[advice_guru]

Hi,

I was wondering what language people recognized objects around them in. I know for a fact that people who only speak English will recognise objects in English, people who only speak French will recognise objects in French. But my question is if you speak English AND French, what language would you recognise the object in. Btw an object is anything you can see and feel around you, basically any real item.

Thank you

[advice_guru]

This doesn't just have to be English and French bilingual speakers, I mean bilingual and multilingual speakers in a general sense. I'm just using English and French as an example.

[Clare~Bear]

I imagien for most people it will be their mother tongue. Even if they're completely fluent in a second language it makes sense. Although My french teacher at high school said she often thinks in french.

[WillowSummers]

I'm not fluent in French, but I do find myself thinking more and more in that language (less so with Spanish), however, I still recognize objects in English.

[xmarilynx]

It depends on what the object is, as some things seem to engage the French part of my brain and others the English part. For example, I worked as an au pair for a year with a French kid, so if I saw a nappy, dummy or teddy bear I'd recognise it in French. Whereas if I saw clothes I'd bought in England, I'd probably recognise them in English...

It depends which language I'm thinking in too. If I've not phoned my parents in a while and have just been hanging out with French friends and doing my uni work in French, my brain automatically functions in that language after a while and so I'd be more likely to recognise things in French (and possibly even forget the English words for stuff ). But if I've been watching American TV and posting on TSR, I'd be more likely to recognise it in English. Since most of the time my life is a mixture of the two, the word in one of the languages will just pop into my head randomly, it's not something I choose or have control over

[amz1209]

English most of the time, but sometimes in Greek

[advice_guru]

I am mainly talking about object recognition, I understand people can think in different languages, for example an English speaker will think in English, a French speaker will think in French. A English and French speaker can think in either.

[<3 inbetweener =D]

always english but some words (usually food!) I just automatically recognise in hindi, maybe because that's what I've always heard my parents say and I don't always know the english equivalent to things like vegetables even though english is my first language... that sounds really weird doesn't it

[advice_guru]

(Original post by <3 inbetweener =D)
always english but some words (usually food!) I just automatically recognise in hindi, maybe because that's what I've always heard my parents say and I don't always know the english equivalent to things like vegetables even though english is my first language... that sounds really weird doesn't it

I understand that if you only know what the word for an object is in English you will have to recognise it in English, you have no choice, same with you only knowing the word in Hindi, you again have no choice but to recognise it in Hindi. The question is when you have the choice between English and Hindi, then which one do you pick.

[<3 inbetweener =D]

(Original post by advice_guru)
I understand that if you only know what the word for an object is in English you will have to recognise it in English, you have no choice, same with you only knowing the word in Hindi, you again have no choice but to recognise it in Hindi. The question is when you have the choice between English and Hindi, then which one do you pick.

Yeah but I mean even with the foods that I do know both of, I recognise it in Hindi because that's just more commonly what I've heard in my house... like I know that the english equivalent is coriander but I don't think I have ever seen it and thought oh look coriander, it just doesn't come naturally to me... I had to properly think just now to think what it was, I do know it but it's just not what I think of because it feels weird and sounds wrong. don't know if that's even answered your question ha.

[advice_guru]

(Original post by <3 inbetweener =D)
Yeah but I mean even with the foods that I do know both of, I recognise it in Hindi because that's just more commonly what I've heard in my house... like I know that the english equivalent is coriander but I don't think I have ever seen it and thought oh look coriander, it just doesn't come naturally to me... I had to properly think just now to think what it was, I do know it but it's just not what I think of because it feels weird and sounds wrong. don't know if that's even answered your question ha.

So for yourself its English for the objects you only know in english, Hindi for the objects you only know in Hindi. And Hindi or English for objects you know in both of the languages.

[advice_guru]

(Original post by xmarilynx)
It depends on what the object is, as some things seem to engage the French part of my brain and others the English part. For example, I worked as an au pair for a year with a French kid, so if I saw a nappy, dummy or teddy bear I'd recognise it in French. Whereas if I saw clothes I'd bought in England, I'd probably recognise them in English...

