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Benvenuti, Bienvenue, Croeso and Welcome.
Hi, I’m Juliet. Join me on my language learning journey and discover my thoughts on different aspects of language learning with the A Language Learning Tale Podcast. Today, the subject is …
Do You Have Multiple Personalities?
Can your personality change when you learn another language? Or, more specifically, when you use another language?
There seem to be differing opinions out there on this. Some say yes, your personality can change. Others, no, not really. And is this changing of your personality for better, or worse, depending, obviously, on your concept of these things.
I do think that this is an interesting topic, so today we’re going to think about some ways this might happen, or be perceived to be happening.
First up, I’d say the way a language is spoken could, at least superficially, change the way your personality is perceived. Some languages are very expressive in the way they’re spoken and others less so. So, if you’re learning a language that’s spoken in a very expressive way, with gestures, rises and falls, etc, it’s probable that you will take on those attributes as you speak it, if you’re trying to be authentic. Is this really your personality changing, though? I wouldn’t say so, or at least, I can’t see it having a big effect. It’s just communicating.
What about the actual words that are used in the language? Different languages express different concepts in different ways. We’ve all seen those memes knocking around where it says, “Did you know in ‘insert language’ they have a word for ‘insert concept you’ve never considered to be a thing before’.” The mere fact that a language has a word for a concept you’ve never thought of before will likely make you see those things in a different way. If there are a lot of these things, perhaps that will bleed into your personality, too. But I think you’d need a lot of different concepts to actually change your personality. They might add depth to your perception, though.
Could how you learn a language influence your personality? If you did most of your learning of the English language through watching, let’s say, cop shows from the USA, would the way you use the language be influenced by that? Would you take on the personality of an American cop? Well, your speech might take on that cadence, I guess, which would make it seem, perhaps, like your personality was different, but that might be a false impression. Imitating isn’t changing personality. Actors do it all the time. And using TV cop speak in normal situations could definitely end up sounding a bit weird to a native speaker.
There’s also the question of, does a nationality have a single personality that you can become like? Well, of course that’s not a thing. There are all kinds of personalities on show in every nationality. The most vocal stereotypes aren’t necessarily the norm. In fact, they almost certainly are not. Even the people you see on places like YouTube aren’t necessarily the norm. They, by the very nature of wanting to create videos, are not the majority.
So, where does all this leave us? In the end, I think it is possible to seem as if your personality might have changed, just because of how a language is spoken and the concepts within that language. But I really don’t think that your personality is actually going to change by learning another language, unless, of course, you immerse yourself in the language by living in the country for a long time. Then, when you eventually return to your own country, people might well see a difference in how you act. Will that last? Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll have to try it and see.
That’s all for today. Don’t forget to join me again next time, for more tips, tricks and tales and in the meantime, check out the A Language Learning Tale YouTube channel for additional, non-podcast content.
Ciao, salut, hwyl and bye for now.