English is not my native tongue

[alma]

Just wondering how many here in CAA have English as a second language. My first language is Spanish, Latinamerican Spanish, not Spain.
It is the one that I use when I want to really concentrate in something, like when doing math.
It is the one that comes out of my mouth when I am really tired or when I get hurt, (most times I say "Ay!" not "ouch").
And when I read my Bible is in Spanish, however, I think and pray a lot in English. Funny.

[Ella Edric]

XD thats totally awesome!! I dont know any other languages tho.. so i dont know the feeling... but for realz. XD thats way cool somehow.. to me. XD

[PrincessZelda]

I always wonder what language bi-lingual people think in... XD

English is my first language, though, and I'm not really fluent in anything else >_>

[Tsukuyomi]

My native language is Laos, buuuut I speak English more.. Being, born here and all xD

I also think in English as well xD

[bigsleepj]

Depends on mood for me. Sometimes I think in English, sometimes I think in Afrikaans (which is my mother tongue).

[uc pseudonym]

I'd greet you in Spanish, but I'm afraid all my Spanish has been pushed down by learning Swahili. When I had to use it recently I got as far as "¿Cómo estás?" and then paused for a long time. The environment here is interesting: highly-educated people speak both English and Swahili, sometimes switching between them even in the same sentence.

This has actually confirmed my belief that I do not think in a language. There are times that I remember what someone said, but I don't remember what language they used. It takes a moment to "translate" it into either English or Swahili.

[GeneD]

English is my second language, but I am 100% fluent in it. The language I use, whether speaking or thinking, generally depends on who I am/have been speaking to. I read and write almost exclusively in English though.

[armeck]

My native language is 1337, however i usually speak english, th0u9h 133t d0e5 sli|* 0u7 n0w and th3n l4wlz

[aliveinHim]

My native langauge is English but everyone thinks it's Spanish because I'm hispanic. I've had plenty of Mexican guys ask me if I spoke Spanish and I always tell them no. Just because I have dark hair and look Mexicana doesn't mean I speak Spanish. I'm learning Japanese though.

[Destroyer2000]

I sometimes belive that we think in ideas, moreso than a language. Otherwise, how would we relate two languages together in meaning? We know what an object is, intuitively, and can find a basic connection in its idea between English or whatever language we might speak.

[Okami]

This thread reminds me of the scene in Dances With Wolves where the indians meet Lt. Dunbar and he's "signing," asking about buffalo. (And Wind in His Hair's remark of "His mind is gone!" XD) and then they get to a point where they're "teaching" eachother the word for the animal, Tatonka/Buffalo. I love that movie...

At any rate...English is my first language. I know small bits and pieces of French, and a couple words of other micellaneous languages.

[Yuki-Anne]

English is my first language, Japanese my second. Sometimes I dream in Japanese. And when I'm alone in my apartment and I talk to myself (as I am wont to do) I sometimes use Japanese.

[ADXC]

I speak English, a little Spanish, a tiny bit German, some greetings in Japanese, and quite a bit of Koine Greek.

[alma]

My native langauge is English but everyone thinks it's Spanish because I'm hispanic. I've had plenty of Mexican guys ask me if I spoke Spanish and I always tell them no. Just because I have dark hair and look Mexicana doesn't mean I speak Spanish. I'm learning Japanese though.

That is very interesting. Looks are misleading. I have a similar experience everywhere I go, people don't have any clue of where I am from, specially when they hear me talk. I have an accent when I speak English, but is not the usual "Mexican" accent that people are used to hear on the media.

That is so cool that you are learning Japanese.

[Atria35]

People were usually surprised when they discovered that I spoke decently fluent Spanish. I'm born and bred white American, but I've always loved other languages and pick them up rather quickly. But it's been two years since I've had any practice, and without it, I've forgotten so much!

[Xeno]

English is my primary language, but I can read and understand Ebonics. Does that count?

[alma]

People were usually surprised when they discovered that I spoke decently fluent Spanish. I'm born and bred white American, but I've always loved other languages and pick them up rather quickly. But it's been two years since I've had any practice, and without it, I've forgotten so much!

That is great! Can you at least read an understand as fluent as speaking Spanish?

[Psycho Molos]

English first...some German, Japanese, spatterings of Spanish, Russian, Latin; know a bit of Klingon

between "regular" me and my flip side (Czadek/Szadek) there is a "bleed" area where we "meet"....there's a complex "symbol talk" there I term "bleed speak"....similar to an assembly language or ASCII code...few times I even vocalize it (fortunately not too loudly coz of course it's jibber LOL)

[Atria35]

That is great! Can you at least read an understand as fluent as speaking Spanish?

Yeah. I actually read better than I speak it- I have some slight trouble processing the spoken word, but reading has never been an issue. I remember words better when I see them and write them.

