Which language do you think in?

[pakistanigoneaussie]

What Language do you think in?

As we have plenty multilingual people on here I thought I'd ask the question.

I feel this is something heavily dependent on where you are and whom you are talking to. However, one constant that I always seem to have is that when I'm angry i almost always hear my thoughts in Urdu or Punjabi.

 

[Syed1]

When I'm angry I automatically switch to Urdu, specially when I'm suffering from a bout of road rage. I turn on my "Abay Tbay" Karachi accent. That probably means that somewhere deep down my instincts are tuned in Urdu, since anger is an instinctive response and your conscious mind has little control over it.

When I'm doing some conscious decision making then I generally think in English, however, I constantly switch between both languages.

I also speak French, but never think in it.

 

[TM Riddle]

Mostly Hindi

 

[Haroon786]

English.

 

[SandyB]

Malayalam when i'm interacting with natives or for casual thoughts, English at work and when I'm feeling philosophical or thinking deeply about something. These days I try and think up things in Hindi, hoping that it helps me frame sentences and converse better with North Indians at work .

 

[Abdul]

Thug talk.

 

[Citizen4]

Thug talk.

ye naya aya hai market main

 

[Abdullah719]

Mostly English, as it's effectively my first language...

 

[Syed1]

Mostly English, as it's effectively my first language...

Burger

 

[kingusama92]

English.

I can barely put two Urdu words together.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Urdu with a very deep Karachi accent.... As [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] put it in the above mentioned, when I am angry I turn into a proper Maila.....

On other occasions I prefer to speak in English

 

[Square Drive]

Either Urdu or the waste yute slang English.

 

[Badsha]

Pashto and/or English most times but sometimes I'll switch to Urdu for no apparent reason.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Mostly English

 

[Chief Destroyer]

English mostly. Sometimes I think in Urdu or Punjabi if I'm speaking it.

 

[TM Riddle]

English mostly. Sometimes I think in Urdu or Punjabi if I'm speaking it.

Baltimore English?

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Baltimore English?

You got it, son.

 

[Red Devil]

English mostly. Sometimes I think in Urdu or Punjabi if I'm speaking it.

Forgetting your roots smh.

 

[TM Riddle]

Forgetting your paindoo roots smh.

corrected.

 

[Red Devil]

corrected.

He probably still speaks English with a paindu Punjabi accent. As they say, you can take the Paindu out of the Pind but you can't take the Pind out of the Paindu.

 

[desirous of desire]

Urdu and Punjabi. I heard if u start thinking in a particular language , It improves your grasp, accent and fluidity when it comes to speaking. I still cant think in English and even if I try , I dont know when I switch to Urdu or sometimes Punjabi.

 

[Slog]

recently switched back to urdu

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Sadly Urdu :-/

Doesn't help.

 

[DW44]

English and Urdu, mixed. Depends on what I'm thinking about. When I'm thinking about dota or drums , for instance, English takes over but when I'm thinking about Islam, it's usually, though by no means always, in Urdu.

 

[big_gamer007]

Sometimes English sometimes Hindi depends on about what and why am I thinking

 

[JaDed]

English ,Hindi, Tamil depending in situations. Punjabi in case I'm listening to Gurbani.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Tamil. Sometimes but very rarely, English.

 

[JaDed]

English ,Hindi, Tamil depending in situations. Punjabi in case I'm listening to Gurbani.

On*

 

[TahirFan]

South African slang

South African has 11 official languages and over 50 unofficial languages. So we created an official slang language where we all can communicates with each other

So I think mainly in South African slang

 

[Mamoon]

I don't think in any language. Words are not important for my thought-process.

 

[shaz619]

Thug talk.

Yes O.G

 

[Abdul]

Yes O.G

Jheez you already know.

 

[SL_Fan]

Mostly in spanish tienes la cara como una nevera por detrás!

 

[ExpressPacer]

Depends on what I'm thinking about.

 

[SandyB]

Mostly in Malayalam. In gangsta English when i see people doing DUMB S#it , Hindi when i feel angry at Hindi speakers ( I mean "gaali's) since "behen" based gaalis are usually absent in Dravidan(south indian) vernacular .

Anyways, I prefer to try and think in a language of the people/situation I'm dealing with , so the time it takes to formulate a response is reduced
.

If you were to think in only your vernacular, valuable time is lost in translation.


This is helpful especially in quick response situations like an Interview(usually in english), quiz, debate , responding to trolls on Social media or forums or pulling someones leg in a multi -linguistic / multi cultural group (insults and burns don't translate well from Malayalam )

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Binary Language.

 

[aloo paratha]

Mostly English, I want to start thinking in Urdu though.

