers and Merry Christmas.