It depends which language I'm thinking in too. If I've not phoned my parents in a while and have just been hanging out with French friends and doing my uni work in French, my brain automatically functions in that language after a while and so I'd be more likely to recognise things in French (and possibly even forget the English words for stuff ). But if I've been watching American TV and posting on TSR, I'd be more likely to recognise it in English. Since most of the time my life is a mixture of the two, the word in one of the languages will just pop into my head randomly, it's not something I choose or have control over

Thanks for an amazing reply, but I'm guessing the objects which you only knew what are called in English or French would be recognised in their respective languages, regardless if you were speaking French or English only that day.

For example if you only knew what an apple was called in English and didn't know what an apple was called in French, you could only recognise it in English.

So clearing up does that mean you recognise objects in English if you only know their English name, in French if you only know their French name. And in either English or French if you know both names depending on what your brain picks.

[advice_guru]

(Original post by xmarilynx)
It depends on what the object is, as some things seem to engage the French part of my brain and others the English part. For example, I worked as an au pair for a year with a French kid, so if I saw a nappy, dummy or teddy bear I'd recognise it in French. Whereas if I saw clothes I'd bought in England, I'd probably recognise them in English...

It depends which language I'm thinking in too. If I've not phoned my parents in a while and have just been hanging out with French friends and doing my uni work in French, my brain automatically functions in that language after a while and so I'd be more likely to recognise things in French (and possibly even forget the English words for stuff ). But if I've been watching American TV and posting on TSR, I'd be more likely to recognise it in English. Since most of the time my life is a mixture of the two, the word in one of the languages will just pop into my head randomly, it's not something I choose or have control over

This is to do with involuntary recognition, yes? I mean the word just pops up randomly AND THAT you are not trying to consciously recognise the object say if someone asked you to tell them what that thing was over there.

[blubimnotafish]

I know I usually think in English, though my mother tongue is Dutch (have been taught almost every school subject in English for the past six years), but I don't know in what language I recognise stuff.

What happens to me sometimes, is when I'm having a conversation in Dutch, I just can't remember/think of the right word for something I'm about to say, but I do know how to say it in English. That's so weird :')

[advice_guru]

(Original post by xmarilynx)
It depends on what the object is, as some things seem to engage the French part of my brain and others the English part. For example, I worked as an au pair for a year with a French kid, so if I saw a nappy, dummy or teddy bear I'd recognise it in French. Whereas if I saw clothes I'd bought in England, I'd probably recognise them in English...

It depends which language I'm thinking in too. If I've not phoned my parents in a while and have just been hanging out with French friends and doing my uni work in French, my brain automatically functions in that language after a while and so I'd be more likely to recognise things in French (and possibly even forget the English words for stuff ). But if I've been watching American TV and posting on TSR, I'd be more likely to recognise it in English. Since most of the time my life is a mixture of the two, the word in one of the languages will just pop into my head randomly, it's not something I choose or have control over

I understand, but say if your watching a film, you cant be saying the names of the actors/actresses whenever they appear on screen? I'm assuming you recognise it as X when someone asks you, yes?

When you watch a film you just recognise the actors as they are, yes?

[advice_guru]

(Original post by xmarilynx)
It depends on what the object is, as some things seem to engage the French part of my brain and others the English part. For example, I worked as an au pair for a year with a French kid, so if I saw a nappy, dummy or teddy bear I'd recognise it in French. Whereas if I saw clothes I'd bought in England, I'd probably recognise them in English...

It depends which language I'm thinking in too. If I've not phoned my parents in a while and have just been hanging out with French friends and doing my uni work in French, my brain automatically functions in that language after a while and so I'd be more likely to recognise things in French (and possibly even forget the English words for stuff ). But if I've been watching American TV and posting on TSR, I'd be more likely to recognise it in English. Since most of the time my life is a mixture of the two, the word in one of the languages will just pop into my head randomly, it's not something I choose or have control over

This is only if someone asks you what that object is.
How about if someone doesn't ask you, then what happens when you look at the object? Do you just see the object, or think something after you have seen the object?