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It’s fascinating to see that the human brain is so adaptive, and that we think more linguistically than we previously thought. Maybe this is also related to th

It’s fascinating to see that the human brain is so adaptive, and that we think more linguistically than we previously thought. Maybe this is also related to the fact that we are primary think in our native language.

yboris 5y ago
Anecdata: I was born in Russia but came to the US at the age of 11 years old. I think in English exclusively. One tidbit I read is that people who think in a foreign language like me are in some decision processes more-rational [0]. I think I don't get hung up on emotionally-stirring words, or get offended by vulgarities, as they feel more abstract to me than visceral. May be the same mechanism. [0] https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-foreign-language-people-rational-decisions.html https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-foreign-language-peop...
- PhantomGremlin 5y ago
  I think in English exclusively But can you still think in your native language if you try to? I was born in the USA, a child of immigrants. So I didn't speak English until perhaps 3 or 4 years old. But I can still think in my native language if I really try.
  - yboris 5y ago
    I can think in Russian, but with a 5th-grader-like vocabulary I'm missing out on ways of articulating some things. It also takes effort. And now that I'm trying it out as an experiment - it feels like I have a concept/idea, and then I'm simply trying to narrate it. I speak Russian to parents and my brother, but it often feels like I have a concept I want to articulate and have to use a bunch of non-SAT words to vaguely gesture at what I want to say; or, I simply don't know a word like "easel" in Russian and feel like I'm playing the game "taboo" :P I think naturally I gravitated out of thinking in Russian since it's too much effort for no payoff. One thing I miss about Russian are all the prefixes you can add to a verb, like "drive over", "drive into", etc are accomplished with short prefixes: "pere-" or "v-". It doesn't sound like much, but when you can apply the dozen-ish prefixes to the word "fuck" you realize the potential English is missing ;)
tsimionescu 5y ago
I do wonder if neuroscience may validate Chomsky's hypothesis, that langauge evolved and serves primarily as a tool for thought and not as a tool for communication, in his lifetime.

yboris 5y ago

Anecdata: I was born in Russia but came to the US at the age of 11 years old. I think in English exclusively. One tidbit I read is that people who think in a foreign language like me are in some decision processes more-rational [0]. I think I don't get hung up on emotionally-stirring words, or get offended by vulgarities, as they feel more abstract to me than visceral. May be the same mechanism. [0] https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-foreign-language-people-rational-decisions.html https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-foreign-language-peop...

PhantomGremlin 5y ago
I think in English exclusively But can you still think in your native language if you try to? I was born in the USA, a child of immigrants. So I didn't speak English until perhaps 3 or 4 years old. But I can still think in my native language if I really try.
- yboris 5y ago
  I can think in Russian, but with a 5th-grader-like vocabulary I'm missing out on ways of articulating some things. It also takes effort. And now that I'm trying it out as an experiment - it feels like I have a concept/idea, and then I'm simply trying to narrate it. I speak Russian to parents and my brother, but it often feels like I have a concept I want to articulate and have to use a bunch of non-SAT words to vaguely gesture at what I want to say; or, I simply don't know a word like "easel" in Russian and feel like I'm playing the game "taboo" :P I think naturally I gravitated out of thinking in Russian since it's too much effort for no payoff. One thing I miss about Russian are all the prefixes you can add to a verb, like "drive over", "drive into", etc are accomplished with short prefixes: "pere-" or "v-". It doesn't sound like much, but when you can apply the dozen-ish prefixes to the word "fuck" you realize the potential English is missing ;)

tsimionescu 5y ago

I do wonder if neuroscience may validate Chomsky's hypothesis, that langauge evolved and serves primarily as a tool for thought and not as a tool for communication, in his lifetime.