Is it normal to think in a language that's not your native language?

[Laurents van Cauwenberghe]

Pretty much as the title says.
I've been wondering this for a while now and no one's been able to really give an answer.
Also, do any of you do that aswell?

 

[JoJo]

I can't speak from direct experience but apparently one of my mother's friends, who's lived in the UK for over two decades but is Swiss, now actually thinks in English rather than French. So it's probably not that uncommon.

 

[Angelowl]

Well, yes. I frequently think in English instead of Swedish. And I expect to think in German when I have learned enough to have meaningful inner monologues. Different languages just feel better for certain things at some times.

 

[San Martin]

It depends with whom I've been talking that day and where I am. At the moment I live in England, and since English is my native language, I tend to think in it. However, if I've been hanging out with certain people, or even reading a lot in a different language, I might think for a while in Spanish, Galician or, less often but not unheard of, Portuguese.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Depends on the language, I guess... *shrug*

Some phrasing is a lot more succinct or expressive in Cantonese, so some of the time, I will think in Cantonese, rather than English... however, that may be cheating, since they're both my 'native' language, after a fashion being a British Born Chinese and all.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I don't usually think in a language besides English unless I'm spending a LOT of time speaking another language, like traveling or staying abroad for a period of time. I do occasionally dream in German and Chinese though. Just had a German dream a few weeks ago, and I sure didn't flatter myself. I was just as rusty in my head as I actually would be if I were awake.

 

[TehCookie]

I took two years of Japanese and when I was in the class I thought in Japanese. It really depends on where I'm at. If I'm going to use English to talk and understand people I think in English. If I'm going to use my limited Japanese to talk/listen I think in Japanese or more literally some abomination of both to cover the parts I don't know in Japanese.

 

[Jamieson 90]

My cousin is British and has spoken English all his life but after spending years living in Japan now has the occasional dream in Japanese. I think it's normal really since your voice and accent can change based upon where you live; I'm a prime example of this since I was born in Manchester but you wouldn't be able to tell since I spent the majority of my childhood travelling the world, quite a bit of my adult life too, so my accent is pretty much a mix of everything.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

I generally don't spend a whole lot of time thinking in any language.

Language is rigid and inflexible, while in my mind I can generally bring the whole concept to bear without having to rely on language.

The truth is always bigger than the words we use to describe it.

I'll only really think in language if I'm thinking about something I'm going to say or write or buy or experience.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'm pretty sure you think in the language that is easier for you. For example, even though my native language is russian I think in german because the german language is easier for me to use casually. Fuck, I actually think more in english than russian.

Yup, same. My native language is Russian but I always think in English, mostly because I've lived in America longer than I lived in Russia, and went to college in the US so I have a larger and more accessible English vocabulary.

So yeah, I would say it's pretty normal not to think in your native language, especially if there are other languages that you use more often.

 

[Raikas]

My dominant language (English) is not my native language (Dutch), so I spend virtually all my time thinking and speaking languages other than my native one.

I think that's fairly common for people who are in immigrant/expat situations or are minority language groups in their own countries, and so end up studying and/or working in a second/third/etc language - you really have to think in the dominant tongue to succeed.

 

[AnarchistFish]

Yeah. My mother's native language is French but she's lived in the UK so long now she thinks in English and even has a bit of an English accent now (it's messy though). And English is my main language but I often think in French or sometimes Portuguese.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I sometimes think in Japanese than my English thoughts chide me for not having learned the language yet (I've been trying in a limp-wristed sort of way since Middle School (2002 or 2003)). That's really the only other language I'm familiar with so I either think in that, English or not at all

 

[FalloutJack]

Putting aside that I was never that good at learning other languages, and therefore think and speak in english, I am not certain that this is normal. The mind should default to what language it learned first, from childhood. The deeper it is, the more natural it feels. If you are thinking in Italian, say, than you have the rare quality of feeling more comfortable with another's language by instinct. Not common, I think, on a global scale.

 

[GundamSentinel]

I spend so much time following English courses, reading English books, being online and with English-speaking people that I mostly think in English now. Which is good, because I don't think my native language (Dutch) is always that practical for me.

For example, when it comes to technical terms, I'm far more familiar with the English words, as those are the only ones I really learned in university. Plus it helps that I've always been good at learning other languages. Hey, sometimes I catch myself thinking in German or French for no parrticular reason.

 

[lechat]

my native language is english but for the past 2 years off and on i've studied spanish.
every now and again something will click in my brain and i'll start thinking in spanish, mostly it's internal dialog but certain emotions are easier to express in fewer words in spanish and i think my brain is just seeking out a more efficient way to express itself.

i very seldom dream in spanish but whenever i do i am explaining how to speak the language or conjugate verbs or w/e and never actively conversing.

 

[BanicRhys]

This might just be me being a pretentious ass muffin, but the only time I generally ever think in words in when I'm formulating speech.

That said, the only language I can speak fluently is English but I occasionally find that French, Spanish, Italian etc contain words or phrases that are closer to the meaning of what I'm trying to convey.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I do it quite often even when speaking to other people. Good thing usually my romanian friends are gamers and understand english so I usually speak to them into a language mixed between mine and english so that's just fine. Problem is when I'm trying to explain something to my mother who doesn't know that much english and I can't translate to her, quite a pain that.

This will be very problematic if I keep doing this, but nothing I can do about it now.