Duration 1:15:2
EP26: Different Personalities in Different Languages
Published 24 Jun 2021
Shop our merch! :)▸https://felifromgermany.com/ Sign up for the Lingoda Sprint here by July 16 ▸http://bit.ly/LingodaxUTS_Sprint and use the code FAST47 to save 20€/25USD on the deposit! (Terms and conditions apply. Make sure to read the rules of the Sprint.) Being fluent in another language opens a lot of doors in life. Josh gets to live abroad in Germany and work for a German company because of this while Feli was able to study in the US and eventually move there. However, being bilingual and especially living “between cultures”, as our podcast title says, can also bring internal challenges with it. One of those things that we’ve experienced ourselves is feeling like you have two different personalities in the two languages – like there are two different versions of yourself. In this episode, we took the time to dig deeper into what lies behind that, talked about what those two personalities look like for us personally, and what advantages and disadvantages it brings with it. We also answered a few of your questions from the YouTube comments at the end AND we included a German-speaking part too [00:54:46-01:04:20]! 😊 Articles we quoted from: 1) Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3004943/Being-bilingual-really-two-minds-Researchers-say-people-different-personalities-language.html?fbclid=IwAR1FffFn4oDMw3tW4PdA6OOtItakfslFocher6YHq8V7mNDhwcYBmQHTAlQ 2) Hug-a-group: https://hugagroup.medium.com/do-you-feel-like-a-different-person-when-you-speak-a-foreign-language-here-is-why-61046ca3d4d3 EP25: A German at a British Boarding School feat. Clemens ▸/watch/IKZYwKR1l8z1Y EP12: Tequila, Friendships, Safety - Life between Mexico, Germany, and the US feat. Seymer ▸/watch/QuDsGNgtSkats ------------------------------- 0:00 Intro 7:13 Different personalities in different languages? 49:12 Q&A 54:46 German-speaking part (subtitles available!) 01:04:20 Q&A ------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to this channel, activate the bell, and share this with other people who you think might enjoy our content. Thank you! LISTEN HERE: Anchor▸https://anchor.fm/understandingtrainstation Spotify▸https://open.spotify.com/show/2rEBEyi1sbHT0Qs4X7hoEZ Apple Podcasts▸https://apple.co/2TpElDp Google Podcasts▸https://bit.ly/34sLucD Amazon Music▸https://amzn.to/2G54gNU iHeart Radio▸https://ihr.fm/39mhSjU SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow us on Instagram▸http://instagram.com/understandingtrainstation Support us on Patreon▸http://patreon.com/understandingtrainstation Buy us a coffee▸https://www.buymeacoffee.com/utspodcast Email us▸understandingtrainstation@gmail.com Playlist with all videos with Josh on Feli's YouTube channel▸/playlist/PLvcmNAGhcEEMm1zpbbFcz41YALTd2eAed Feli's YouTube channel "Feli from Germany"▸/channel/UCbxCR9QT9YTuUa4ONm7zAaA Feli's Instagram▸https://www.instagram.com/felifromgermany
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Related videos for EP26: Different Personalities in Different Languages:
It could also be "You live a new life for every language you speak.
As a Czech who works in Switzerland and speaks German, English and Italian on a daily basis, I totally relate to that. ... 5
life) and I definitely behave differently in the two languages… First of all, I’m much more polite in Japanese. I never curse and my language
is not as direct as in German. My personality is “flatter” in Japanese (idk if
you can say that in English lol) and I want to fit in or “not attract attention”.I feel like I am a lot more confident when speaking German and I am also better
at discussing/arguing and convincing people in German haha. Also, I’ve noticed that
I’m funnier and more sarcastic with Germans around me, while I speak more
seriously in Japanese. This may sound a bit weird, as Americans think of Germany
as “serious”, but Japan is often even further away from the American culture than
Germany in my experience. So like mentioned in the episode my personality kind of changes based on the
culture of the country. I also think that my voice changes in different languages, it sounds a lot
softer and sweeter in Japanese imo. My mum’s story is quite interesting as well because she obviously didn’t grow
up bilingually, but learned German as a second language. Her personality is
still very Japanese I think, but she sounds much harsher in German, for example,
and she also speaks faster in Japanese. I’m sorry this got so long, but there is a lot to say about this topic! ... 26
Thank you for this episode, I loved this. :) ... 7
As for regular conversation, I have a German friend who lives in Germany three months out of the year, and he is much louder than I am. :) ... 1
Also I did learn some Latin when I was younger, I don't really remember much of it - only a small handful of words, but I remember more of the grammar because grammar has always fascinated me and come more naturally to me. Sometimes when I translated Latin into English it sounded a bit weird, although if I'm honest most of the time that was just because I never remembered to add in articles for some reason haha! (Latin doesn't have articles.) It's fascinating how much Latin and German have in common grammar-wise, from the verbs often being at the end to the cases - Latin in word endings, German in articles. (What case does German use for objects of prepositions? Latin uses ablative case, but German doesn't seem to have that. Do you just use accusative?) ... 1
Feli mentioned adapting to the culture when you’re in it. That seems to be key. The language reinforces the cultural differences so then that affects how you say things. Really interesting topic. Thanks, Schoenen Dank! 👍☀️ ... 1
I think we can only be our true selves when we are alone because the environment always limits us to what we think is expected from us. ... 1
I'm also fluent in music. I have studied several genres, i.e. opera , sacred , pop, etc. and am able to sing effectively in each. I also learned to play the tuba in high school. That taught me how to read music. I ran with that into performing music as a singer. Keep up the greqt content. Dankeschoen! Tschüss! ... 2
And about the topic of expressing oneself: I often find it easier to express something in English than in my mother tongue German. I don't know why. I don't often speak English but I consume media predominantly in English.
