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I'm fluent in two languages and know a minimal conversational-level with three more (and enough that I "think" in those languages, as opposed to a "lookup table
by silencio 18y ago
I'm fluent in two languages and know a minimal conversational-level with three more (and enough that I "think" in those languages, as opposed to a "lookup table" of sorts). What happens is I usually think in English (most used, maybe first (still disputed by parents, heh), most knowledgeable in), but once in a while I'll think in whatever language has a word I know that seems to match whatever it is best. There's also those loan words in every language that for whatever reason might seem to fit. I unfortunately can't think of great examples right now, but one would be schadenfreude (although I don't know German at all, quite possibly my favorite word ever, although rarely actually used). It isn't necessarily because I don't know the appropriate vocabulary in the language, just that whatever word seemed to have the right definitions and connotations for me to want to use it. Perhaps those word-equivalents in a different language were extraordinarily obscure, and I don't know of it.
In addition to the above, which is typically my "average" thinking, if I'm talking to someone in a different language, I don't really "think" in English until I reach the point I made above, if I come across an English word that made more sense. I don't know if it takes extra effort, but the language used to think does seem to change.
Once in a while I'll think of images instead of words. One example are those..cough..shock sites out there.