When speaking to people in your non-native language, do you still translate in your head to your native language during the conversation, just faster, or do you reach a point when learning a new language where you are you able to just “think” in that language? As someone who is only fluent in one language, but took Spanish classes in school, I’m trying to wrap my head around what it would be like to not need to translate in your head
Comments
I speak four languages fluently. I think in whichever language I’m currently speaking.
I heard from my cousin, who’s fluent in three languages, that at first, it’s all about translating in your head. But after a while, you start thinking in the new language without even realizing it. It becomes natural, and you don’t need to consciously translate anymore. It’s like switching gears, but it takes time.
I do not speak many languages. One of them is English, which is not my mother tongue. However, I think, speak, read and write it every day. I even argue better in English. But there are other languages that I can think, speak, read and write. No translation in my head needed.
I am fluent in Germand and English (French is my mother tongue). I work exclusively in these 2 langages and not in French. I think directly in these langages and do not translate any more.
No translation. It’s like going to your phone settings and switching languages. snap different system loaded.
I grew up bilingual in English and Spanish.
When I think of the word “milk” I think of it in English first, but when I think of “chocolate milk” I first think of it in Spanish. Not sure why. It’s basically word/phrase dependent.
Later in life I learned German. The German goes in and then becomes one of the other two, or out the same way (English to German or Spanish to German).
I speak 3 languages and i never translate, i think straight away
Ofcourse its impossible when you only start to learn
I don’t have to translate in my head. It just comes naturally. And since I’m living abroad for 10+ years I think more in the non native language and I prefer to speak it
Fluent French and English here. I think in thoughts, not language. Pretty sure everyone does that without realizing it. So no translation.
You think in those languages. The only exception is maths.
At first you may need to translate. After a while, it becomes second nature and your whole thought process can by in any language you want (usually the one you are using at that moment)
I learned to speak basic English before starting kindergarten in an English speaking country. My first language is Spanish. Maybe because I learned so young, I don’t translate either way in my head. If I need to translate it for someone else, I can do it with ease, but I don’t need to do it for myself.
Copy and paste of my answers to a similar question.
I’m bilingual. English is my second language.
>When bilinguals hear a word in the language they have learned, do they translate it in their heads into their native language?
No, I understand both languages equally.
>or do they know the word and its meaning?
Yes, my second language works the same way as my first language.
>will it respond automatically in the language they have learned or will they translate from their native language into the language they have learned?
That has already been asked and answered, no? I don’t need to translate between my languages.
>when they think, do they do it in their mother tongue or in the language they learned?
I think in both, sometimes separately, sometimes mixed.
Actually, I might not even remember in which language I thought something.
That doesn’t apply to thoughts only. Sometimes I read/watch something and I don’t remember in which language I read/watched it.
Sometimes I want to tell someone about something I read/watched, but I don’t remember in which language I read/watched so, because I might need to show them, I have to recheck in which language it was before telling them about it.
no, i automatically assume what I heard, i don’t translate in my head, it comes naturally and leaves naturally
I’m not fluent, but I immigrated to Mexico 13 years ago and I speak Spanish with at least several people daily.
Sometimes I can’t think of the word, but sometimes I can’t think of the word in English either.
When I’m speaking Spanish, I rarely think of it in English first, it just comes out. I think in Spanish part of the time, and I’ve started using some Spanish terms and stopped using the English terms while I’m speaking English because the Spanish word or phrase is easier.
I’ll add that, personally, when I’m switching regularly between multiple languages my thoughts shift to be more abstract. So instead of literally thinking of what I’ll say in words, since they may or may not be the right language, I’ll think more in general concepts and only put it into words when I’m actually ready to speak. I had to learn this since I work in a multi-lingual environment and the first time I had to switch languages quickly my brain straight up broke.
I was born bilingual, learned Spanish and French pretty young but am rusty in those at this point. For learned languages when I am rusty I have to translate. But there are some words that I just automatically understood, I do not translate in my head.
The second language I was born bilingual with, I don’t know if that’s considered a native language to me or not because I was dissuaded by the school system to continue speaking it. (I went on a trip to Asia and returned being disinterested in speaking English. The school wanted me to assimilate immediately even though English was my first native language.)
Anyway tldr here. What you’re taught extension can become intrinsic and if you practice enough you do not need to translate most things in your head. But like any language you need practice, access to a dictionary, thesaurus, and other tools to learn outside your vocabulary range. Watching movies, listening to music, talking to native speakers, etc.
My brain (or I never practiced regularly) thinks in random languages sometimes.
At some point you stop associating words with those in your native language, and instead with the concepts themselves. So when you read “Flower”, you don’t translate that to whatever it may be in your native tongue, but instead you think of the concept of a flower, much the same way you would when just speaking your native tongue.
I learnt my languages when i was a kid, so no translation necessary
You don’t think in words… at least I don’t. Words are applied on top of the thought to make it transferable.
I’m fully fluent in two languages, and speak a couple of others. I quite often don’t know what language I’m speaking if I converse with someone who also understand the two I’m fluent in.
With the odd exception, I think in 3 languages, all jumbled together. When I actually need to speak, it just seems to go from thought directly to speech, no translation needed.
But then, sometimes I glitch and forget how to speak. But that never lasts past a quick reboot
I think of it as a spectrum. I don’t consider myself fluent in any language other than English, my native language, but can function to some degree in a few other languages.
So if you ask me things I know well, like my job or name, or tell me the price of something, I answer without any translation. Like, if a cashier asks if I need a bag, I’m just thinking about whether I can carry stuff or want a bag without translating the words.
It’s possible to ask me a question that forces me to think about how to phrase an answer. Ask me what my job is, where I teach, or how I like it, and I just answer. If you ask me why I picked teaching, or if there is another job I’d like to try, I’ll get the question, but might have to form an answer in English then translate it.
Someone could also say something to me where I need to think through what I heard, which might lead to me translating it to make more sense of it. My wife listens to podcasts about Buddhism, and when I try to listen I find myself having to try to figure out some words and then translate complex ideas, and then realize I missed a lot. So I don’t listen.
I think this is how it works for many people. For some people almost everything they do will be in that first category, where you just think in that language, and rarely find things in the second category. If you’re a beginner, almost everything is in the third or maybe second.
It’s become automatic. However, I also kind of speak a few extra languages and since I know those less well I do need to think about the grammar and vocabulary.
Yes, I do the translation to my native language.
I used to be able to just go off in Spanish. I’m losing my fluency though :/
A Spanish teacher once told me that you are truly fluent when you begin dreaming in the new language