What I observed when you're speaking German is, that you seem to accentuate the endings of words more than I am used to, especially with infinitives. But maybe that's why we verschluck the word endings in Bremen often as I heard. E.g. I say Brehm not Bremen or sing'n not singen. ... 1
In english I use words like awesome and great way more then in my native language (Dutch). ... 2
And whats really fascinating is, that I have a reading/writing problem (Lese-Rechtschreibschwäche) in German but I can fluently read and write in English.
I can totally agree with your wording “it’s like a different part of your brain”. It really feels like that especially because I can read english soooo much better than my mother language which doesn’t make sense to me.
I wanted to say thank you to you two! You really saved my last couple of weeks! I had so much work to do and just having you on in the background helped me to push through! I really appreciate the time and effort you guys put into it! Thank you! ... 1
I just asked my wife „ do you feel or act as a slightly different person, when speaking Turkish?“ and she agreed. She was born and raised in Turkey and moved to Germany at the age of 16. We never thought about that before. She confirms what you experience, even after 40 years living in Germany now. I think it’s more a cultural diversity, and less being bilingual.
By the way, we still stumble into some sort of cultural pitfalls, even after so many years of living together 😎 ... 1
This is an interesting discussion, I didn't know how to describe this phenomenon before. ...
Josh, wenn Leute nicht gleich wissen was Du mit „Horn spielen“ meinst, liegt das vermutlich einfach am Kontext. Jemand, der selbst in einem Orchester oder einer Brass Band gespielt hat, weiß sofort was gemeint ist. Andere Leute werden vielleicht zuerst an das Horn eines Stieres denken oder an etwas wie eine Vuvuzela. ^^ ... 1
But my own experience of feeling different when speaking different languages was definitely more significant when I lived in London for a while. That's why I think, like the study confirmed aswell, that it has to do with cultural norms and not so much with actually having different personalities. I think human beings are always adapting to their environment best they can.
Now that I'm mainly in the Netherlands I don't have much problems with it when dealing with either languages BUT I always miss the cultural context of my second language like I'm missing part of me. It's really strange. I've thought it was mainly because I lived in England and want to go back there. But now I know it's also because I really love and miss the cultural context of my second language.
When I went back to London a couple of years later I remember talking to the first English person when I needed to buy tickets at the station. I remember him asking: do you want a tube map aswell? And I answered: O yes that might come in handy! And he confirmed: very handy indeed! And in that instance it felt like I came home. Which might sound a bit ridiculous when talking to a complete stranger but it was purely because of the use of the English language. The word 'handy' has such a different feel for me compared to the word 'handig' in Dutch even though it means the same thing.
These different cultures can cause some challenges but it is very enriching aswell. Talking a second language has definitely expanded my personality. And I always feel Dutch people don't understand that aspect of me. They often speak American English and don't know much about the British culture.
The thing that I really liked in England was the politeness. I feel people can be so rude here compared to it. But it's also a challenge for me whenever I speak British English because I definitely feel like I'm speaking very polite all the time and I feel confined to be more direct and just say what's on my mind. Also I have discovered that in Dutch we use a lot of words sarcastically and it doesn't translate well. British people take me very literally and I can't just say the opposite of what I mean, while in Dutch I do that all the time! It's been a challenge for sure. One really has to learn to express themselves in the other language according to what is possible within that language and culture. But it will help me to know that it's completely normal to not be able to express myself the exact same way in the other language.
I think I need to talk to other bilinguals/multilinguals more in order for me to feel more understood and feel less alone in this. But also I so long to travel again, my heart is aching! I guess that's the only downside of travelling... you will always miss a part of yourself, wherever you are. ...
(too lazy to look for the english version).
College in US: I had already written a longer response to a comment from K Sta "So, is college university? Or is there a difference?" in EP24, with regard to a German reader who knows the system here - maybe you can comment if this is correct?
