 haraya says: Do bilinguals have an internal switch that stops their two languages from interfering with each other, or are both languages always "on"? I think they are both "on." Take for example a word that is spelled the same in two different languages and is without context. The sign that reads "sale" meaning low prices in English, means "he goes out" in Spanish. Without a context, to tell the reader which language to think in, the reader will experience a brief moment of confusion, until he realizes which is the appropriate language. This has actually happened to members of my family, who are all bilingual. I believe so.  I'm bilingual myself and find it amazing how my second language (though everyone in my family thinks I learned it first- not sure now) bridges me to other languages I still wish to learn. I lived in Hungary and became fluent in the language. In Hungarian, with the exception of a few consonant combinations, every letter in a word is pronounced. Coming back to the States, I saw a billboard on the highway and read "Puh-hil-lips-sh-ah-vay". I was quite confused until I realized I was looking at an English-language brand name, "PhillipsShave", with Hungarian eyes. Sometimes bilinguals or trilinguals can also experience what i'd call "inconvenient interference" when for instance they're having a conversation in their native language and suddenly not remember a particular word, all the while having the word in question pop in their mind but in another language. This happens to me from time to time ; I'm having a casual convo in french and all of a sudden i'm looking for a word, a simple one, and i'll have it in spanish or english but the lil' bugger won't "appear" in french... Can be pretty frustrating when it happens. Anyway, thank you Haraya, for a great clip The Italian Tribune, America's Largest Italian American Newspaper, once reported that many Italian immigrants, when they first came to NYC, thought it was a very sacred place because so many of the street names ended in "AVE." Oh, yeah, it is AVE...  Children grab languages in a snap. That's why very important to teach them as many as possible. The older you get the harder to accrue something new. Probably, load of previously accumulated experience is pressing back. But when you finally got it it's like open new wonderful world: it helping you better express yourself even in your own native language. No knowledge is a burden. aklimento: That's very true. I learned my third language just by hearing other people speak while growing up. Found this quote from Wilhelm von Humboldt, “The diversity of languages is not a diversity of signs and sounds, but a diversity of views of the world.” Quite apt for all the different things you guys shared here. Thanks for popping, the amusing responses and anecdotes, and the insight everyone! You're all making me miss the Clipmunity.  Then there's another curious little thing that happens when the cultures of two languages mix a lot, like it does in Texas. I remember as a child understanding Spanish, in fact it was my first language, but speaking only English because I had been punished in school for speaking in Spanish. When I went home though my grandmother understood English but felt we should know Spanish, so she only spoke in Spanish. I would listen to her Spanish and respond in English. This could go on indefinitely, her in Spanish, me in English. There's also a mish-mash we called "Tex-Mex" in which the two language are blended beyond all recognition. For example, in English you can say, "Watch out for yourse... |
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