Different Languages - Different Personalities?
farmerart
Killing time during a dreary night in the exploration camp, I came across an article in The Economist positing the thesis of this discussion thread title. Since I am bilingual (English/French) I tried to analyze my own behaviour to see if I could find any validity in the thesis.
I have long noted that I have much less success in Quebec's French-speaking strip clubs than I do in any English-speaking clubs anywhere else. Upon reflection, I believe that I do project a different personality when I am speaking French from the personality of my English-speaking roots. I am not uncomfortable when speaking French but I think that I subconsciously alter my behaviour when speaking French - different sentence structure; masculine/feminine nouns; all those verb tenses + the wretched subjunctive. My brain works differently when I think 'French' so I guess that my other behaviour could also change.
I am not 100% convinced of the validity of this thesis. More likely, I think, for my lesser success in Quebec SCs is my peculiar accent when speaking French. What say you other bilingual or multilingual horndogs?
I have long noted that I have much less success in Quebec's French-speaking strip clubs than I do in any English-speaking clubs anywhere else. Upon reflection, I believe that I do project a different personality when I am speaking French from the personality of my English-speaking roots. I am not uncomfortable when speaking French but I think that I subconsciously alter my behaviour when speaking French - different sentence structure; masculine/feminine nouns; all those verb tenses + the wretched subjunctive. My brain works differently when I think 'French' so I guess that my other behaviour could also change.
I am not 100% convinced of the validity of this thesis. More likely, I think, for my lesser success in Quebec SCs is my peculiar accent when speaking French. What say you other bilingual or multilingual horndogs?
Comments
last commentDespite taking years of French classes in high school and college, I found that Parisians had no idea that I was speaking their language. If they did figure it out, they thought it my French was comical.
French is the coolest sounding language, and a girl with a French accent is so sexy.
If I was forced at gunpoint to make an uneducated guess, it would be that this would be more prevalent among those who can think in the language they are speaking.
I do 'think' in the language whenever I speak French.
I also have to admit that I have a very curious accent in French. I learned French when I was in Algeria (not back home in Canada). In addition, three of my employees were Germans who spoke no English but were fluent in French. My French accent is a combination of Algerian and German. You should see the quizzical looks I receive whenever I open my mouth in France.
J'ai lu le roman, L'Etranger, ecrit par Albert Camus. Camus etait pied noir de l'Algerie; ville d'Oran, je crois.
C'etait le seul etranger qui j'ai rencontre pendant mon sejour en Algerie.
(Comme je deteste mon ordinnateur, pas d'accents pour les voyelles!)