Does switching between languages also switch personalities?

Cult of Babel.

I speak russian, polish and english fluently + basic spanish, and I lived in many different countries and coultures, I was thinking about this a bit on my own- Most comments above base on the fact that you speak one language worse then the other. I'm comfortable in 3 and notice that I do change my personality a little bit, also my voice changes- but the overall personality stays the same, it's not that easy to change. What's more interesting is that to every country where I lived I moved on my own, without knowing anyone, so every time I had a chance to create a new personality, while building new social circle. Now, in my first countries, I'm known as a responsible, reliable student, In the next as a party animal, in the last one most friends were from work so It's a "work attitude" for the most part. When I travel between those countries nowadays, I switch my personality to conform to what's expected from me...

Wow, finally someone said it out loud. What a relief! I feel like Jim Carrey in "Me, myself and Irene" when I speak English - then I'm the funny one (finally!). But when I try to speak French, I just sound extremely superficial and flirty, no matter the subject :-)

Interesting study, but I don't differentiate from either language (English or Spanish) I might write it differently but I speak the same way in either one.

Now, when it comes to Brazilian Portuguese, forget it... I sound like a total robot! lol..

ei cara, quais são fazendo!!

Isn't it weird also that people with more then one language, i.e. bi-lingual, are less racist.

totally right!
even though i feel pretty much the same talking in spanish and english, i think that in english i'm clearer in my train of thinking, only because i think before i talk (spanish is my first language), i talk really fast in spanish without any kind of filter what so ever.

My brothers and I grew up in three languages, I acquired two more. When my brothers and I talk together, we switch from language to language in a perfect flow, people can't keep up with us. It is quite amusing. We do that perfectly naturally, too. Certain words have a greater impact in one language than in another, I reckon.

Even when one is bilingual, there is a dominant language.

Wow that just might be true.
When I'm in spanish class, or attempting to speak with my Hispanic friends, i feel[& sound] like a nervous idiot and give up.
When I try my hand at Japanese-I think I sound great! I feel empowered and cultured.
English-Haha I'm not sure what's worse-my New York accent-Or my friends laughing as I murder words. I feel so laid back though.
&& As for attempting Cherokee-I do feel closer to my ancestors, but at the same time cautious and nervous.

I can't say I agree... I'm fluent in Farsi and English.. and the only differences I feel are in line with the colloquialism of the 2 languages, puns, cliches, etc. And then there are just words that just don't translate so I can't express certain feelings. But when I speak with my family, I tend to talk in "Farglish," borrowing words from each language that suit what I'm trying to express best. So maybe I've just become a hybrid.

pues si, es verdad. Asi siento. When i speak english i feel i have a higher standard for people and things, like i'm entitled more, y cuando hablo espanol, es mejor pa' mi porque puedo calmarme.I feel more like i can relax and don't have to be so proper.
I only speak english when i have to, aber auch ich spreche deutsch, wenn mein fatter ist einer deutscher, und meine mutter ist americanerin, kind of, she's multiracial but so is most of america.

i also feel the spilt personality when i speak english like the people here where i live, because i am from the south and we mash words together like y'all, ima( i will), (ima getdem onez ova er, i will get those over there) and i also don't pronounce my L's, and then people who speak here say you all and i'll and get those, they are country but they are more propper country then where i am from, but when i am at work i have to speak propper english because it is an office setting and if i start speaking southern, i might either get fired or discriminated against as if i were uneducated, so it's not just different languages as much as it is location.

When I speak Spanish I turn into a Mexican senorita with grande "cenos" y unas "pompis" muy sexxy.

Unless I speak Spanish slang, then I turn into a "cholo" who has had too much para fumar (ganja) y para tomar (cerveza)!

I agree although only in other people around me,...with myself the change is about feeling pressurised to fit into my family's culture and speak their mothertongue. It is difficult to have a strong feeling of identity when all your family is from one place, yet you were born somewhere else. Im always questioning; am I British or Brasilian?

