Different Languages - Different Personalities?
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?
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18 comments
Despite 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!)