Bilingual - Tumblr Posts
I want to learn a new language sooo bad
but like I don’t have the memory or patience for it
You are truly bilingual only if you can count in more than one language
heya, bilingual here! ((Spanish was my first language))
➸ if [language A] has a faster or slower speakng rate than [language B], then it will be noticeable. the country I come from is considered the fastest-speaking Latin American country ((also the one with the “worst” and most distinctive accent :’) )) so a lot of misunderstandings don’t come from grammar, but from how fast I speak and my vocalisation
➸ this is an unusual side-effect for me but meaning in [language B] is kinda… diminished. not sure how to explain it. for example, the character can easily curse someone out endlessly in [language B], but cursing in [language A] just feels more impactful, more wrong. it feels like an actual curse vs. just a four-letter word that people dislike. or maybe your character could be a lot more brunt and straight-forward in [language B] and then have onlookers experience whiplash when they suddenly get soft-spoken in [language A].
➸ please note that events associated with a language can affect how someone will think about. if they came from a verbally abusive family that spoke primarily [language A], then the character will get nervous and insecure speaking it. 9 times out of 10, they’re going to want to process the traumatic events and emotions in [language B] because it’s more casual to them. this effect is more noticeable if they have supportive friends who are native [language B] speakers, as they’ll have many more positive experiences with [language B].
➸ if your bilingual character writes — whether casually or if they are a novelist of some sort — their writing style WILL be different in different languages. whilst English tends to draw out a more straightforward and choppy writing style that fits it, [language A] might fit more flowey and long-winded sentences ((especially seen in romantic languages such as Spanish, French, etc.!))
➸ their mind will be translating things almost constantly and it. is. hell. /hj. they may zone out in the middle of a conversation in [language B] because they are trying so hard to translate into [language A] that they lose the meaning of the words entirely, especially is they have functioned as a translator in the past. yes, this can also happen if they are translating [langauge A] into [language B].
➸ mostly seen in bilingual children, but saying [language B] idioms or words without knowing their meaning, or directly translating them and then they end up saying gibberish in [language A]. an analogy I frequently use is the “dar una galleta” idiom in Spanish. although it’s literally “to give someone a cookie”, it means “to hit/slap someone forcefully”. take note, children, never accept cookies in Hispanic countries.
➸ culture, culture, culture!! culture is important!!! it can affect the speaking rate, the customs, the gestures, the way they respond to being offended, and everything in between. **stands on the edge of a cliff** CuLtUrE iS eVeRyThInG!!!
➸ look up “bilingual memes” and you’ve succesfully wormed your way into a treasure trove of info
➸ if they haven’t had any exposure to [language B] for an extended period of time ((2 days+)) then the “takes their brain a second to readjust” effect can take about 30 seconds, and it can be freakish because wait last time I spoke to this person/read this book/played this game/watched this show, these words meant something, right??
➸ accent always is the last thing to go. I could write and speak English as well as a native speaker since 2nd grade, but people who knew me three or two years back do note that my accent has gotten better over the years. if the character is proficient in [language B], then other characters might be surprised to learn that they actually aren’t native speakers. no one I’ve met — no matter how perceptive — has been able to look at me and go “hey, the creepy kid in the corner seems like they could speak another language.” it’s probably a social matter, though, and I don’t mean it in a negative connotation.
➸ that’s all I can think of for now. and like OP said, you can’t go wrong with the services of a bilingual beta reader or friend! bilingual people don’t bite unless threatened!
Characterization
Bilingual Characters
Note: I am not bilingual, so please add or correct me if you can. This is what I have observed/learned from friends who are.