But in other people I see the change clearly and unexplicably.And to be honest it annoys me how bilingual people always seem to feel the need to show that off....I dont know.

asolutamente
it's pretty great to be able to be all these personalities

my italian self is more theatrical and flamboyant & prone to waving hands around
my spanish self is soulful, earthy & neruda like
my english self is just the facts mam, and fast!

and
it makes you wonder
who is the who behind it all
!

I just have to change my outfit and I am a different human waiting to happen!

Someone said that when you learn a language your also learn a culture. It might be true....

I began reading, speaking and writing English three years ago, and I can tell that I've changed a little bit. I've assimilated some parts of the American culture into my way of thinking like the need of privacy and personal space.
However, it can also happen in our own language. I'm from Costa Rica, and when I moved to Cuba I felt they spoke another totally different language. I can say that I also picked up some of the Cuban culture into my personality, for instance, their openness.
Still, I retain my Costa Rican slang and idioms.
I feel lucky to have the experiences I've had. It has opened my mind to new cultures, and I just have picked what I like and leave what I don't.

I guess I'M A TRI-HYBRID

I can't speak any other languages fluently, but I can understand about 99% of Tagalog. Why can't I speak it? Where does spoken language break from comprehension?

Whenever I speak Spanish, I sound like a timid six-year-old because my voice goes up octaves for some reason.

My cultural background is Peruvian and Costa Rican, whereas most Hispanics that I know in Florida are Cuban, Colombian, or Puerto Rican. It also doesn't help that most of my friends aren't even Latin-related, so I tend to act differently with my friends than I do with Latin people.

In English, I'm much are outgoing and witty. In Spanish, I'm slightly reserved and much more proper. And on the occasions that I speak Japanese (as I am learning), I tend to appear as a person who loves this planet more than life itself. I don't know why though.

No way, it definetly doesn't ...

Mais ouai, bien sur il fait de la difference...

No, claro que no, no es possible de cambiar de personalidad!

I am learning French now and that is really interesting! I wonder if I'll be different???

Wow, that's pretty interesting, I never thought about that but it makes sense. I studied German in college for 2 years (and 1 grad course) and I never really felt different, more awkward but not different b/c I was in a class with people in the same boat as I.
But on the other hand this doesn't really surprise me that people act differently when they speak another language. It's kinda the same thing when you have two groups of friends and they meet each other for the first time. You act a certain way with the friends you grew up with and and you act a different way with your friends at work.

This is really great. Funny, there was a "Perspectives" segment on NPR this morning, and the person presenting her perspective was discussing the limits to expressing certain things in English versus other languages.

Her story was amazing, she survived a life-threatening disease thanks to a bone marrow transplant from her sister, and she felt that it was odd to use the same words ("thank you") that are used for common courtesies for something that big, life-impacting, etc.

She went on to discuss how Spanish has so many different words for expressing different levels of love and emotion, yet English is so limited.

Fascinating.

Super interesting. When I speak Italian - however limited - I definitely "act" like an Italian (or at least my perception thereof. Same thing with French. There is clearly a "frenchiness" involved in speaking French - I do act a little more like a dick, I admit.

I've heard about this - a really interesting study. I think I used to have more different personalities between my Chinese and English halves though mostly living in England has made my Chinese half rather similar lately, if a little more awkward.

Lived in Thailand when I was very young. When I visit, locals say I speak Thai like a little boy. I also take on a more "Buddist" demeanor. I think its true... like tapping into a buried personality.

I do the same thing...
although ive heard it called mirroring, not "frame-shifting"

i guess.. but i dont think language itself causes the shifts... for me hindi was native.. i learnt english and then came to america...

speaking hindi:.. tend to be more emotional.. tend to get pissed off a lot easier...

speaking English.... mean,... sarcastic.. more "logic-based" tend to cuss out someone as opposed to launch a physical assault...

i think its the cultural environment around that suits your behavior... i mean even in english... .u speak the hood ... your probably going to end up stabbing someone... talk british english and probably be a grammar fanatic.... for people that experience simultaneous cultural AND language shifts ....i think your mind somehow "sets" your personality to "mimic" your old self as opposed to your "new" self...

