Language affects personality

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Anonymous

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Yet another strange aspect of the human mind: for multiligual people, perception seems altered by the language they speak. The study was made with English- and Spanish-speaking subjects, but is probably valid for any set of languages, and probably for more than two as well.

I have personally been told that my attitude changed noticeably depending on which language I spoke. This remark was made by external people, as I am not aware of any change myself. I'm not even sure if they weren't taking the piss!  ;)

How about you multilingal lot? Have you noticed anything or had remarks like:
  • Per, why do you wear a towel on your head when you speak Farsi?
  • Natalie, speaking Swedish while eating a Wiener Schnitzel really doesn't suit you
  • Onhell, stop speaking Spanish and switch back to English... And give me back this wallet you just stole off me!
  • JackKnife, why do you suddenly smell of garlic when you start speaking French?
:D

Are all of us who speak more than one language somehow schizophrenic?  :blink:


How switching language can change your personality

Bicultural people may unconsciously change their personality when they switch languages, according to a US study on bilingual Hispanic women.

It found that women who were actively involved in both English and Spanish speaking cultures interpreted the same events differently, depending on which language they were using at the time.

It is known that people in general can switch between different ways of interpreting events and feelings – a phenomenon known as frame shifting. But the researchers say their work shows that bilingual people that are active in two different cultures do it more readily, and that language is the trigger.

One part of the study got the volunteers to watch TV advertisements showing women in different scenarios. The participants initially saw the ads in one language – English or Spanish – and then six months later in the other.

Researchers David Luna from Baruch College, New York, US, and Torsten Ringberg and Laura Peracchio from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, US, found that women classified themselves and others as more assertive when they spoke Spanish than when they spoke English.

"In the Spanish-language sessions, informants perceived females as more self-sufficient and extroverted," they say.

For example, one person saw the main character in the Spanish version of a commercial as a risk-taking, independent woman, but as hopeless, lonely, and confused in the English version.

Source: New Scientist
Journal reference: Journal of Consumer Research (DOI: 10.1086/586914)
 
Maverick said:
  • Per, why do you wear a towel on your head when you speak Farsi?
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More like: "It sounds very cute when you say behtar az hic ast"  :halo:
 
Well I can see this study is flawed already because their subjects were women and as we know even monolingual women twist things all the time! :p

Sexist comment out of the way... I do notice a subtle change depending the language I speak. Honestly I feel smarter when I speak English because I use Latin based words that are considered "educated" vocabulary in English while In Spanish they are as common as rat tacos on every street corner, e.i "Ultimate," "amorous," etc. But that's really it, I feel the same, I do feel my voice changes slightly, softer, "sweeter" in English than in Spanish. 
 
I'm not sure about languages, but sometimes it's enough to switch dialects. My wife sounds and behaves one way when she's around here (Swedish west coast) but when she speaks with her mother or other relatives in the far south of Sweden (Skåne) her entire persona changes; she swears more, talks louder and becomes more boisterous (sp?). Go figure???
 
I do feel my voice changes slightly, softer, "sweeter" in English than in Spanish. 
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I don't speak Spanish nearly as fluently as I used to but I find the same applies to me but in the opposite direction. I believe that anyone not speaking their primary tongue takes more time and care in ensuring they are understood by the people they are speaking to; kind of searching for approval in a way I guess.
 
Considering what Anomica said about dialects... I am always considerate about when I speak "High German" and when I speak Berlinian dialect. Berlinian is somewhat more casual, harsher and in a way, ruder (especially because I always spice it up with some Hamburgian). I guess that's the case with all dialects- high languages are always more formal and polite. But in general, when I'm not talking to mates, I use Berlinian to transmit a self-conscious, defiant or open/jovial attitude.
 
Perun said:
Considering what Anomica said about dialects... I am always considerate about when I speak "High German" and when I speak Berlinian dialect. Berlinian is somewhat more casual, harsher and in a way, ruder (especially because I always spice it up with some Hamburgian). I guess that's the case with all dialects- high languages are always more formal and polite. But in general, when I'm not talking to mates, I use Berlinian to transmit a self-conscious, defiant or open/jovial attitude.
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Deano said:
I don't speak Spanish nearly as fluently as I used to but I find the same applies to me but in the opposite direction. I believe that anyone not speaking their primary tongue takes more time and care in ensuring they are understood by the people they are speaking to; kind of searching for approval in a way I guess.
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While I agree with what Deano is saying here I find Perun's explanation more accurate for my case (I've always spoken both). When I speak English, even amongst family and friends it is usually "High" English, while Most of the time I speak spanish amongst family and childhood friends so it is usually on the low end :D, but "high" Spanish puts high English to shame, god, I find its formality rather ridiculous now.
 