❃
➸ forgetting terms in [language A] and trying to explain with context clues or hand gestures ; it’s common to forget terms even in their primary language, not just a secondary one
➸ usually it’s just repeating “the thing” while trying to remember the term or using a synonym even if it doesn’t make as much sense
➸ inner dialogue switching between languages depending on connotation of thought and which language they have been conversing in lately
➸ counting in [language A] and then translating the final number into [language B] because it’s easier that way
➸ translating slang terms from [language A] that do not actually translate with the same meaning or make sense in [language B]
➸ speaking with grammar rules from [language A] that are incorrect in [language B]
➸ asking non-bilingual person if there’s a translation for a word before realizing they would have no idea
➸ never say something like “oops, it’s hard to switch back sometimes” — that’s lazy writing and doesn’t happen in real life
➸ language is a conscious action so when speaking [language A] people aren’t just going to throw in words from [language B] unless they are struggling to find a translation and then that struggle will be obvious
➸ if a character throws in a word from [language A] while conversing in [language B] it’s on purpose, usually because they’re messing with the other person or the word in [language B] doesn’t have the same connotation
➸ for example, curse words, nicknames, or other exclamations from [language A] may commonly be thrown in while conversing in [language B] but it is purposeful
➸ the only exception could be children who grew up bilingual; they may genuinely combine languages without thinking about it
➸ switching between languages may take a second for their brain to compute, even if they’re switching back to their primary language ; especially if they’ve been using one language consistently for a while
➸ when in an adrenaline-rush situation (like being panicked or in pain) a person will usually fall into their first language
➸ don’t try to transcribe accents — if your character has one, describe it and move on ; messing with dialogue too much will confuse readers
➸ there are different kinds of bilingual: fully (speak, read, and write), conversational (speaks fluently but does not read/write as well; this is common with immigrants), and comprehensible (can understand what someone says to them, but struggles to speak back; common with those who took school classes)
➸ people who grew up speaking primarily [language A] will commonly get anxious conversing in [language B] even if they are fluently bilingual ; this is something people can overcome with time
➸ when researching a language you do not speak but your character does, make sure to understand the culture too because it will influence how they speak
➸ culture affects expressions, idioms, forms, even basic vocabulary — you’ll need to understand this because every language breaks formal rules while in casual conversation & using this will make your character more realistic
➸ find a bilingual beta reader!
me whenever I acknowledge that I’m bilingual
i feel this person on a spiritual level
Im almost unable to swoon over characters in dutch (native language.) i swear if i read legendborn in dutch i would find almost everyone 'eh.' im reading a dutch book again and it's always a jumpscare dude no one is attractive in dutch 🧍🏼♀️
i wish there was an app for bilingual ppl who wanted to relearn the native tongue cos like i understand french pretty well and can read it fine but i have no idea how grammar works or how to write and my speaking skills are atrocious now and it makes me sad
Learning languages is so strange sometimes. Like thinking all the way back to how it started is wildly entertaining when it all boils down.
My favorite example is in French you would say “pomme” in order to say “Apple” and to say “Potato” you would say “pomme de terre” which means “Apple of earth”…..
Like imagine looking at a potato and going “mmmmm apple”
Amazing.
livestreaming
been trying to get into it, speaking in english does take more mental power than just babbling in spanish, at least it helps me practice speaking more. Also time seems slower while streaming for now, props to whoever enjoys it and it comes natural to them have to find something to get into while streaming, doing homework seems boring but at least I get to do two things at a time Lets see if i keep it up
Filian is bilingual?
@mersei47 how to say a deez nuts joke in spanish 😌😌😌😌
being bilingual be like:
english makes up 90% of my thoughts, I think in english, I write about my shit in english, I watch everything ONLY in english( god forbid watching a movie in another language), it's my comfort language where I feel safe and understood.
italian is only used when I'm in a bad mood, mostly because I despise italian high school and I don't fit in in this society ( I mean my peers) so whenever I need to expeess my hatred towards the world I definitely use italian and write "poems" in my phone notes + ofc I need italian for school which if you haven't noticed yet Ihate with the bottom of my heart
russian, even if it's my mother tongue it's only used for watching anime ( russian dub is amazing), family and sometimes youtube, I don't even know how to spell words correctly but yeah it's my default language and I like the way it sounds
pros of being a polyglot who was raised bilingual:
• it's easy for me to switch my brain to another language (for example, i was raised speaking to my father in english exclusively and my mother in french exclusively, so i can ask my dad something in english and then switch to tell my mom something in french without missing a beat)
• i find it easy to pick up a new language
• people think it's cool when i say stuff in the languages i know
cons of being a polyglot who was raised bilingual:
• i mix up english and french constantly because i live in a bilingual part of the world
• i mix up the other languages i know without realizing, which leads to me starting a sentence in japanese, throwing in some spanish in there and finishing that same sentence in ukrainian
• some people seem to assume that since i have a solid base in six languages that i must know every single language that god created and i often get asked "is this korean? you speak korean right?" but i'm being shown something in a random language i don't know
being bilingual/spanish speaking english.
and say, in all normality: so last summer I was raped-
everybody: ... *stares in horror*
I meant shaved. but in spanish it's rapado, so…
I don't think people understand how important language can be when communicating.
