Bilingual members

So being fluently bilingual, what do you think in your head, french or English lol. I'm curious about weird stuff like that. I struggle with when trying to memorize dutch words, in my head I think English and attach it to that instead of keeping it a seperate identity.

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It might seem weird but it's not words it's images and concepts. It's like I have two different modes of functioning one for each tongue.
I chose which language I want to use and away I go. I've noticed this more since I moved back to a French speaking town, where I rarely get to speak English, when I do get to speak English I sometimes stay in French mode and find myself searching for my words and speaking with an accent and then I realize I haven't switched, and as soon as I realize I switch over and can continue in a more fluent way.

It is funny though because I had English speaking friends who had no ideal I spoke French and visa versa, who on hearing me speak to someone else in the other tongue were surprised [emoji2]
 
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For me it is a bit random what language I "think" in, but I try to think in the language I speak or type at the moment. I do catch myself thinking in english quite often.

I also speak quite a bit of english at work, where I now and then forget to switch back to swedish, I usually discover eventually.
 
since being born in holland I speak /write dutch fluently,in holland foreign tv is subtitled and I think that's why most dutch can at least speak english fairly well.in germany ,where I've been living for the last 12 years,there is no subtitles everything is voiced over (dumbest idea ever) thats why many germans can't speak english.my brother in law(englishman) is living here for 25 years but still has an unmistakeble accent.he said as soon you're starting to dream in german your german.I wouldn't know I can't remember my dreamslol.during the day I usually think in german,swearing,when I'm really pissed, in dutch!
 
I am from austria where I learned english and french in school. In my teenager and young adolescent years I played a lot of online games....and it helped me a lot in spoken/written english (it´s not really the so called "business english" though ;) ). Now I live and work in Luxembourg and have to talk french every day.
In my oppinion the better you get in a language the less you have to think and "translate" in your head. In english I think in english and in french I still have to translate very often. Just when I have to switch between the two it gets though.... :)

The smaller the country the more "normal" it is to learn other languages probably....my mothers family origins are in italy...I wish I could speak that aswell.... :/
.....and spanish and..... I cant really understand people who think one language is enough...but in every country you got some who travel around the world just to demand everyone there speaking their language. (Germans *cough* ) :laugh:
 
I think there are several factors why most Americans suck at learning other languages. First, most of us are geographically seperated from other languages, unless you live in a border state. Therefore, if we learm anything in school it is lost because most don't get a chance to practice it. Second, Americans have become an extremely lazy people, as a whole. A majority of Americans stumble through life, oblivious to what is going around them. This laziness is having a negative impact on our society.

I believe english has been taught as a second language in most other countries because it is (or used to be) the language of commerce. I have had the distinct honor spending some time in Japan and Israel in the past year and a half for business and was amazed how many people that spoke english and that is what was explained to me.

Immortal you have got me thinking (not only is that scary - but it hurts). As a multilingual community, could a section be put in the forum to help understand various languages, based only on airbrushing terminology?
 
Yeah I've seen that to be a little problem. Things are called by different names worldwide. And what determines which words are English always, such as airbrush. I know brand names stay English because that's a name, but why say for airbrush couldn't it be broken into prefix?

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My first language is English but I lived in Wales, UK, when I was young; my father spoke South walean Welsh as a first language, when I went to school we had Welsh lessons but when I asked my father to speak to me in Welsh the words were very different. He said that it was because I was being taught North walean Welsh; I now live in Mid-Wales and the Welsh is different again. A lot of the Welsh language uses French and German with the odd English thrown in: everything is spoken backwards (literally) and we do not have the letter 'K' or 'X'.

Apparently, according to 'The British Council', English is spoken as a first language by around 375 million and as a second language by around 375 million speakers in the world. Speakers of English as a second language probably outnumber those who speak it as a first language. Three-quarters of the world's mail is written in English. Of the estimated 200 million users of the Internet, some thirty-six per cent communicate in English.
 
