To those of you who speak two languages. What language is your inner monologue in?

So therefore you think in English and Bengali, right?

I was brought up as a bilingual since I was a baby.

When I was younger (pre-teens), my major language was Bengali and my inner monologue was in Bengali, but as I grew older (around 13ish), my inner monologue and my major language became English.

I can think in both, but it's more natural for me to think in English nowadays.

Can you think in any other languages? When you think in Bengali now is it slower than thinking in English?

Can you think in any other languages? When you think in Bengali now is it slower than thinking in English?

My degree's in Japanese and when I was abroad in Tokyo, I used Japanese abput 95% of the time. I would frequently think in Japanese as well. I remember when I'd skype with my family in Bengali or my friends in English, I'd struggle a fair bit think of words to express myself. There would often be pauses when I spoke. Those times I remember wishing that I could speak Japanese because I was using it 24/7 and I felt like I could express myself better.

I'm back in the UK for my final year and the first few weeks were really tough because I struggled to maintain conversations in English or Bengali. Whereas, I felt at total ease when speaking Japanese. Even now, still, I sometimes use Japanese filler expressions like 'well' and 'um' when speaking.

I mainly think in English, now that I'm back in an English-speaking country.

So you would say all bilinguals can think in 2 languages, but they have a preferred thinking language (english in your case)

Yes, I agree with that to an extent.

I think it depends on your major language/s. I use much more English than I do Bengali at the moment. When I was younger, I'd strictly speak Bengali at home but now I speak a lot of English too. In my daily life at home I use Bengali and English, and at university with friends and work, I always use English.

If I was using a mix of English and Bengali everyday, I don't think it would feel unnatural to think in both, and I don't think I'd have a preference.

Can you think in Bengalish? Mixing the two languages together in your head?

Yeah, of course. It used to be 50/50 some few years ago, but now it's 90/10 English/Bengali. Nowadays, I have to actively decide to add in Bengali when I think and it cam feel a little unnatural, but again it's no problem.

At home I always speak Benglish/Bengalish. If I'm being precise, I speak 30/70 English/Bengali at home.

I would have thought you would think in English now 100% of the time, with the ability to think in Bengali if you wanted.

Actually, yeah that's right.

So did you learn Bengali before you learnt English?

Yes, that's true. I learnt and spoke Bengali strictly until I went to nursery at the age of 3. I remember when I was in primary 2 (at the age of 5 or 6), I would use the verb 'to eat' for food as well as things like water and milk. In Bengali, there's only one verb for both eating and drinking.

So this is what allows you to think in English and Bengali, but I'm guessing these days you hardly ever think in Bengali, unless someone asks you to.