Trilingual: What Happens When You Speak More Languages?

Multiple Languages Mean Multiple Ways Of Experiencing The World · Monolingual – Speaks one language. · Bilingual – Two different languages. Beelinguapp Howitworks Library All BeeKids Beginner Intermediate Advanced Blog FAQ LearnLanguages English Spanish Portuguese French Italian German Japanese Russian Chinese Hindi Turkish Korean Arabic Swedish English English Español Deutsch Svenska Italiano 日本語 한국어 Português Français Türkçe हिंदी Gettheapp Trilingual:WhatHappensWhenYouSpeakMoreLanguages? Advice February12,2021 Insomepartsoftheworld,it’salwaysfascinatingwheneversomeonespeaksmorethanonelanguage.Yetinotherparts,it’sprettycommonthatmostpeoplespeaktwotothreedifferentlanguagesandit’snotthatmindblowing. Buthowbigapartofyouisyourlanguagereally? Therearequiteafewsubtletiesthatgounnoticedwhenyouonlyspeakonelanguagebutasyoustarttospeakmoreyoufindoutthatalotofourdifferencesaroundtheworldareactuallycenteredaroundlanguage–whichshapesyourlifeinprettysignificantways. Allowmetoexplainwhathappens. MultipleLanguagesMeanMultipleWaysOfExperiencingTheWorld Letsfirstgetaquickoverviewofallthelingualtitlesthat’sattributedtohowmanylanguagesyouspeakfluentlyoratanativelevel. Themostcommononesarequiteself-explanatory.Afterthat,itgetsalittlemuddyandyoucanfinddifferentopinionsandamyriadofsubcategoriesbutgenerally,it’slikethis: Monolingual–Speaksonelanguage. Bilingual–Twodifferentlanguages. Trilingual–Threedifferentlanguages. Polyglot –(Three)/Four+differentlanguages. Hyperpolyglot–Six+differentlanguages. Unfortunately,beingmonolingualisquitecommonintheEnglishspeakingpartoftheworldbecausethere’snohugeincentiveorrequirementforlearninganyotherlanguage. Butwhathappenswhenyoumovefrommonolinguallifetotrilinguallifeorevenontospeakingseveraldifferentlanguages? ‍ ‍ TheChameleonEffect–Whenyou‘change’dependingonwhatlanguageyouspeak. There’sapeculiarthingthathappensonceyoustarttoknowtwoormorelanguagesintimatelywell.Insomeways,itfeelslikehavingaspecialclearanceleveltolife,exceptslightlylessespionage. Infact,it’slikeyouopen adoorinsideyourbrainthatyoupreviouslyhadnoideaexisted. Manymultilingualspeakerswilltellyouthattheyoftenbehaveandevenexpressthemselvesdifferentlywhenswitchingbetweenlanguages. ThishasdefinitelyoccurredtomeandIdobelievethatmyapproachtoaconversation,whetherit’sinGerman,SpanishorEnglishchanges. ButnotnecessarilyinawaythatmypersonalitybecomesfundamentallydifferentasI’veheardothermultilingualspeakerssay. Onetrilingualexplainsthisprettywell: “WhentalkingEnglish,French,orGermantomysister,mypersonalitydoesnotchange.However,dependingonwhereweare,bothourbehaviorsmayadapttocertainsituationswefindourselvesin.” Therearecaseswherepeopletalkaboutfeelingmorereservedandpensivevsbeingmoreoutgoingandboldinonelanguageoveranother.Sure,differentlanguagesinvitedifferentbehaviorsbutIalsothinkithastodowithhowcomfortableyouareinthatspecificlanguage. Forexample,ifyou’renearfluentinFrenchbutcompletelyfluentinGermanthenforsureyou’llbemoreoutgoinginGermanmostofthetime–assumingthisisoneofyourmainpersonalitytraitswhenspeakingyourfirstlanguage. Maybeyou’verecognizedasimilarexperienceyourself?Ormaybeyou’recurioustofindouthowthishappens? Well,thereisonespecificchangethathappensinyourpersonalitywhencrossingoverfromonelanguagetobeingbilingual,trilingualorfurtherthatyoucanrefertoasthe“ ChameleonEffect”. Youchange,adaptandblendintoaconversationdependingonwhoyou’respeakingwith. Ontheobvioussidewhathappensisthatyoucanswitchbetweenthelanguagesyouknowlikeadamnchameleonandyoucandoitinstantlyinongoingconversations,sortoflikealivetranslator. Butthere’salsosomethinggoingonatadeeperlevel. You’renotjustflashinga‘language-catalog’toshowoff[well,possiblyalittle.]It’smoreoftenbecauseyou’researchingforthebestpossibleexplanation,orseekingthemostauthenticwaytoexpresssomething–andeachnewlanguagesofferuniquelydifferentoptionsandwaysofexplainingthesamethingthatisusuallytakenforgrantedasthesameunderstanding. It’sawaythat yourmindiswireddifferentlyfrombeingmonolingual. Haveyoueveraskedsomeonewhospeaksmultiplelanguagestoexplainthemeaningofaproverb?Thenfindthemponderinghowtoexplainortranslateit,usuallycomingupwithmultipleoptionsforeachlanguageleavingyouwithevenmoreconfusionthanbeforeyouasked. Itwouldn’tsurpriseme. Iusuallyhavealotoffundiscussingproverbsandidiomswithdifferentspeakers,Imeetonmyway. OnceIwastalkingtoafellowDanishmultilingualwhotriedtoexplainaDanishproverb. Hewroteitdown,“Hastværkerlastværk.”,andsaiditmeanssomethingalong,“Don’tbehasty.”Atthatpoint,Icouldn’thelpbutburstoutlaughingandaddafewlameLordoftheRings-jokes. Thepointishecouldn’texactlyexplainitinawaythatwouldpassoverthesamemeaningandprofoundunderstandingthatwould’vebeenavailabletomeifIspokeDanish. Theclosestwegottoasolidunderstandingwas,“Fastworkproducespoorquality.”I’mstillnotentirelysureofit’sexactmeaningtothisday. Imean,tryexplaining,“Adrowningmanwillclutchatastraw”,toanon-nativeEnglishspeaker. Eventhemeaningoftheexactsamewordsineitherlanguagecanbedifferent.Becausewehavedifferentunderstandingsand emotionsattachedtoit. Youmightnotrealizethisinyourdailylifebut, Asyougetfluentinmorelanguagesyoudiscoverthateachonecommandswildlydifferentperceptions. Letmeexplain. Cognitivescientist LeraBoroditsky talksabouthownounsindifferentlanguagesthatareeitherfeminineormasculinechangesthewayspeakersofthatlanguagedescribethoseexactsamewords. Themoon,“DerMond”,inGerman,ismasculinewhileit’sfeminineinSpanish,“laluna”. It’stheoppositewiththesun,“DieSonne”and“elsol”. That’snotsostrangeinandofitselfright? Butit’sactuallycommonthatSpanishspeakerswillattributemorefemininecharacterstoawordlike“moon”whereGermanspeakerswillmakethesemoremasculine. Youcanseeitaswellinhowthetwodescriberivers.“Rivers”aremostlymasculineinSpanishandmostlyfeminineinGerman. Becauseofthis,riverstendtobedescribedashugeorstronginSpanish,“RioGrande”whereasinGermantheyaremoreelegantandbeautiful,“SchönenDonau.” Boroditskygoesevenfurthertohowweexperienceeventslikeanaccidentofsomeonebreakingsomething.InEnglish,wesaythat“he”or“she”diditevenifitwasanaccident,whereasinSpanishyouwouldn’tassignblametoanyonebutsimplysay“it”broke. Orsomethingbanalasbreakfast.InFrancebreakfastistypicallyacroissantorothertypeofpastryandaquickcoffee.That’sit.