Are you a bilingual person?

[WritingANovel]

Hi? Bilingual, or even trilingual whatever, the point is you speak more than one language fluently/natively.

Do you find yourself switch back and forth between thinking in the two different languages?

Do you find that there are certain things you can't think in one language and you have to think in the other one?

Also, what are your thoughts on how these two languages compare to each other? I am assuming that one of them is English.

For me, I find that English is a very precise language, compared to my mother tongue. If I want to debate in a (somewhat) formal manner, I can only do so in English, whereas I cannot in my native tongue. However, I can compose (bad!) poetry in my native tongue though, because it is a language that lends itself to easy artistic expression precisely due to its imprecise nature.

Your thoughts?

[reggie_love]

I am. I've spoken English and Spanish for as long as I can remember.

I find myself thinking certain thoughts in different languages, but I have a pretty easy time switching between both when I try to. It's more of a question of which memories and people I associate with speaking a specific language.

I'm not great at writing in Spanish simply because I've never had any formal education in it, so I guess I'm limited to English in that regard. Reading's OK in both, though.

I've noticed that I have a weird way of intonating my English. Not to the point where I sound foreign, but rather a distinct manner of speech, much like Christopher Walken or Mitch Hedberg (Not to say I sound like them, I just deliver my words in a distinct way, and so do they).

That's the most damning effect bilinguality has had on my life. Everything else is pretty much the same as everyone else's experience. I just switch between the two when the situation calls for it.

On the other hand, Spanish and English are somewhat similar languages, ones a romance language and the other has romance elements, so speaking both may be different than your situation (English and some east asian language I presume?).

[static_void]

I wish I was . At least, I'm not bilingual in the sense that I was raised with two languages or can communicate with near-native fluency in any language beside English. I know for certain, however, that if I ever have a kid, he or she will be raised bilingual. Just with the relatively mediocre amount of Spanish and French I know, I've been able to recognize how potent the ability to see the world in multilinguistic way is -- certainly, that would be a great gift for a child.

I often find myself thinking in French, especially when im thinking about more romantic things in life.

English for cold hard stuff though.

[Zay]

I'm glad I'm bilingual. Spanish gives me a great advantage in pronouncing foreign vowels. Most English speakers aren't aware of how they brutalize vowels.

I speak Spanish with family maybe, and I read some Spanish websites. This is going to sound wrong, but I also get better treatment in some restaurants if I speak to the workers in Spanish; at chipotle they add extra meat and sometimes a free drink cup.
I can think in Spanish, but because of the vast amount of reading I do in English, it dominates all thought. I can also express myself much better, again because I read so much and know much more vocabulary/expressions. I don't find either particularly more precise than the other. Spanish verbs are very precise, but English makes up for it in other ways.

[Yggdrasil]

Basically, I'm in a near identical situation as Zay's. My family is quite diverse, so I've know many words from several languages, namely French and German, before I ever took formal classes. One of my aspirations in life is actually to learn Mandarin Chinese. Fat chance..

[reggie_love]

Originally Posted by Zay

I speak Spanish with family maybe, and I read some Spanish websites. This is going to sound wrong, but I also get better treatment in some restaurants if I speak to the workers in Spanish; at chipotle they add extra meat and sometimes a free drink cup.

Last time I did that at a local mexican restaurant the guy behind the counter looked at me like I had just screamed "WHITE POWER!" and said "dude! I'm a citizen!".

Excuse me for wanting to practice .

[WritingANovel]

Originally Posted by Zay

I'm glad I'm bilingual. Spanish gives me a great advantage in pronouncing foreign vowels. Most English speakers aren't aware of how they brutalize vowels.

I speak Spanish with family maybe, and I read some Spanish websites. This is going to sound wrong, but I also get better treatment in some restaurants if I speak to the workers in Spanish; at chipotle they add extra meat and sometimes a free drink cup.

That's actually very sweet of them.

I can think in Spanish, but because of the vast amount of reading I do in English, it dominates all thought. I can also express myself much better, again because I read so much and know much more vocabulary/expressions. I don't find either particularly more precise than the other. Spanish verbs are very precise, but English makes up for it in other ways.

Care to elaborate please?

p.s. hola amigo?

[WritingANovel]

Originally Posted by reggie_love

I am. I've spoken English and Spanish for as long as I can remember.

I find myself thinking certain thoughts in different languages, but I have a pretty easy time switching between both when I try to. It's more of a question of which memories and people I associate with speaking a specific language.

I'm not great at writing in Spanish simply because I've never had any formal education in it, so I guess I'm limited to English in that regard. Reading's OK in both, though.

I've noticed that I have a weird way of intonating my English. Not to the point where I sound foreign, but rather a distinct manner of speech, much like Christopher Walken or Mitch Hedberg (Not to say I sound like them, I just deliver my words in a distinct way, and so do they).

That's the most damning effect bilinguality has had on my life. Everything else is pretty much the same as everyone else's experience. I just switch between the two when the situation calls for it.

On the other hand, Spanish and English are somewhat similar languages, ones a romance language and the other has romance elements, so speaking both may be different than your situation (English and some east asian language I presume?).

Actually, that reminds me. When I first started English, I had the hardest time getting the "tone/s" right (by that I mean, you know how when you ask a question in English, you kind of "raise" your tone at the end? I don't know what it's called). In fact, I still do. If you ever get a chance to hear me speak, you will know what I mean. It gets to the point where I deliberately avoid asking questions in English.

Also, I struggle with an accent. It's not so bad that people are unable to understand me, however it's existent and it quite bothers me. I desire to speak with the much-coveted, pure Canadian accent; alas it doesn't look like it's happening in this lifetime. Sometimes some (very frank) people call me on it and say, "you weren't born in Canada, were you?" and I get so embarassed.

Originally Posted by reggie_love

Last time I did that at a local mexican restaurant the guy behind the counter looked at me like I had just screamed "WHITE POWER!" and said "dude! I'm a citizen!".

Excuse me for wanting to practice .

First of all, lol.

Secondly, why would they say that? What's so "white power" about someone speaking Spanish?

[WritingANovel]

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

One of my aspirations in life is actually to learn Mandarin Chinese. Fat chance..

Fuck off.