The German me is far more confident

The amount of vocabulary affects the complexity of your thoughts. People with higher vocabulary are capable of having ideas on a higher level. I speak only a little bit of Spanish but I can see how speaking another language could put you in the mindset of the poeple in that culture.

I'm bilingual french-english and am somewhat bi-cultural after several years in France .

It was frustrating at first to not have the vocabulary and cultural nuances to translate my humor and sarcasm so I felt really boring. I also had trouble figuring out who i was in that context and have spent the last few years constructing a french version of myself, a lot like the american one, but a little different.

Tone of voice in different cultures : when my French boyfriend and I would discuss in French around my Minnesotan family, they thought we were fighting.

I think that the language thing does change you a bit, but nothing even close to Dr. Jekyl /Mr. Hyde type stuff, that would be pretty ridiculous.

I think its just that different languages require certain behaviors. if you speak frech it's goin to be flowy and pretty! While German is choppy so your going to act different in some ways.

i dont think it effects your personality, you just start to think and use expressions in the way the culture you are speaking uses them, including any tendencies the language usage itself has. You are still yourself, but a mexican version, a french version, a german, version, etc,

At least thats how I feel after studying in different spanish speaking nations

I'm a lot more polite and shy in Spanish, French, and Arabic; but in English I'm very outspoken.

wa wa wee wa!! the exotic one has a better personality on account of being muy caliente!!!

I think the culture affects how the language is.

Yeah, I think I'm more outgoing when I speak Spanish. Well, not outgoing but louder...

I've been told that I am overly sweet and delicate when I'm in Spanish mode. Seems like a true study to me.

Same with music. Depending on what you're listening to I'm sure someone could tell how you are feeling at the moment. Or what movie you're watching.

But yes I can see how this happens. Japanese translates into weirdness in English if someone doesn't know what they are doing and the language is more creative than English with the way their written language is more like art than writing. I can see how it would alter how someone reacts and acts.

Language is the liquid
that we're all dissolved in,
great for solving problems
after it creates a problem.
- Modest Mouse

Oh, and i agree with this study. Language is kind of like the Range Of Motion of your mind, with each language having different ranges in different areas. At least that's the way I see it, from my knowledge of English, Latin, and French.

it changes Carla from Scrubs

I am bilingual (German/English) and I would agree with this study. As I switch back and forth to each language there is also a switch in mentality. Certain thoughts or ideas are easier to express in the other language.

Have other bilinguals also noticed that your dreams can be in one or the other? LOL or both!

I've taught both ESL and Spanish, I'm much more interesting/fun/crazy in Spanish than in English.

I can confirm that study.
I've grown up bilingual and have the feeling that I'm a different person whenever I speak english.

It's probably due to my lack of rethorics etc. in english compared to my native german language.

I also do have the impression, that people perceive me differently in english. I think, that I do come across quite 'weird' and as a moaner in english, wheras I'm quite nice and just a normal everyday person in german.

Hilfe am ich really noch Ich? hehe.

I can be more myself in Spanish the more I learn. Most jokes seem to be lost in translation, though.