"There are 2-year colleges (community colleges, junior colleges) which offer an associate degree or just some certificates or diplomas. They would not be regarded as an academic institution in Germany but as a vocational school. About 40% (?) of US "college students" study at community colleges because they cost much less (maybe "only" 10.000 or 20.000 $) and accept anyone. They do not count as universities.
Those institutions who offer 4-year Bachelor programs are also called college, or university. Sometimes they have agreements with regional 2-year-colleges so that students from there can transfer smoothly. They offer an education which still has a wider scope and components which we would attribute with a school and not a university in Germany. Bachelor programs in the US often do not include a thesis. So the German Bachelor degree would be a Bachelor Honours (with thesis) in the US.
Then there are graduate programs (master, PhD) which are research oriented (often in master, always in PhD programs). They are typically offered by a separate graduate school which may or may not be part of a university. The graduate schools are typically NOT called college." ...
During subsequent periodic visits to Germany I would find that I could slip back, but it got harder and harder. Interestingly, it did affect my American accent. I would go for walks when I got too overwhelmed thinking and speaking in German. To blow off steam I'd sing songs. I'd catch myself singing English with a German accent.
Now my brother is older than me, he was born in Germany (and moved here with my parents when he was 4). My parents made him take German lessons. He is bilingual, and from that very young age. His personality is the same regardless of which language he uses. But my parents definitely have an American aspect and a German aspect in their personalities. Makes sense since they learned English in their late 20s through pure immersion. It would be interesting to me to listen to them talk to each other and switch languages, often in mid-sentence. ... 1
Then i moved further away and had to speak English all the time! That was very difficult at first but i learned to expand my vocabulary to be able to speak only one language. I got married to a man who only spoke English so keeping the low German is difficult.
I agree with feli that the german is hard to be expressive and English can be a bit over the top at times. I can be very German in that way because i had to learn to express my self in English when i was not taught that at home. People thought that i was not very thankful for the things they were doing for me when it was only my Germanness. Even growing up bilingual i have language/ cultural things i needed to learn. I may not have lived in a different country but i grew up in a very low German cultural area as did my grandparents and great grandparents when they came to Canada ... 2
Kann jemand ein Buch/Bücher zu dem oder ähnlichen Themen empfehlen? Danke! ...
i already hate it here in germany
This is now many, many years ago so right or wrong, it was what it was. But generally between Japanese speakers who learn to really speak English in college or later, and Americans who learn Japanese in college or later, we do essentially have different personalities between the two language. The personality for the second language is either an imitation of our teachers, or conforms to the context for which we learned that language, usually work. In contrast, when people grow up with a parent from both language, or both parents who are bilingual, then there is less of a 'personality' difference when speaking the two languages, in my opinion. ...
Euren Kanal "understanding Train station" verfolge ich von Anfang an. Und mit jeder Episode lerne ich etwas dazu, was mich bei euch hält.
Vielleicht werde ich eines Tages die USA besuchen. Zumindest habe ich das vor. Ich finde es auch sehr schön wenn man Sprachen lernen kann und auch dann in den entsprechenden Ländern lebt und die Kultur ebenfalls kennen lernt.
Ich denke für Josh ist München eine gute Stadt um Deutschland kennen zu lernen. Wenigstens habt ihr es verwirklichen können, was bei weitem nicht jeder kann!
Interessant war für mich auch das Thema College. In Deutschland lernen wir Berufe im Dualen System. Also teils Schule und Praxis in einem Betrieb. Ob das besser ist möchte ich nicht beurteilen. Definitiv ist es aber interessant. Ich habe Papiermacher gelernt und bin aber nach der Lehre in den Güterkraftverkehr gegangen. So bin ich auch etwas herum gekommen. Mittlerweile fahre ich seit 30 Jahren LKW, wobei ich die letzten 5 Jahre hauptsächlich im Baustellenverkehr tätig bin. Seit mehr als 2 Jahren arbeite ich bei einer großen Firma bei Albstadt. Dort bin ich als Springer auch in der Produktion eingebunden. Natürlich mit Schulungen und entsprechender Weiterbildung.
Wenn ich noch einmal ganz von vorne anfangen könnte, würde mich erstens besser in der Schule anstrengen und auf jeden Fall versuchen euren Weg zu gehen. Ich denke ihr habt nichts falsch gemacht!
Zu meiner Zeit war das noch in der Form kaum denkbar.
Ich hoffe ihr könnt wirklich mehr daraus machen, und vielleicht eröffnet das Perspektiven für nachfolgende Generationen.
Jedenfalls ich finde es interessant und werde euren Kanal weiter verfolgen.
Bleibt gesund und weiterhin viel Erfolg!
(Hätte ich das besser in Englisch geschrieben?) ... 2