 

[babajee]

Always wondered about this.

 

[babajee]

Mods could we get a poll on this? Urdu, English, Punjabi, Pashto etc etc.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Urdu urdu urdu ;p

 

[Abdul]

Street talk and Punjabi.

 

[Pakistanian]

English.

I try to think in Urdu sometimes but it doesn't sound right in my head lol.

 

[RainMan_]

Bangla

 

[Abdullah719]

English

 

[shokz1408]

English

 

[Suleiman]

I've never noticed actually...

 

[PakLFC]

Punjabi and English. The poet inside me is Urdu speaking

 

[hadi123]

English.

 

[saadibaba]

Angreeji. I know its pathetic and sad.

 

[dauntless]

Angrezi(sometimes) and gujjaran gi gojri.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

mostly urdu.

 

[yasir]

I am not sure if you actually think in a language, our brain process information in multi-media, imagination is mostly done in multi-media in your head, language is one of the tool. You visualize things in head, animate more so than words. Science for instance, is where you imagine in multi-media more so than playing with words, well its all based on evidence, which is a multi-dimensional exercise than a linear one...Math is another example, where conceptualization in your head or on paper is multi-media in nature...In future we will develop tech to talk to our brain with faster and more direct I/O than slower and linear I/O like language...

Next time when you dream, try to remember if you write or read text, that almost never happens, dreams are mostly in multi-media

As far as expressing my thoughts, I can do better in English for Science, Tech, Business but when it comes to politics, religion and other humanities, I argue mostly in Urdu but thoughts are mixed...Main reason is we don't read/write much of the content in Urdu any more, reason is lesser quality and quantity when compared to English...

 

[hussain.r97]

Sometimes English, sometimes Urdu. Not sure why or when I switch between them, but it happens.

 

[Hitman]

Always Assamese.

 

[rexbamezai]

Mostly English, sometimes Hindi. I think it depends a lot on the situation I'm in.

 

[TQ89]

In childhood, English.

In adulthood, Urdu.

 

[DeadBall]

I speak with the Mrs/daughter in Romanian/English, with friends and neighours in German and with family in Urdu/Arabic. However I almost always think in English.

 

[troodon]

Telugu
English
Hindi

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

surprised to see so many here writing English and Punjabi
I have many friends from Lahore and Faisalabad and most of them speak Urdu as first language especially the ones in Lahore.

 

[DeadBall]

surprised to see so many here writing English and Punjabi
I have many friends from Lahore and Faisalabad and most of them speak Urdu as first language especially the ones in Lahore.

Its about the language you think in and not the one you speak, I usually also speak only Urdu in Pakistan or with my Pakistani relatives but I still think in English.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Its about the language you think in and not the one you speak, I usually also speak only Urdu in Pakistan or with my Pakistani relatives but I still think in English.

still yar i cant imagine of thinking in some other language other than the one which i use the most.
Dimaagh urdu mai he chalta hai..

 

[Abdul]

surprised to see so many here writing English and Punjabi
I have many friends from Lahore and Faisalabad and most of them speak Urdu as first language especially the ones in Lahore.

I don't remember the last time I ever spoke in Urdu, not in this decade anyways.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Marathi, Hindi

 

[giri26]

Mostly in Tamil (my mother tongue) and English. Even though I speak Hindi fluently I don't think in that language as I speak very less Hindi when I am overseas.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

I don't remember the last time I ever spoke in Urdu, not in this decade anyways.

yar maybe because you are living in Canada thats why..
I have seen a shift when i moved there for my last job.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Sign language

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Angreeji. I know its pathetic and sad.

It is a little bit, but take heart, even your arch nemesis Taliban Khan said he thinks in English I'm pretty sure.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

reason is lesser quality and quantity when compared to English...

Yasir bhai yes we have lesser quantity (compare to English) in Urdu but still there is a lot of quality stuff. Bas ham sai chupaya jata hai..
I will give a small example, Jon Elia's work is never taught in our Urdu books mainly because of his beliefs.

Ona side note, Shehzad Roy did a brilliant series Chal Para where he highlighted Pakistan's education problems, give it a try when you have time.

 

[Abdul]

yar maybe because you are living in Canada thats why..
I have seen a shift when i moved there for my last job.

I still talk in Punjabi all the time, if you find it any relevant.

 

[Abdul]

Sign language

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

I still talk in Punjabi all the time, if you find it any relevant.

Ofcourse its relevant and as I said one major reason is you are living in Canada.. Overseas Pakistanis can deal with others in their mother tongue or English.. But when you live in Pakistan in a big city like Lahore where now people from different areas have come, Urdu is the common language and thats why the increase of Urdu as spoken language especially among youngsters.