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I think there are several factors why most Americans suck at learning other languages. First, most of us are geographically seperated from other languages, unless you live in a border state. Therefore, if we learm anything in school it is lost because most don't get a chance to practice it. Second, Americans have become an extremely lazy people, as a whole. A majority of Americans stumble through life, oblivious to what is going around them. This laziness is having a negative impact on our society.

I believe english has been taught as a second language in most other countries because it is (or used to be) the language of commerce. I have had the distinct honor spending some time in Japan and Israel in the past year and a half for business and was amazed how many people that spoke english and that is what was explained to me.

Immortal you have got me thinking (not only is that scary - but it hurts). As a multilingual community, could a section be put in the forum to help understand various languages, based only on airbrushing terminology?
I agree with almost all of this statement,bit I think de neednto add to the language catagory a sección to explain the meaning of some of the slang used by the difterent nationalities.
 
I think there are several factors why most Americans suck at learning other languages. First, most of us are geographically seperated from other languages, unless you live in a border state. Therefore, if we learm anything in school it is lost because most don't get a chance to practice it. Second, Americans have become an extremely lazy people, as a whole. A majority of Americans stumble through life, oblivious to what is going around them. This laziness is having a negative impact on our society.

I believe english has been taught as a second language in most other countries because it is (or used to be) the language of commerce. I have had the distinct honor spending some time in Japan and Israel in the past year and a half for business and was amazed how many people that spoke english and that is what was explained to me.

Immortal you have got me thinking (not only is that scary - but it hurts). As a multilingual community, could a section be put in the forum to help understand various languages, based only on airbrushing terminology?
That was a bit offensive lol but I agree with you.

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I am crap at other languages. I learned French at school but dropped it as soon as I could cos I hated it. Still remember a few words so can get an idea what people are talking about. Would love to learn Afrikaans, I just love the accent ( I can see and hear Patsy Kensit in Lethal Weapon 2 right now ) phwoarrrrr.... Does it for me anyway, and also as my Mrs lived in South Africa for several years and swears at me in Afrikaans when she's pissed off. I also like Spanish as most places I go on holiday speak it so it would be an advantage to be able to know what peeps are saying to me and I don't feel ignorant by saying sorry I don't understand.

Lee
 
@jord001, the Afrikaans you hear in the movies are terrible. Here is an Afrikaans radio station you can listen to. Unfortunately they don't swear so you won't pick theat up. Just never respond to your wife by saying "jou moer" (pr. yo moo-r).
 
I'm 52 and my generation is the first in Sweden that have english as some kind of second language. I'm not bilingual but I feel quite comfortable with the english language, at least when I'm typing. When I have to speak English it will take a couple of days to get into it. I'm using a rather basic english, I don't know all words and phrases and sometimes it's kinda hard to explain what I really mean. I have to think it through then, and that's very annoying. I had english class at school from 4'th to 9'th grade, after that I'm self taught.

I've been traveling a lot all over the world and have met a lot of people from a lot of countries. My personal experience is that swedes, dutch, south africans and israelites are the most well educated (non english spoken) in the english language.
 
#speakamerican lol.

I know texlish and all forms of shortened words, or slang in the english dictionary, have to wreak havoc in translation to other languages. It seems there is a practical use for others to learn english, but not for "americans" to learn any other language other than spanish maybe, at least in the south. I really would love to learn german, or dutch, but no practical use in mastering this.
 
You won't get far with Dutch in Europe. I can speak very little German but would love to master it. I live just a couple of hours car ride from the German border.
 
You won't get far with Dutch in Europe.

I suppose that depends on where you are in Europe, where I am in Europe I managed to get me a wife, a car, a house and god knows what else all because I can speak Dutch, lol

And if a Dutch man ever walks up to your wife or girlfriend and says "do you fancy a shag" don't put him in the hospital just yet, he's only offering her a cigarette, :whistling:;):):laugh:
 
@Madbrush Are you sure that's not just what they told you it meant Lol! If you didn't like the person who said it, you could always fake mis understanding to give a him a little slap I suppose :)
 
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