Comments on: Does Speaking in a Second Language Make You Think More, or Feel Less?

By: Matt B.

Matt B. — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:11:10 +0000

So maybe my nitpickiness about language is why I overthink things. I treat my native tongue like a foreign one.

By: Found while foraging (June 13, 2012) « Inspiring Science

Found while foraging (June 13, 2012) « Inspiring Science — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:50:44 +0000

[...] Sedivy discusses a study which found that people are less likely to experience certain cognitive biases and framing effects [...]

By: Bilingualism can help you think | Notes from Aboveground

Bilingualism can help you think | Notes from Aboveground — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 07:03:50 +0000

[...] Sedivy’s article, published online by Discover on May 30th, focuses on one way that language informs [...]

By: Acaz Souza Pereira

Acaz Souza Pereira — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:19:56 +0000

The question about Medicine A and B was described in “The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less” by Barry Schwartz.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:44:43 +0000

I have long thought about this subject.

As a native English speaker, and a Hebrew speaker from the age of 11, freinds have commented that I am almost a different person in each language. – there is no doubt that your language impacts your personality.

I finished high school , army and university here. I have read Ha’Aretz ( a leading hebrew newspaper ) from front to back for almost thirty years now. I have noticed that reading in English is intuitive, whereas reading in Hebrew is work. It is almost as if I am deciphering what is written.

In writing, I have the same problem. Although people compliment me on my style and clarity in Hebrew, i have no “feel ” for the language. In English , I intuitively KNOW exactly what impact my written word will have on the reader. In Hebrew – excuse the metaphor – it is almost like making love with a condom on.

By: Kelt Locke

Kelt Locke — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 00:12:41 +0000

When one spouse is a native English speaker and the other a native francophone, what language should they use to resolve disputes? Because speaking either English or French puts one spouse at a disadvantage, perhaps they should quarrel in some constructed language that is no one’s native tongue.

That leads to a counter-intuitive conclusion: Both spouses will be more like Spock if they bicker in Klingon.

By: Kaviani

Kaviani — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:04:12 +0000

Validation! Depression is actually the “normal” mode of thinking people.

By: Nils

Nils — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:18:01 +0000

I might add another theory in this setting: I do not know any language, that leans on so heavily on euphemisms and other tools of “political correctness”, as US (!) English. The antennae for the subtleties between positive and negative wording contents of any non-native US-English speaker cannot be developed as well as those of a native speaker. So the theory of “Vulcan” approach to the formulation would be working mainly in situations where the non-native language is US-English. As a Dutch-German bilingual, I cannot say that I recognize any of the effects mentioned above between those two languages. However I faced my challenges with the US English language for a long time, because of the before mentioned euphemisms etc.

One example is the difference in formulation of criticism in a work or college environment:

If someone in Central Europe delivers work of low or even unacceptable quality, the superior might tell him to shred it, burn it and bury the ashes. The US English politically correct equivalent would sound like “this might need some more work”.

What I am trying to explain, is that the difference in “word value perception” between a US-English native speaker and someone speaking any randomly chosen language could very well be the reason for the results presented in the article. In a US study it is very likely that many of the bilingual participants have US-English as their second languages and struggle (like me) with the idiomatic subtleties of that specific language – which leads to a more rational explanation of the less-gut-or-think-more theories.

The same study, carried out in for example Germany might very well deliver less conclusive results. The conclusion might even be the other way around, when native US-English speakers face serious challenges to adapt to the “harsh german way”.

I tend to curse in the language that isn’t spoken at that moment (dialect in a dutch environment or Dutch or English in a german one.. .etc.)

Nils

By: Immerse Yourself « trippingoverlanguage

Immerse Yourself « trippingoverlanguage — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:02:01 +0000

[...] is now a whole bunch of speculation as to why this is. Julie Sedivy writes in Discover Magazine (in this article) that it could be because we have to think harder and take more time when using a [...]

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:04:53 +0000

Has anyone considered that the more slow and thoughtful processing of bilingual speakers in their non-native language might have something to do, not with how they use their own fluency, but how they learned the language to begin with? First language acquisition is itself a more instinctive, quick, gut instinct type of learning. You don’t intend to learn it, you aren’t thinking about the grammar or semantics consciously, you are simply grasping at whatever will allow you to communicate and you aren’t interested in analyzing that form of communication. Second languages, however, are almost always learned by deeply studying the structure of the language. Examine the paradigms, learn the grammars, memorize the vocabulary. It’s a slow and labored process which generally has nothing to do with communicating (at least on an immediate level) and more to do with scientific exploration. It’s not necessary for survival, but the pursuit of knowledge. And the way we use our language can be influenced by the way we think about the language we’re using. So we very well might be using a second language for analytical thoughts because those are the methods by which we learned to think in it.

I’d be really curious about what processing techniques are found in the various languages of children from bilingual homes. I’d bet it’s the more instinctive type.