English isn't my first language, but it is the one I use most when talking to others. Even though I speak it fluently, sometimes my brain gets tired. I forget words, or I don't know how to say things and they come out wrong.
This is why I get so excited when I hear someone speaking Spanish (which happens often in Texas). I can finally let myself relax and be myself because speaking is so much easier.
It is especially exciting when someone who doesn't speak Spanish tries saying some words. Even if it is with Google Translate and the worst possible accent.
Dans la soupe- weird local expression in my area for being in eliminated in a game and made to sit in the middle of the circle and I’m pretty sure it’s just people in my city who use it and that it comes from French daycares.
See also soup of shame/souprifice, specific to the bilingual theatre camps I work at developed as micro expressions by us returning camp councillors based on a literal translation slowly spreading through local French and English school theatre programs participants attending the camp are also part of. Note that these preteens should not be considered a highly reliable source as most of them are quite prone to hyperbole and might interpret "I talked about it with a friend in the school play once and we started making jokes about being carrots when we get out in the theatre game" as widespread adaptation and report it as such.
That said, is there a linguist out there who can explain what this phenomenon would be? A highly local expression getting an inside joke translation potentially being adopted by the dominant and dominated linguistic groups in a highly bilingual area with a lessening degree of tension between linguistic communities seems like a thing someone would have studied somewhere before. Like I dunno but it seems like this might be interesting to someone who knows more about linguistics than me. If we pretend my sketchy observations are accurate, what’s going on here? Is there a word for it? Is this common in bilingual communities?
soup de jour: soup of the day
soup de jure: soup the government wants you to eat
soup de facto: the soup everyone actually eats
felt a lil silly. Don't ever bring up this post ever again.
I can just imagine
"Liebling, sag den Amerikanern zu ******************** bis sie*****************uns *****************"
"J-Je-je ne peux pas dire ça..."
"Ouais, du kannst?????"
honestly,.,. Dream Job. Also, the Baron is a Gay Icon™ and I love him
America is such a strange concept
Sometimes i wonder about how strange America is.
it's a single country the size of a continent (yes I know that Canada isn't America)
you all speak the same language
The last one fills my head a lot. I don't think you Americans realise how wild that is.
I'm European for context. I can easily travel to a bunch of different contries very easily. All countries in Europe have widly different cultures and languages - the latter is my real point.
I cannot speak french. I cannot speak spanish. I know a few words, but I cannot keep a conversation in any of them.
I see a lot of Americans on the internet talking about "being bilingual". That word fascinates me. Bilingual. Two-language-speaker. It's only really attributed to people with immigrant parents - not people who've learnt a language on purpose. I sense this weird respect around the word, like your something special if you can speak more than one language. The thing is, bilingualism is'nt really a thing in Europe. The majority of people in Europe is at least bilingual to some degree, if not trilingual. Otherwise you would only be able to visit your own country. If I wanted to visit Bulgaria or The Chech Republic, I would have to seek out people who also can speak english, since that is the only language I speak other than my native tongue.
And english isn't always European's second language. Sometimes it's french, other times german or spanish. Depends on the generation really.
However, in America you don't have this problem. You could literally fly from one end of the continent to the other and still be able to talk to basically anyone. Maybe they have a different accent, but at whole you understand each other. You could go to England, or Australia and still just get by with your mothertongue!!! That is insane!!!
If I wanted to write with someone let's say 1.500 km away (that's around 930 miles for the Americans) I would have a language barrier. We would both translate our thoughts to another language and then back to our mother tongue. If an American wrote with someone 1.500 km away they would both use their mother tongue. Heck, you could talk to someone 4.000 km (2.000 miles) away and still speak your mother tongue!
And now for the size: I didn't understand states for the longest time. I thought Americans were stupid for not understanding the difference between countries and states. I think I understand now. States are more like countries than councils. They all have so different climates. I can't remember the name or place for all of Americas states, so it makes sense for Americans not being able to place Europe's countries. And the Europeans who think Americans are annoying for saying their hometown instead of "America" when you ask them where they're from: that's the equivalent to say your countries capitol where you grew up, instead of the country. You probably wouldn't answer "Europe" to the question "So where are you from?". I know I wouldn't.
TLDR: It is wild that english-speaking people can talk to so many without learning another language.
All my knowledge is from the Internet, I have never visited the US, so maybe I've misunderstood some things. (I know not everyone in the US have english as their mother tongue, but it's still a lot more than in Europe)