Can bilinguals think in both of their languages?

So here is my question....

If you speak only english, you will think in english. If you speak only spanish, you will think in spanish. If you speak spanish and english fluently, say being bilingual from birth, can you think in both languages?

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Reply 1

user 42005

I've actually asked this to my German friend who can speak 4 languages to a decent degree, and apparently the answer is yes after some time practising. I'm not bilingual myself, however, so I can't offer any personal experience on the matter.

Reply 2

Charles III

I'm not a true bilingual (yet :colone:

) but I regularly think in French to aid concentration… sounds strange but… it really works!

Also, yes — often I merge the two languages in my head at the same time… which freaks me out and is quite exhausting too. :lol:

(edited 7 years ago)

Yeah I can

Original post by RomNoob

Yeah I can

What languages can you speak? What age did you learn them? Can you choose which language you want to think in?

Reply 5

Anne Dagenhart

Yes, I think so. I can speak Vietnamese and English and I can think fairly well in both languages. The only difficulty I have is thinking with both languages at the same time.

Reply 6

Boss_Rhythm

I can think in German, Bengali or English...
So I guess yh :biggrin:

Reply 7

InvestmentBankin

Yes I speak 3 languages at a native-level and some at basic/conversational and I do tend to think in these languages; it happens naturally depending on how often do you use that language at a particular time as compared to the others.

Reply 8

fg45344

Original post by Anne Dagenhart

Yes, I think so. I can speak Vietnamese and English and I can think fairly well in both languages. The only difficulty I have is thinking with both languages at the same time.

What age did you learn both languages? Can you choose which language you want to think in?

Reply 9

RomNoob

Original post by fg45344

What languages can you speak? What age did you learn them? Can you choose which language you want to think in?

Portuguese and English. Portuguese at normal age and English at around 10 but I've been in England for about 7 years so I'd say I'm fluent in both, and yes I can choose which I want to think in.

Reply 10

yoda123

Its kind of a mixture

Reply 11

fg45344

Original post by RomNoob

Portuguese and English. Portuguese at normal age and English at around 10 but I've been in England for about 7 years so I'd say I'm fluent in both, and yes I can choose which I want to think in.

Can you think in any other languages? If someone asked you, "What language do you think in?"....would you answer, "Portuguese and English"

I can

I can.

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Reply 14

Plantagenet Crown

Original post by fg45344

I am bilingual in English and Spanish and yes, I can think in both languages.

Reply 15

EleonoraDi

Yes, you definitely can!
I've gone to a bilingual school so I know both English and Italian fluently and I assure you, you can definitely pick which one you want to think in. Sometimes I start thinking half and half, and that's when things start to get confusing :tongue:

Reply 16

RomNoob

Original post by fg45344

Can you think in any other languages? If someone asked you, "What language do you think in?"....would you answer, "Portuguese and English"

No since I'm not fluent in any other languages so it would be pretty difficult to have a coherent thought pattern :tongue:

but if someone was to ask me I'd say both.

Reply 17

fg45344

Original post by Plantagenet Crown

I am bilingual in English and Spanish and yes, I can think in both languages.

What age did you learn both languages? Can you consciously choose which language you want to think in? Is there one language you prefer to think in more and why? Can you think in any other languages?

Reply 18

Namita Gurung

Depends on who I'm with. With English speakers, I think in English and with Nepalese speakers, I think in Nepalese.

This is the same with my speech, which is just automatic - I say certain phrases in front of certain groups of people e.g. if something is hot I'll say athoo in front of Nepalese people and ouch in front of English speakers.

Long thing short, the answer is yes.

Reply 19

username1942323

Original post by fg45344

Yees, i speak three languages
1st language urdu
2nd french
3rd english

I can basically chose, cant think simultaneously obviously (i dont have 3 brains) but it depends which language i just spoke