Do You Think In A Language


Do You Think In A Language  

174 members have voted

  1. 1. Do You Think In A Language

    • Yes
      168
    • No
      6
  2. 2. If "Yes," Then Which Describes you?

    • I think in my native language
      86
    • I think in a non-native language
      18
    • I think in my native language unless I'm dealing with another language at the moment
      23
    • I use different languages at different times when thikning
      38
    • I only use a language some of the time
      9


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I asked my German roomate this same question. I speak only English, I took french but pretty much the only thing i can say now that i don't use is anymore is "my name is". He said that he things in english when he is here talking to others that speak english, but if he goes home or is talking to someone in german he thinks in german. Its all confusing to me, I couldn't ever imagine thinking in anything but english, but then again i don't know any other language to well.

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what language do babies think in?

Ok it was hard enough thinking about what language people thought in if they know multiple ones then you have to go throw this in.

I would say it would be how a dog thinks, I mean surly dogs dont think in barks.....right?

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Ok it was hard enough thinking about what language people thought in if they know multiple ones then you have to go throw this in.

I would say it would be how a dog thinks, I mean surly dogs dont think in barks.....right?

Well, try thinking without putting your thoughts into words at all, see if you can seperate the two processes. It's something I've just noticed myself doing more recently, I don't put my thoughts into language nearly as much as I used to. I also wondered the thing with knowing multiple languages....but I was thinking about it some. Really, language is a lot like art in general, it's just a means of expressing how we feel - but how we feel is not inheritly expressed in any medium unless we choose for it to be. Whether our medium of choice is language, poetry, musical composition, dance, charcoal sketches, grafitti; these are all just various ways humans can show fellow humans how they feel. But I've noticed that you can take away the outlet of expression, but the source still continues to function as if it were never bothered. Language is one of the things you can do this with.

Sorry for the drawn out elaboration, but that's just a summary of one of the reasons I feel like I don't need language to form my thoughts, make decisions, express how I feel internally and so forth. I merely need it to share this knowledge with you, but not when it comes to introspection and so forth. All internal mental processes can be accounted for without the use of language.

Just curious if anyone else thought along the same lines of this. You'll sometimes think in a language, but most of your thoughts don't even get processed into a language, until you're sharing those thoughts with outside entities. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people thought this way, just wanted to see how common or uncommon it was.

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what language do babies think in?

Thought and language are related but distinct processes in those of us who use language, but thought does occur without language, and babies do think, but not with language.

As for me, I think in both English and Spanish, when I'm thinking using language. ;)

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I think in French and English, but to describe something accuratelly with the words it's better in french, english is just too vague sometimes in the meaning of sentences. Everything I use thought, computer, software .. related are in English. Just plain and simple.

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I think in both native language and english, taking it a step further I dream in both languages too I'm pretty sure.

I think over here it's because we're bombarded with english and we read it from first grade so most people are OK with it, and ontop of that my gf is english (and she's all I ever think about blahblahblah...).

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I think over here it's because we're bombarded with english and we read it from first grade so most people are OK with it, and ontop of that my gf is english (and she's all I ever think about blahblahblah...).

hahaha lame! :p jk jk

i think in english. sometimes i have my own words for stuff but i only use/hear them in my mind and they end up coming out as the normal word Even stranger is that for certain things, everytime i think of them i spell it out with individual letters in my head. i dont know why. it's weird.

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I think in English. I form my thoughts in language and like you ^ I often see the words in my head - it's almost like I'm just reading them sometimes.

When I was doing my GCSE in French I went through a phase toward the end where I would randomly think in French - but only for very basic phrases and odd words.

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I'm the only one who voted no? Wow...I just play events out in my mind. That's how I think. If I'm thinking about something such as a math problem, I'll stream different solutions across my mind's eye. I don't really know how to explain it but it's like having a marquee in front of me but I'm the only one who can see it....

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Mostly I think in English, but I used Japanese for so long that I always have bits and pieces that I use in Japanese (hard to explain). So it is a mishmash I guess.

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I usually think in English but when my mind is really going and involved (focused) on something I usually just think without language. Object oriented I suppose and I think a lot faster that way. Having to translate my thoughts into English slows me down I guess.

I mean, love is something English does no justice to. Its probably the worst language to describe it. When I am thinking of my fiancee or how I feel when I am with her, no language can describe that.

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Im from Puerto Rico too so all the time I speak and think in Spanish but when Im on internet and chatting, replying to e-mailr or forums that are in english I think in english.

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It's hard not to think in language..you know?

It takes some effort as first, but once you get used to the concept it becomes very easy...for me at least. Then again it's something I've always done to a degree, just not as much as I have been recently.

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Languages are how we, as our different cultures, classify everything. It is simply another layer on this world that makes it what it is. It is of course something that is not needed to completely understand everything, but it is put into our minds at such an early time in our lives that we forget our previous methods. It is understandable to see how people would find that thinking independently of a language would be hard.

Personally, I am still figuring it out. Language is something that is hard to break away from.

EDIT: Sometimes, I even think with music. :laugh: Whatever song meets my feelings at the time will just pop into my thoughts, and sometimes I like to just let myself get lost in it.

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Most of the time I don't think in a language. I just see things/situations/objects/solutions. Sometimes with math I'll have a chalkboard in my head.

Then again, I still do have to think in a language when I'm talking to people and making them understand something. In which case, English is what my thoughts are converted into. However, I often see myself interpretting other people's situations in a mathematical sense. Hard to explain :s

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I'm natively English but often I talk to myself / think in Spanish.. obviously i talk to myself / think in English too but they're interchangeable really. I guess it depends on my mood, who I'm around, and where i'm at.

obviously we dont think in a "language" aka one that we speak.. more like a 'machine-level' language (at least I do).. to put it into geeky terms :)

I learn best when I take notes in spanish.. and thats for English-spoken classes.. and I speak a heck of a lot quicker when I speak spanish.. but English is my first language that I 'think' in

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