Speaking/Thinking in Tongues

[e.Blackstar]

Okay, my friend posed this question to me, and I was hoping that someone could either therorize or tell me from experience.

Okay, when someone moves from one country to one where they speak a different language and that person speaks the second country's language, do they think in their native language or in the second language?

Quite a poser...

[celebnaurwen]

I quite often think in Spanglish...but I've told you that already.

[Gildor]

Depends on the age of the person, the amount of time they spent being exposed to their native language, and the amount of time they spend being exposed to the new one(s). Someone who left their own country as a child and grew to adulthood in a different one would be more likely to 'switch' languages entirely, unless they often speak their native tongue at home or elsewhere. An adult who moves to a different country will a take much longer time to fully adopt the new language, if they ever do.

[Starflower]

interesting question... i find myself frequently thinking and even on occasion dreaming in english, though it is not my first language. but i have little exposure to my own language at the moment, apart from the occasional phonecalls to family back home I never speak my own language. you don;t really forget it - not this time and age when home is never further than a call or email away - but it degenerates a lot. if you have a companion to talk to in your own native language, you will probably keep thinking in your own language as well