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A second language 'changes personality'

telegraph.co.uk — Researchers at the University of Texas made the discovery while studying the personality traits of bilingual English and Spanish speakers in the United States and Mexico.

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  • anonymoustroll, on 10/12/2007, -50/+15Yes... I've found the people who speak a second laguage are distinctly less "American"...
    • atdigg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15What does it mean to be an "American"? And to be more or less "American"?
    • eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31whenever I've seen "American" in quotes like that it's usually used instead of "self-important and out of touch with the rest of the world"
    • masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35Being a Japanese major, I'd like to say that from my observations, a second language itself won't change your personality; rather, a more global viewpoint of the world and experience with people from many cultures and countries will change your personality. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a multi-lingual person who holds the same racial or national stereotypes that your average American holds.
    • malonie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14I'm half german half shepherd, does it count?
    • CharlieInCO, on 10/12/2007, -11/+6Chinga tu Madre, cabrón.

      Pendejo.
    • dietprozac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9@masamunecyrus:

      a good point that being exposed to a more global viewpoint has an effect on personality, but as a bilingual person myself, I can testify that your train of thought definitely takes a different route when operating in a different language. I respect the fact that as a Japanese major you probably have a good deal of knowledge about a foreign language, but are you truly bilingual in the sense of being able to _think_ fluently in that language?

      I couldn't read the whole article (seems to be broken and only consists of 3 paragraps right now) so I don't know what the study's conclusions say, but my guess would be that the syntactic location of memes within grammar, as well as the different networks of connections in vocabulary has an effect on the path along which thoughts, conversations and all manifestations of personality develop. A good example would be to think of the assotiations you have with the word "brown." In English you might think of brown things like chocolate, dirt, shyte etc... but how closely is the word "tea" associated with that color in our language? Pretty far away. Yet in Japanese the word for brown, "chairo," litterally means "tea-color".

      This is probably also part of the reason why some jokes just aren't funny in translation.
    • carlosglz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Vete a la verga culero...
    • ae92, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3masamunecyrus, I think it would change your personality if you were to become fluent; I studied Japanese for about 4-5 years before moving there and spending another 5 years in that country. What I found was to truly become fluent, you have to be able to think in the same terms they do (I definitely became more polite and less self-centered!).

      I think it's especially true for languages that are tied directly to a single country or culture. It would be interesting to find out if there is a difference between people who picked up their second language in their home country, as opposed to those who became fluent by moving to and living in the country where the second language is spoken. I suspect you'd see a more dramatic change in the people who lived in the country, as it becomes almost a survival issue to adapt yourself to the new culture you live in...
  • effektz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12I wish it was more like an article but having been learning spanish for 5 years and been there multiple times, I would agree with it.
    • eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19I have mild asperger's syndrom and I started Japanese classes last month; I've absolutely noticed a change in how extroverted I've become. Or rather, how not completely introverted. I don't know why this is the case, whether new communication skills make you want to use them more, whether understanding of another language gives you a broader understanding of another culture and makes you contrast and rethink your own, or what. I would maybe have liked to see more of an article beyond "languages are good, mexicans are neurotic"...
    • masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Actually, now that you mention it, Japanese has done the same to me, too. Interesting.
    • PowerCat, on 10/12/2007, -21/+2There is no such thing as asperger syndrome.
    • WorldGroove, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@PowerCat
      Do you have any idea how many scientists/doctors you just attempted to discredit with that statement? You better have something to back that up.

      http://www.maapservices.org/
    • JorgeGT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, I am Spanish, and sometimes I find myself *thinking* in English. Or when I analize something, If I think in English I understand it in a different way. Also, my natural reaction when I have to search for something in Internet is translate it into English and then search. Weird.

      PS. I hope you have enjoyed visiting my country, effektz!
  • Sp0rAdiC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"The results showed that English-speaking Americans are typically more conscientious, agreeable and outgoing than native Mexicans, but also less neurotic."

    So... where does the bi-lingual effect come into play there?
  • dutchkabuki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25this is about the worst written article i have read in a major newspaper.
  • javip, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4I'm from Australia.. and whilst I agree with what the topic implies (i haven't read the article.. as it's not necessary to make my point).. coming from anything to do with Texas, I have to take it with a grain of salt.
    • ThreeE, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Australia is the only place bigger than Texas yet so much smaller.
  • aynrand, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Worst article ever. No links to the actual research.
    How do they come to the conclusion that the choice of second language changes the personality if it could be as likely the other way round!
    • vertinox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What? The other way around is "The personality changes the language"?
  • steeel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9"knowing another language is like having another version of life"

    I cannot remember where I heard that quote but I do agree with it. Since by learning a language you tend to learn a new culture, I think it is ultimately the new culture that adds the new "version".

    I love Spanish because the ladies digg it. Of course if it is spoken properly, none of this "oye ese, wasapanning!!!"
  • snuffulupagus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Does that mean that linguists (having studied several languages) are the most interesting people ever? If so, I'm in luck :)
  • xcrunner10, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I hope it changes my personality for the better...I have a D- in Spanish right now.
  • nodong, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Keine Scheisse, Sherlock!
  • ChileanGoD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It's true. When you first start to learn a new language you sound like a fking retard for the people that know that language.
    • steeel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11I disagree. I find it cute to hear someone hacking away their first few sentences in another language.

