Multilingual people what language do you think in?

Alexander1970

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for me i think in English. but when im angry i think in Turkish.

what language do you think in and why?

Oh yes,that is a good Question.:D

Angry in......hmmm.....Arabian is a good One.
Not to read but to Shout and has a lovely and beautiful Intonation....:rofl2:
 
Last edited by Alexander1970,

Flame

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Honestly,I do not like it when turkish People "grumble and rant".....
It sounds very "brutal and very harsh"....:(

Compared to us Austrians.

that is why i said i think in English most of the time. but when I am angry, is nice being able to think in Turkish. lets your angry out.

Turkish has a wide range of swear words. English its like the same few.
 

Alexander1970

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that is why i said i think in English most of the time. but when I am angry, is nice being able to think in Turkish. lets your angry out.

Turkish has a wide range of swear words. English its like the same few.

Thank you,now I can see clear....:D

German (Austrian) is my Language.For Thinking,of course for Speaking.It changed a little since GBAtemp.:)
For Anger I can say then in "Austrian Slang" that IS a different Language compared to German.
French is very nice,but I don not now "many many" bad Words...but it sounds very elegant,but also for Thinking.
English is more like a "Standard" actual in Austria.You know the F and B Word is very common.:(
 
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FAST6191

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Similar to Minox. I tend to think in concepts and then try to articulate them in whatever language or dialect I want.

I do however have a bit of a tendency to limit it to English* for said concepts; stuff like the different concepts for people here and not here from various Indian subcontinent languages, or Aboriginal thing where they inherently know compass directions and go accordingly as opposed to body relative while I have to think about it for a second, honorifics are something of a jumbled mess I have to think about as well, English lacks gendered words so that can be tricky but for the most part I just learn its gender along with the spelling similar to how I might learn what has an accent above it and reference against whatever rules and rules of thumb as well as maybe if I have heard it in a sentence before, and while I don't know most of these/the languages they belong to if you are interested then https://ask.metafilter.com/10490/What-concepts-do-not-exist-in-the-English-language is a reasonable jumping off point.

*and maths, forces, 3d models, exploded diagrams, electronics and other engineering concepts.
 

Reiten

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Interesting question.
I don't think I(or for the matter, others) really use a specific language, but rather concepts, at least, until the point where you have to articulate the thought to yourself or others. Though I admit that the line between a concept and articulated thought is somewhat blurry.
For the day to day stuff it's usually my mother language. When I'm programming or doing other science related stuff I tend to switch over to English.
 

VinsCool

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When I formulate thoughts I naturally tend to modulate them in French, when I need to put words on them.

However, I noticed that in a situation where I am speaking English, the thoughts naturally come to me in English as well, without much efforts.

I am not exaggerating to say that I have been dreaming in English as well, due to that.
 

Gericom

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And a bit german maybe?:P
Nah, I don't use German often enough to think in it. I can read and understand it quite well though. I would need some practice to become better in writing and speaking. Mainly vocab.

Edit: And I'm learning Japanese, but mainly for reading.
 
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gnmmarechal

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Used to only think in Portuguese, but it would seem that the fact that I use English more and more and Portuguese less and less has affected that. Currently just mix both in my head.
 

JuanMena

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I think in Spanish.
When I'm watching a video or reading a science article, I think in English because my mind is making questions in the same language I'm reading.
When I study I always try to study from English Language sites, they're often more documentated than Spanish Language sites. So, I study in English too.

Sometimes I'd practice French in my mind.
 
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nolimits59

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Depend on what i do, I tend to think a lot in english because i'm used to it because of what I do daily (Producing music, Logotyping, graphic design among the things).

But when i'm angry I tend to be very "sweary" in french ah ah, even naturally, i love to swear in french x) it's like a second nature here.
 
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Cyan

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I'm french, living in France.
when I "think" it's usually wordless, concept, I just know what I think or what I want to do without having to "speak out" loud or in mind. (I think lot of people speak out loud when they are alone, speaking to themselves, I never do that!)
I don't speak to myself as in "speaking to me in attempt for a reply" or in "giving me orders to do things" like "ohhh, now let's go wash the dishes !" that sounds dumb to me.
If I speak in my mind, it's often with an imaginary other person, either repeating what I'll say for real, or having remorse and imagining what I could have tell that person instead, re-enacting an old scenes/discussion I had with someone, or preparing in mind what I'll write here on the forum.

when I "speak in my mind", it's mostly in french (mother tongue), like 80% (or less) I'd say.

and sometime 20% (or probably more, because I spend lot of time on this forum :P) in english, it's like a second nature.
I can think in english even when not having to use it, but I usually "switch my brain" to english when I have to interact with english environment. Forum, or english person I talk to in real life, at work, etc. I tend to want to try to speak in english to foreigners, like they would understand better than french. not always the case haha. I wonder if my accent...

1% japanese? because why not! few words or expressions. I like the "kore wa kore, sore wa sore" expression. ("this is this, that is that", meaning "that's completely different things, don't compare them together!")
 
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onibaku

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I think and speak mostly in English but when I'm ticked off, i'll let out a few cusses in Spanish :P for my other languages, I only use them if I'm speaking to someone of the same origin
 
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