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Second Language Personality Change | ||
Tags: Cultural Identity | Foreign Languages | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Marc94 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5057 days ago 32 posts - 50 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian | Message 17 of 27 30 July 2010 at 10:31pm | IP Logged |
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I find myself to be more open and outgoing in German. I can easily talk about anything without feeling akward, whereas I usually keep to myself when it comes to English.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5018 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes  Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 18 of 27 27 August 2010 at 12:34am | IP Logged |
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When I'm speaking French with other non-French people, or a group that's a mixture of native and non-native speakers such as at the French meetup group in my city, I feel very open and comfortable, sometimes more so than in English. However when I'm actually in France I'm more worried about making mistakes and incorrect pronunciation, and that makes me very shy and I end up mumbling or talking quickly to "hide" any possible mistake. In my experience, speaking with the French in France is a lot more difficult than with other learners or French people who're used to foreigners so can understand despite poor pronunciation. Which causes a bit of a vicious circle...
I had a similar but stronger effect when I was in Italy recently. I learnt a fair bit basic Italian beforehand, but when I was there I was afraid to actually use it and I just let the natives I was with do all the work. Again, not very useful for learning, and looking back I'm a bit annoyed at myself for missing out on a great opportunity for learning in an immersed environment. Edited by garyb on 27 August 2010 at 12:36am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| justberta Diglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5396 days ago 140 posts - 170 votes Speaks: English, Norwegian* Studies: Indonesian, German, Spanish, Russian | Message 19 of 27 27 August 2010 at 8:13am | IP Logged |
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When I speak my native Norwegian I am who I was growing up. I swear a lot more too.
Speaking English is my favorite personality, this feels more like my native language. Speaking Spanish is fun, also with a lot of swear words. German, don't know as I never really spoke it. Indonesian makes me act polite as there are not too many swear words and my personality becomes more like that of an Indonesian Muslim. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| jdmoncada Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4845 days ago 470 posts - 741 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Finnish Studies: Russian, Japanese | Message 20 of 27 03 March 2011 at 8:28pm | IP Logged |
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This topic reminds me how sometimes things are easier to discuss in foreign languages than they are in our own. I have heard stories of Holocaust survivors who could not talk about what they had experienced int heir own languages, but who would talk about it in English (or French, etc.). It was because, for them, the different language made a barrier between them and the true depth of the atrocities they experienced.
I found that interesting and wanted to share. 8 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Matheus Senior Member Brazil Joined 4892 days ago 208 posts - 312 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: English, French | Message 21 of 27 10 May 2011 at 10:39pm | IP Logged |
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I've never realised something like that.
I think the reason is that when you're speaking your second language, you can make mistakes, say sorry for mispronounced words, bad grammar, and you can pretend you don't understand what the native speaker is saying (if it is not a good thing). But when you're speaking your native language, it is the language that everyone you know since you were a child would understand, that's the difference. I can be mistaken, but that is what I think. Edited by Matheus on 10 May 2011 at 11:10pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6363 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 22 of 27 10 May 2011 at 11:03pm | IP Logged |
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There are different things going on here:
- depth of vocabulary - foreign language as an emotional barrier - personality and language A couple of observations, first personally, my voice, attitude and even facial expressions change in my 3 core languages. My daughters find that I'm more French in German which amuses or frustrates them. It's known that certain words have very specific function like swear words and Tourette's -- the association of these strong and innappropriate words does not necessarily occur in a second language (personal observation during college with a TS teacher) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| mrwarper Diglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Spain forum_posts.asp?TID=Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5037 days ago 1493 posts - 2500 votes Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2 Studies: German, Russian, Japanese | Message 23 of 27 12 May 2011 at 4:37pm | IP Logged |
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I like the explanation of it being an extreme version of how you act differently when you are in front of different people.
The only reason I feel I act a bit different in front of foreigner friends, or when I speak a different language, than I would 'normally' do is precisely the language barrier. Accordingly, as I gain proficiency or that barrier is made less relevant because I get more familiar with other people's ways, that 'acting different' fades away (or perhaps gets more subconscious). Other than that, I'm quite sure I am pretty much the same guy no matter what language I speak: in the end I always I engage in the same type of arguments with, or try to avoid the same kinds of people, etc. :) Or, it might be that I try and find those who are more similar to me in every new community from the beginning, and there's an interim until I finally do so. Interestingly, someone mentioned some Spanish swear word(s) that sounded completely alien to me because I thought he was referring to how they are used in another Spanish-speaking country, and they felt different and innocuous. OTOH some English swear words which I would never use because I think they'd sound pretty bland scandalized me when I heard them from a native. So I guess your perspective on those can change over time, too. Edited by mrwarper on 12 May 2011 at 4:42pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| druckfehler Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4679 days ago 1181 posts - 1912 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean Studies: Persian | Message 24 of 27 02 August 2011 at 9:52am | IP Logged |
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Wow, it's so interesting to read that others are experiencing the same thing! In my native German I don't really speak much, except with close friends. Actually, I sometimes have difficulty speaking to a bigger group of people or people I don't know well.
It's like I'm a different person in English. I'm far more outgoing and say lots of silly things that I wouldn't say in German. Speaking Korean is still new for me, but I think I'm developing a more Korean personality for that as well. I feel like it's natural to bow when saying hello and I giggle more. :) It just struck me today that it sometimes makes me feel misunderstood. For example, if someone only knows me in German and assumes things about my character I'd like to clarify that this is in fact only one of my characters. Anyone else here feel that way? Edited by druckfehler on 02 August 2011 at 9:58am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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