HT Localization Presents Language Translations for Real Life: Do Multilingual People Have Split Personalities

Segment 21 – Do Multilingual People Have Split Personalities: "Cuando tu hablas en inglés es como que no eres mi mami"

Yes, I know you want to read more about localization and business, but since the season of summer, graduation, and kids wrapping up school is upon us, I want to discuss a slightly different language theme...people and language personalities.

 ¡Hola Hombre! K’tal?  I was at my children’s school summer reception and saw one of my son’s little friend, when I loudly shouted to him with glee...

Then my friend (who happens to be my daughter’s English teacher) looked at me with surprise and said “Wow, you sound very Spanish! Your entire personality and demeanor changed!”  

I was embarrassed.  Later, I mentioned it to my husband, who added, “Yes, it’s true; even when you speak French, you change.”   So this got me thinking; hence I conducted a little unscientific survey among my international circle of friends...

Marla – a Spanish/British/French linguist (who is a French native) admitted to me that she’s often told that:

• When she speaks French, she sounds sexy and glamorous
• When she speaks Spanish, she appears fun and relaxed
• When she speaks British English, she sounds “posh” 

Pablo – a Spanish marketing professional who works for an American company and is married to a French lady:

• When he speaks English he appears confident, relaxed and positive 
• When he speaks French he sounds educated, proper and very organized
• When he speaks Spanish he seems very masculine and easy-going

Sofia – a Spanish lady, who has lived many years in England and is married to a Brit:

• When she speaks Spanish she appears feminine and sexy
• When she speaks English she sounds sophisticated and highly confident

Jean-Marie – a French finance professional working for an American company and married to a Spanish lady

• When he speaks English he sounds confident, fun and energetic
• When he speaks Spanish he appears to be macho, friendly and very social
• When he speaks French is seems athletic and competitive

While this hardly qualifies for scientific research, there seems to be something there.  

Many children of multi-lingual parents are shown to relate to their parents or childhood memories in one particular language over others.  

I know a story of one parent, who lives in the U.S. with her family, but always speaks Spanish to her kids. One day while at the park, tired and a bit frustrated by her son not wanting to leave, she shouted to her son in English; the poor boy started crying.  The mother didn't expect such a strong reaction from her son, surprised she went over to hold him and asked gently (in Spanish) why he was so upset.  

The child responded “Cuando tu hablas en inglés es como que no eres mi mami”.

The reaction doesn't hold true merely for kids and friends, but also in public settings (at least for me).  When we first moved to Spain, I had zero knowledge of the Spanish language, so I enrolled in language classes.  Eventually I could communicate in basic Spanish; however I felt that I wasn't always getting the desired level of customer service in stores, restaurants or bars.  So I started observing how the locals did it; then one day I performed an experiment.

I went to a local store, and stood in front of the sales girl, who looked at me while continuing her clearly personal conversation on the phone, despite my presence. “Perdóname,” I spoke loudly, but gently with a smile, stood tall and projected an extremely confident demeanor without relenting, and “voilà”, instant service and respect.  Wow. 

So impressed with this new found response, I quickly shared my learning with a local friend, and she admitted, yes, she actually speaks loudly – as if shouting – and she always get results; it’s just the way here. Spanish is a musical language and the culture is expressive; people are seen and heard.

So maybe I do change my demeanor when speaking different languages; it’s all part of the immersion experience.  You must learn to speak and communicate in the local language if you want to be understood or heard.  Language is often so much more than words alone.

  … Stay tuned for the next Segment of HT Localization Presents Language Translations for Real Life Series, where we’ll continue … Getting Back to Business for International Success with Localization (more stuff).

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This article was written by Rachanee Thevenet, Co-Founder of HT Localization.  Rachanee is an Asian-American expat living in Spain with her family.  She loves all things international including food, art, literature, culture, languages and people.  She has years of professional product marketing expertise and global expansion experience.

HT Localization, LLC. is a worldwide translation & localization agency providing a full range of professional language translation services, including social media localization, marketing translations, website translations, software localization, eLearning materials, documentation translations, etc.  With locations in the US, Spain, France, Zambia & Thailand, and coverage across all languages and most industries, HT Localization is well positioned to provide around the globe services for all translation needs.  

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