When learning "high" Spanish, I nearly drove myself mad. I would consistently find regular Spanish speakers to try and converse with.
 
"Buenos dias don Pasqual. Como le va hoy?"
"Hola don Melquiades, todo va bien. Y que dice la esposa?"
"Usted ya sabe, quejandose como siempre de sus dolores de cabeza"
"Si, si ya me habia contado usted, el medico no le a recetado nada?"
"Si, el medico le receto un unguento que tiene que aplicarse diario en la frente para amenorar los dolores."
"Vaya, ojala le sirva de algo." :p
 
Wow, that took a while, I'm severely out of practice, time to go chat with the gardeners.  :bigsmile:
 
There's actually some Iranians sitting in my Farsi course because they can't speak High Farsi.
 
The biggest difference I notice when switching languages is that I tend not to get the point across when I try to speak French ;)

I don't notice much difference switching between Swedish and English, except perhaps for being a bit more eloquent in Swedish.
 
I'm usually more "formal" with English than Finnish, but I'm not sure whether it's because of it being my second language or not.  I'm actually a better writer in English than Finnish, so on paper I'm actually more confident with my second language.  I guess it's because I write a lot in English (I've gone to English schools for all my life, including now), but I speak a lot more Finnish.

Silence also tends to bother me more in English than in Finnish (okay, silence isn't any language, but you get the point  ;) ).  I think this is because Finns are more quite and introverted than English/Americans, so it's "normal" when it happens in Finnish but less so with English.
 
Finale. Woh-woh. Finale Woh-woh-woh-woh.
Deutschlaaaand Deutschlaaand Deutschlaaand Deutschlaaand.
 
Perun said:
Finale. Woh-woh. Finale Woh-woh-woh-woh.
Deutschlaaaand Deutschlaaand Deutschlaaand Deutschlaaand.
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Hey, how about a spoiler for those of us Tivo-ing the match while we're at work! 

Back on topic (sort of):  I found most interesting the topic of "high" dialects such as High Spanish or High Farsi.  This is the first I have heard of such a thing, though I am aware of more formal ways of addressing someone in, say, French or Russian (neither of which I speak).  To my knowledge, there is no such thing as "High English," at least not in the U.S.  It's just plain English.  Certainly, some people sound more educated than others, and many different parts of the country have local slang (not to mention accents), but they are all really deviations from the generally-accepted norm.  I wonder if that is due to the democratic, anti-aristocratic origins of the nation.  Probably not, because 18th Century written English is generally different in style (more "high"-sounding) than 21st Century English.
 
cornfedhick said:
Probably not, because 18th Century written English is generally different in style (more "high"-sounding) than 21st Century English.
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You can still find well written 21st century English, it's just harder to find given how many poor writers are able to publish now-a-days.
 
Actually, I think English from the 18th Century would no longer be considered "well-written" today.  Too verbose, with too-complicated sentence structures.  Based in part on the influence of certain early 20th Century authors -- Hemingway and Faulkner being obvious examples -- English prose is now considered well-written if it is clear, economical and precise.  So, "four score and seven years ago" would be considered pompous nowadays -- just say "87 years ago."  Sorry, Abe.   

EDIT:  I should add that, for the most part, the Gettysburg Address is a paradigm of well-written, concise prose, and is considered by many to be the greatest speech in American political history. 
 
Anomica said:
I'm not sure about languages, but sometimes it's enough to switch dialects. My wife sounds and behaves one way when she's around here (Swedish west coast) but when she speaks with her mother or other relatives in the far south of Sweden (Skåne) her entire persona changes; she swears more, talks louder and becomes more boisterous (sp?). Go figure???
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This is pretty much the same as with my Mother. She is a Scot and lives in the South of England. Down here, she is quite a polite softly spoken person (although, one may occasionally notice in her what is described next). In Scotland, and around her relations, she becomes slightly more animated and passionate.

Although I can't really put this down to her feeling a bit more comfortable amongst her siblings or not, but there is a slight change in her behaviour.
 
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