One's mother tongue is formed in a different brain state than is a leaned language. A bilingual home might be a drop different. The "first" language goes to a certain emotional core which has a different sensitivity to emotion than do the subsequent languages.
Then that even changes if the first language is overtaken by the learned tongue in childhood as would be the case in school learning. The brain's language centers are not as sensitive as one ages. That is why a mother tongue's accent has an adolescent cut off point where losing it becomes more and more difficult.
It also depends to whom one is communicating and what their common history is with that language.
The article is very thin and shallow but a good way to open up a conversation on the deeper science. Private Ibber

oh, well that's great. As If I'm not mpd enough, I'm learning a new language!
In all seriousness, is this supposed to be new information. Yes, some important collection of intelligent people verified it, but I apologize for having already realized.
English is quite a different language than the tongues of our world. Other languages, in and of themselves speak in different cadences, with different varying levels of respect. I'm learning japanese, and I've learned that there are many specific dialects with each language. Kind of like accents. This is especially noticeable in Oriental tongues. So, you have the many different pronunciations and dialects (if you will) of japanese, and then I learn, that there's actually different tones and words used when having respect.
English is *not* a respected, or respectable language. Learning japanese may be more difficult than I feared. For as it may seem, English may be more respectable than I.

i get humbler when i speak spanish or portuguese just because i get so nervous and i'm hoping that i'm communicating my thoughts properly

yea i can see that

Interesting study. I would tend to agree with the conclusion based off of experience with bilingual friends and co-workers.

You know that scene in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where King Arthur is "riding" through the town filled with plague victims? In the beginning of that, there's a woman smacking a cat against wall. I feel that I sound exactly like that unfortunate feline when I try to speak outside my native tongue. I'm sure that I sound grating to the ears of native German and Japanese speakers, so to all of you fine German and Japanese folks out there, "Es tut mir Leid" and "ごめなさい".

This is totally right!!!! When I speak English I don't give a shit. I'm mean and cold blooded. And in Spanish I now don't express the same sweet as before 'cause I feel like it sounds like kind of stupid.....

Now I say more bad words in spanish and in English... they have always come so natural to me!!!!!!!

JEJEJEJE!!!! I FEEL SUCH PEACE OF MIND TO KNOW THERE IS A SCIENTIFIC REASON TO THIS....

They talked about this in my cultural anthro text, its called code switching. It's a big topic in ethnolinguistic studies... Fascinating stuff, really. I only know one language, and I think I am missing out...

yea, i feel ya..

whenever i speak inuit, i become a little more cold-hearted..

whenever i speak latin, it feels like a little part inside of me dies..

and whenever i speak javascript, its like nobody can hear me..

:P

It's like listening to a completely different type of music. Of course you completely shift cultural perception. I don't think we could tolerate variation, otherwise.

well looked into the article a lil bit and it was more leaning toward bi-CULTURALS then bilinguals.. ntl. pretty interesting

sincerly
black girl,boricuan stepdad,all white schools,Spanish speaking,hoodrat

Most people don't consider how much language is tied up with thoughts and culture.

It makes perfect sense to me that different languages extort different personalities.

this is true when i speak spanish i can express my self much more emotion and passion. While when i speak english i sometimes feel like a robot but it really depends on my mood.

I can find myself in this.
I can write, and talk fluently in; Turkish, Dutch and English.
And I do notice that I change my personality while talking in either languages.

While speaking Turkish; I tend to be more laid-back, philosophical, and open.
While speaking English; I'm either funny, serious, or both. (at least I try to be)
While speaking Dutch; I'm just plain boring.

(Not to say that I'm not boring while speaking the aforementioned languages.)

That might be true for some people. When I switch to Creole, I just get really insecure, mostly because I don't have a great command for the language. I get all timid and if you don't know me, you think I'm just extremely shy. I just can't stand hearing my accent.

¡Si, quiero un coche! ¡Tus capacides de la venta son muy eficaces en español!

This is proper interesting. Even the pitch of my voice changes when I speak Spanish, I sound like even more of a wheedling girl than usual, and I can't really express my opinions as strongly as I would en Ingles. Plus, I don't know how to be facetious in Spanish. That's a struggle.

when i speak french i'm a lot nicer.

I am not fluent in any other languages, but I'll have to agree with the study only because I tend to act different when I have to speak proper English. I'm so Hood

You should meet the Italian Me. He's an idiot.