“Petitdéjeuner”–thesmalllunch.Prettymuchtheleastimportantmealoftheday. Ontheotherhand,“Ichfrüstucke”,inGermanliterallymeansI’m‘breakfasting’.Notjusteatingorhavingbreakfastbutmorelikeanimportantevent.Languageshapesthisbehavior. Let’sdoaquickexperiment. Ifyouwereaskedtolayoutfivepicturesofyourselfatdifferentpointsinyourlifewouldyouorganizethemyoungtooldoroldtoyoung? Withyouranswer,thinkabouthowwereadlanguagesdifferently,forexample,EnglishislefttorightandJapanesewhereit’softenrighttoleft. Eachiscompletelyintuitivetoanyfluent/nativespeakerbutatthesametime,wewalkaroundwiththesedifferent,sometimesopposing,assumptionsabouthoweverythingispiecedtogether. Thereareplentyofotherexamplesofhowwedecide“meaning”andexperiencetheworldaroundusdependingonwhatlanguagewespeak. Thepointis,itshapeshowyouthinkaboutspecificwordsandeventswithoutyounecessarilyrealizingit.Evenspaceandtimecanbeperceiveddifferently,andtherebyalsoyouropinionandemotionswhenviewingtheworldfromaspecificsetoflanguagespectacles. MultipleLanguagesIntroduceUniqueAdvantages WheneverIexperiencethe“chameleoneffect”orfindthatonelanguagetakesprecedenceoveranother,[especiallywhenitcomestoreadingbooksintheiroriginallanguage],oneofthereasonsthishappensisbecauseyou’reusuallyalsoswitchingbetweendifferentculturesandahistoryofthepeoplethatshapethelanguageandviceversa. Allthisdiversityaroundtheworldisexactlywhereknowingmultiplelanguagesgivesyouanupperhand. Youcan absorbawayoflife fromtheoriginalsourcewithoutgettinglostintranslation. Thewaywetalkisdifferent,humorisdifferent,what’sconsideredpolitevsoffensiveisdifferent,evenfood,whatweeat,thewayweeatitandwhy,isdifferentacrosslanguages. I’dargueyoucannotfullyappreciatethisdiversitybeforeyoudevelopawholenewunderstandingbyspeakingthatlanguage–butwhenyoudoit’slikeyoudon’tliveinthesameworldanymore. FamoushyperpolyglotRichardSimcott hassaid, “ItseemsalmostoddformetotalkaboutbeingjustBritishnow.” It’suniqueaccesstoothercultures. Ifyou’reconsideringlearninganewlanguageIassumeit’sbecauseyouwanttogooutanduseit.Perhapswhentravelingtoothercountriesorevenmovingthereforawhile,andbelieveme,that’sanentireadventurewherelanguagewillopenuptheworldlikeyouwouldn’timagine. Asyouspeakmorelanguages,yourfriendsmayincreasinglybefromavarietyofdifferentcountriesandbackgroundsbecauselanguageisoften thelastobstacle formeeting‘real’localpeopleandlearningabouttheirwayoflife[whileobviouslymakingfunofeachother’sstereotypes.] Youmakeinstantconnectionswhenyouknowsomethingaboutanotherperson’scountryorheritage. That’swhenyou’llbeintroducedtothehiddengemsyouwon’tbeabletofindontours,seeplacesandexperiencepartsofcitiesthatyouotherwiseneverwouldhavehadaccessto. Evengettinginvitedintopeople’sprivatehomesforamealandagoodtime,[yes,thishappens]. Thinkaboutit…Speakinginsomeone’snativetonguenaturallymakesthatpersonopenupandgivesanimpressionthatputsyouaheadofmostotherpeople[tourists]visitingthatcountry. Itshowsthatyou’retrulyinterestedinunderstandingnotonlythembuttheir wayoflife .Andtheconversationsyou’llhaveandthewayyougettoknowpeopleintheirfirstlanguagearesimplyunmatched. Haveyoueverspokenjustafewwordstoaforeigner intheirlanguage? WhathappensistheymostoftenlightuplikeChristmasday.Becausewhywouldn’tthey? Afterall,imitationisthesincerestformofflattery…orwhateverOscarWildewrote. OnethingI’vediscoveredisthatspeakingtosomeoneinEnglish,[mostofthetime],makesforbarenecessitycommunication–butspeakingtosomeoneintheirfirst/nativelanguagespeakstotheirsoulandalittlegoesalongway. Thiscouldunlocknewpartsofyourlife Youmightdecideto live,studyorworkinanothercountry ,startdatingoutsideyourfirstlanguageandeventuallyendupmarryingsomeonefromanothercountry. Maybethatsoundsfarfetchedbutwiththewaylanguageopensupyourperspectiveoftheworld,it’snotatallunlikely. Peopletendtobecomemoreopentonewwaysoflookingatthings [liketheBoroditskyexample] ,butyoualsobecomemorelenientandunderstandingbecauseyouknowhowtonavigatedifferencesandaremorelikelytogainempathy. Justlikeitopensupopportunitieslanguageisalsoalyricalwayofbeingexposedtotheworld. There’sacertainflowtoitandorderinwhichwordsappearthathasthepowertospikeeveryemotionwe’reabletoexperience.Itcanmakeyousad,angry,curious,excitedormakeyoulaughyourassoff. Whichbringustomultilingualconversations Oneofthemostinterestingandbizarrethingsthathappenfromtimetotimeisthatyouoverhear,[possiblyeavesdropon]conversationsfrompeoplewhodon’texpectyouhaveaclueofwhatthey’retalkingabout. Whenpeopleassumeyoudon’tspeaktheirlanguagethey’llhavesomeprettyprivateconversationrightnexttoyou.Sometimeshorrifyingas thissectiononQuorawillshowyou. It’salsoinvitingtostartspeakingin‘code’mixingupmultiplelanguages.Sometimesyouneedtogetoutofatightsituation,maybeyouwanttohaveamoreprivateconversationinpublic,[againwatchoutforthisone],andsometimesit’sjustplainfuntoconfuseotherpeoplewhodon’tunderstand. YouNeedTheRightAttitudeToBecomeTrilingualorBeyond What’simportantifyouwanttospeakmultiplelanguagesisthatyouhavetoagreethatitaddsanotherdimensiontoyourlife.Aninvaluablechangeinthewayyouliveandhowyouthink. Ofcourse,thiskindofaccesstotheworldtakeseffortalthoughyoucan maketheapproachmorestraightforward. There’sapopularsayingthesedays,“Nopain,nogain”. IfyouputthisinGermanit’s,“OhneFleißkeinPreis”–buttheactualmeaninginGermanismorelike,“withoutduediligencenoprice.”Yes,I’minvitingeveryGermanstereotypehere. Butit’simportanttomentionthat duediligence isrequiredtolearnanylanguagetoaleveloffluency. Ifyoulookatsomeofthe[hyper]polyglotstheyallshare moreorlessasimilarwayoflookingatlanguage. MuchlikeRichardSimcottfeelsattachedtomoreculturesoutsideoftheBritishbyspeakingmorelanguages, BennyLewis findslifeinonelanguagetobelimiting. OllyRichards thinksit’sthemostincredibleexperienceyoucanaddtolifeandthatlanguageessentiallyisaboutenhancingandchangingyourlifebycommunicatingwithotherpeople. PolyglotSusannaZarayskyalsolooksatlanguagesasauniquewaytoopenyourviewoftheworldand saysshe’s, “developedadeeperunderstandingoflifeinothercountriesthanmosttravelerswhoonlyspeaktoEnglishspeakers”. Thereareplentyofsimilarexamplestobefoundeverywhereandthecommonalityseemstobethatonceyoustartdrinkingoffthelanguagefountainyoustarttocaremoreaboutothercultures. Thismaynotbeyourgoalinlifebutbilinguals,trilingualsandmultilingualspeakersinherentlystarttovalueadeeperconnectionwithpeoplearoundtheworld. Ifyou’reoutheretolearnanotherlanguagethenthisimpulsetogetoutandmeetnewpeoplewhohaveverydifferentwaysoflifefromyourownisamust-have. Wouldn’titbebetterifwealljuststayinourdifferentlanguagebubbles? Sure,itmightbegoodenoughforsome. Butthere’salotmoretolifeoutsidethatbubblethatisotherwiseundiscovered. So,ifyouwanttostartajourneythathasshapedthelivesofmanyothers[includingmyself]beforeyou,inwaystheywouldn’thavebeenwithout,thenit’snevertoolatetolearnanewlanguage–andwhoknowsyoumightloveitsomuchthatitwilltakeyoutounimaginableplaces. Ifyou’realldisorientedaboutwhatlanguageyoushouldlearnthen here’sathingortwoaboutdecidingalanguagethat’srightforyou. Oryoucanjustgostraightaheadand startyouradventureonBeelinguapp withanaudiobook-storythatletsyoureadalongatyourownpacewithauthenticnativepronunciationflowingfromyourheadset. Languageslearningappwithaudiobooksandmusic DownloadtheiOSorAndroidAppnow. 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