Question for people whose native language isn't English

DS1119

I don't speak a foreign language (4 years of LAtin...thanks mom) so I have always wondered. When you read posts here on the board or talk with someone in English do you translate what is being said or what you read in English back into your native language to understand in your head and then vice versa to respond or is it seamless where as your brain almost switches gears?

AlbertaGirl70_

DS1119 wrote:

I don't speak a foreign language (4 years of LAtin...thanks mom) so I have always wondered. When you read posts here on the board or talk with someone in English do you translate what is being said or what you read in English back into your native language to understand in your head and then vice versa to respond or is it seamless where as your brain almost switches gears?

Huh??That was all Greek to me

dimitrispearljam

what? its all chinese to me..

DS1119

AlbertaGirl70_ wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

I don't speak a foreign language (4 years of LAtin...thanks mom) so I have always wondered. When you read posts here on the board or talk with someone in English do you translate what is being said or what you read in English back into your native language to understand in your head and then vice versa to respond or is it seamless where as your brain almost switches gears?

Huh??That was all Greek to me

I know..it's hard for me to put into words what I'm trying to ask.

I only speak ENglish so when I read ENglish or someone talks to me it's pretty seamless. Just wondering if someone speaking a second language have an "extra step" and have to translate in their head the English to their native language before they can understand and respond. IDK...tired and bored at work.

DS1119

dimitrispearljam wrote:

what? its all chinese to me..

:fp:

dimitrispearljam

i do both..transleate in greek and answer back after i think in greek ,or directly i answer in greekglish
when i speak with people face to face,i dont translate in greek at all....
if i dont know the word in english i wanna say and i talk to women i touch them
if i talk to men i slap them..

redrock

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

dimitrispearljam

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

what?its all french to me!! :fp:

DS1119

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

No I think you did it perfectly actually. You used the word "think" which is the word I should have used. Does someone always "think" in their native language even when they are speaking a different one?

redrock

dimitrispearljam wrote:

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

what?its all french to me!! :fp:

Leezestarr313

For me, it depends on the situation. Most times I am still back-translating, and sometimes I back-check before I am posting stuff on here. I think my English has improved tremendously by reading and posting on here and by having an English speaking boyfriend. I still have problems with idioms and with prepositions, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in general, but I think I am doing fine.

I have the feeling, though, that it works better when I am a little intoxicated, but that may have to do with the fact that I am more relaxed in regards to making mistakes. And it also depends on the topic. There is stuff that I can talk freely about, like every day stuff or music, but then there are also areas where I am lacking words, simply because I never needed to use the vocabulary. It is quite interesting for me to observe how my language skills are developing with my relationship.

dimitrispearljam

Leezestarr313 wrote:

For me, it depends on the situation. Most times I am still back-translating, and sometimes I back-check before I am posting stuff on here. I think my English has improved tremendously by reading and posting on here and by having an English speaking boyfriend. I still have problems with idioms and with prepositions, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in general, but I think I am doing fine.

I have the feeling, though, that it works better when I am a little intoxicated, but that may have to do with the fact that I am more relaxed in regards to making mistakes. And it also depends on the topic. There is stuff that I can talk freely about, like every day stuff or music, but then there are also areas where I am lacking words, simply because I never needed to use the vocabulary. It is quite interesting for me to observe how my language skills are developing with my relationship.

what??its all German to me!!

DS1119

Leezestarr313 wrote:

For me, it depends on the situation. Most times I am still back-translating, and sometimes I back-check before I am posting stuff on here. I think my English has improved tremendously by reading and posting on here and by having an English speaking boyfriend. I still have problems with idioms and with prepositions, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in general, but I think I am doing fine.

I have the feeling, though, that it works better when I am a little intoxicated, but that may have to do with the fact that I am more relaxed in regards to making mistakes. And it also depends on the topic. There is stuff that I can talk freely about, like every day stuff or music, but then there are also areas where I am lacking words, simply because I never needed to use the vocabulary. It is quite interesting for me to observe how my language skills are developing with my relationship.

If Cav makes you listen to some Kid Rock that will expnad your vocabulary.

Leezestarr313

DS1119 wrote:

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

No I think you did it perfectly actually. You used the word "think" which is the word I should have used. Does someone always "think" in their native language even when they are speaking a different one?

Oh, I needed too much time to write my reply, and just saw this I think it also depends on whom you are with. If you are visiting a foreign country and your travelmates are talking in your native language, you probably won't start thinking or dreaming in the other language. If you are exclusively exposed to people speaking the other language, you are much more susceptible to internalize it as well. One evening, Cav and I had a 7 hour skype chat and when I went to the supermarket the next day, I said "Thank you" to a person in the store, because I was still so much into English

redrock

DS1119 wrote:

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

No I think you did it perfectly actually. You used the word "think" which is the word I should have used. Does someone always "think" in their native language even when they are speaking a different one?

Personally, I think in the language I speak and read. I think this is just part of language acquisition and how it works. Reading is a bit different than 'on the spot' conversation - one can 'analyse' more.

Leezestarr313

redrock wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes hou may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

No I think you did it perfectly actually. You used the word "think" which is the word I should have used. Does someone always "think" in their native language even when they are speaking a different one?

Personally, I think in the language I speak and read. I think this is just part of language acquisition and how it works. Reading is a bit different than 'on the spot' conversation - one can 'analyse' more.

:thumbup: And look things up!

DS1119

I wonder if this conversion happens when someone becomes fluent in a foreign language. This is fascinating to me actually. Makes me want to learn another language just to see how this works. :think:

Leezestarr313

And by the way, DS - 4 years of Latin should enable you to learn Roman languages like Spanish, French or Italian faster and easier, cause Latin is the root language of all of them. I had to learn Latin at school as well, for 5 years, and I think this is part of why I get along with all those languages somehow, even though I never really learned all of them (except of French, which I took at school and also university).

redrock

Yep - and look things up! I must admit that, as most of my friends ar bilingual French and English, when I am within that group I also mix the two languages!

dimitrispearljam

redrock wrote:

Yep - and look things up! I must admit that, as most of my friends ar bilingual French and English, when I am within that group I also mix the two languages!

Would vous coucher avec moi tonight?

morello

redrock wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

redrock wrote:

When you are conversant enough in a second (or third, or....), you think in the language you are speaking (or reading). Sometimes you may not know a word or expression, then you go back 'native' and try to translate. Not sure if I've expressed this quite clearly enough. :oops:

No I think you did it perfectly actually. You used the word "think" which is the word I should have used. Does someone always "think" in their native language even when they are speaking a different one?

Personally, I think in the language I speak and read. I think this is just part of language acquisition and how it works. Reading is a bit different than 'on the spot' conversation - one can 'analyse' more.

I did a student exchange to Turkey for a year when I was 16(hence spending a week in Istanbul after PJ shows this June-July) & despite never having done languages at school picked the language up very quickly & very well(if I do say so myself) & I know back when I was fluent(I'm very rusty now, hoping it'll all come back to me when I'm there) it was amazing to be thinking in the other language. I think redrock has it completely right, or that's how it was for me anyway. I know my friends over there would use this crazy version of English & Turkish(Turkglish like Dimitris' Greekglish I guess). When a word in your native language works better, or you don't know the 2nd language equivalent we would just use whichever one was better. I know sometimes, still, but esecially as probably have Turkey on the brain a bit more atm, a Turkish word will come to mind coz it's a bettre fit to what I want to say. Anyway, JM2CW.