[acgifford]

I am not really fluent in other languages. I was learning Swedish.I only know a little bit. I was learning Spanish as well. I only know and a little bit. A few sentences. Scattered words,^^;; I do wish I spoke other languages fluently and have a lot of respect for those that speak more than one language.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I sometimes belive that we think in ideas, moreso than a language. Otherwise, how would we relate two languages together in meaning? We know what an object is, intuitively, and can find a basic connection in its idea between English or whatever language we might speak.

Ahhhh. I like this subject.

Furthermore, I'd have to disagree. We think in language, as we define ideas with language. Even with an abstract idea such as "love", "justice", or "politics" are only defined in relation to other words. So the question remains if an idea can remain independent of itself -- without language -- and still be "itself".

My head hurts. XD

Anyway I'm not sure which language was my first. I grew up speaking both English and Korean (I'm Korean, born in America) but I'm pretty sure I focused more on English and I consider it my primary tongue. My Korean is pretty bad. XD

[alma]

English is my second language, but I am 100% fluent in it. The language I use, whether speaking or thinking, generally depends on who I am/have been speaking to. I read and write almost exclusively in English though.

What is your first language?

[Yuki-Anne]

Yesterday at church I listened to a man speaking in Spanish, getting translated into Japanese. It was interesting; I grew up listening to Spanish and used to be better at it, but it's all been replaced by Japanese. Still, it was cool to listen to it again and see what I remembered...

[Lilac#18]

[color="Plum"]My first language is english, but I want to learn japanese though.[/color]

[Wallachia]

My native language is 1337, however i usually speak english, th0u9h 133t d0e5 sli|* 0u7 n0w and th3n l4wlz

R34||Y?! 1T`2 G234T T0 |-|342 7|-|@T 20m3B0dY E|s3 I2 T|-|3 S@/\/\e! B20-F12T!

I feel bad for being able to read that... let alone type it...

Anyways, I really want to learn a second language. Probably Japanese, but I wouldn't mind French or Latin.

[junomoule]

Eeh. Eeeeh... Awkward subject. English is sort of a second language for me. I was born hard of hearing, see?

Hard to say where one language begins and the other ends, but they are related to one another. No one came before the other, but English is my primary language. American Sign Language [abbreviated ASL] is my secondary language.

As soon as my mom learned I had hearing that could be salvaged it was all emphasis on spoken English! Adapted to English because it's much more practical to use, but picking up on things like syntax and the fine art of pronunciation was a bear growing up. Still mispronounce lots of words. I do much better with written and visual language.

I don't actually think in language so much as I think in pictures, which makes a lot of what comes out of my mouth disjointed and silly. My sign language is actually somewhat out of practice these days, but I regularly think, count, and "babble" in it [mostly finger spelling]. Got to take some formal courses in ASL for high school to meet the foreign language requirement, helped me remember lots- toss me back into the language and I pick up on it in no time!

[CrystalChalice]

English is my first language, with Filipino (specifically Cebuano) technically being my second language. The problem with me and Filipino is that while I know enough to go through a basic conversation, it's speaking it that literally gets me tongue-tied. In fact, I have been asked many times by people if I could understand them in Cebuano.

[Asuka Neko]

I was learning Spanish for a long time, so I can read and understand it, as well as understand what people are saying when they speak it. I just can't seem to write in it or talk to someone in Spanish!

I once knew someone who said that if you dreamt in a language, you were fluent in it.

...And I've been told that CLAMP is a language in and of itself. I can speak that...

[Okami]

Eeh. Eeeeh... Awkward subject. English is sort of a second language for me. I was born hard of hearing, see?

Hard to say where one language begins and the other ends, but they are related to one another. No one came before the other, but English is my primary language. American Sign Language [abbreviated ASL] is my secondary language.

As soon as my mom learned I had hearing that could be salvaged it was all emphasis on spoken English! Adapted to English because it's much more practical to use, but picking up on things like syntax and the fine art of pronunciation was a bear growing up. Still mispronounce lots of words. I do much better with written and visual language.

I don't actually think in language so much as I think in pictures, which makes a lot of what comes out of my mouth disjointed and silly. My sign language is actually somewhat out of practice these days, but I regularly think, count, and "babble" in it [mostly finger spelling]. Got to take some formal courses in ASL for high school to meet the foreign language requirement, helped me remember lots- toss me back into the language and I pick up on it in no time!

I have a friend who is hard of hearing. He gets asked a lot where his accent is from. . . . .he does fairly well, overall, but if a word ends in an s, sometimes the s will be dropped (same is true to technology for him.)

[UniqueAngelStar]

My native tongue is English but I speak Spanish a little. I really need to learn how to speak Spanish fluently.
When I master the Spanish language, maybe I can learn Italian then French. I interested to learn bout those languages since they are mostly spoken and interesting for me.