      Specially hot chicks.
  • antiorario, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0First, I have to agree with the fact that the "article" is barely an article at all, and the conclusions it draws sound very stereotypical. To make any real judgment it would be necessary to know exactly what population was used for the study – I can't figure out if the article is referring to recent immigrants, or people who moved when they were kids, or what else.
    Second, being bilingual has very little to do with "learning a second language." Being bilingual means having learned two languages in a very specific time of life, and having practiced both of them extensively and continuously. Learning a foreign language as adult is a very different process.
    Thus, while I'm sure that learning Japanese or Spanish as an adult will definitely bring new ways to understand the world, I don't think it will change the speaker's "personality" all that much.
  • archerx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Knowing 2 languages sort of changes the way you think, it's hard to explain but it's cool

    I know 3 languages and it tends to be confusing, but there are a lot of cool jokes between languages, like when you do direct translations or play on words.

  • kavaliro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I do believe learning a second language is a life-altering experience, but I doubt the findings of the study--anyone less socially aware than (us) Americans? Is that even possible? I think that might break the laws of physics.
    Seriously, though, English speaking cultures tend to clobber any other culture near them. Maybe that's an accident of history, but it's no less true now than it was when the British Empire dominated the world. The two factors I see are: English cultures (including/especially American) are overbearing, and English is hard as heck to learn as a second language. So rather than coexisting with other cultures, English instead just pushes other cultures aside. It's the most horrible choice for an international language imaginable, except for possibly Chinese.
    It's too bad more people aren't aware of/interested in languages-- they're fascinating. The biggest barrier to more widespread interest is the way it's taught. For instance, why on Earth teach Castilian Spanish in Texas? The only way Spanish should be taught here is by immigrants from Mexico. Definitely not by Peggy Hill, which is the status quo. If Spanish were taught for the purposes of actually being able to communicate here, we wouldn't have two separate cultures living in the same place, both equally strong, and both totally ignoring one another's existence. The only time the paths of the two cultures cross is when you're trying to find employment and you find out that, if only you were bilingual, you would have a job.
  • Cleanlyness, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2jesus christ! look at the date on that sucker! and definatly a DUPE lol i made teh poster teh cr13
  • HsoKinees, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I do agree about this.. because I'm a japan-fanboy, i tend to approve of most things japanese, rather than how things are in my native country(England) :S so I suppose that it has altered my personality :P but oh well~ it's for the best... i think..
  • broXc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Isn't everyone different anyway...?
  • SimonGray, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Marked as lame. That article explains nothing.
  • Cleanlyness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ich spreche auf Deutsch auch.
  • ecwpa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1english isnt even near to be one of the most difficult 2nd languages to learn, it's even easier than any 'romance' language, though
  • cylence, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"If only Basil Fawlty had learnt a little Spanish."

    "Psychologists have discovered that people take on the characteristics of foreign nationals when they switch into their language."

    "The results showed that English-speaking Americans are typically more conscientious, agreeable and outgoing than native Mexicans, but also less neurotic." (final paragraph)

    It doesn't sound like learning Spanish would've improved things for Fawlty after all, then... and it sounds /very/ like this may have been a rather biased study. Unless it was a typo and they meant to say "more neurotic"?
  • vilimaunula, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sounds a bit dubious to me, to be honest. And I might be able to claim to have some sort of knowledge about news articles related to language and linguistics, as I have for quite a while now run a web service devoted to reporting about the science of linguistics: http://lingformant.vertebratesilence.com/

    If there is one thing I have learnt from working on the site, it is: never trust a new article's claims about language. Linguistics as a science is VERY misrepresented by the media, and to a large extent also misunderstood by the public (which also many comments on this dig suggest). Which is not to say that linguistics would be a difficult subject or that people would be idiots, just that for some reasons linguists haven't really been able to make their voices and messages heard.
  • gabrielg01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I speak 3 languages fluently, and a 4th one on basic level...no wonder, I often feel so schizofrenic:)))

    But seriously, this article is *****. Learning more langugaes will not change your personality. It will just make you smarter:)
  • RunnyBabbit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3In French, there are many means of speaking informally and formally. Once I started learning several years ago, I began using "sir" or "mam" when speaking with anyone I had a professional relationship with, or anyone older than I that I do not know on a personal level. Like my landlady, or the cashier at a store, or when I accidentally bump into someone in a crowded area.

    I would say that other than changing the way I speak English, none of the several languages I've dabbled in have had a personality change on me. Rather, I think it was the personality change that made me seek to learn them.
  • charlietuna, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Changes in personality or behavior?
  • cesarandreu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Im normal and I know 2 languages (Spanish main, english second) and im going for three (japanese) and im normal >_>
  • VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plSfKHZZwZ4
  • gren11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'd like to know what the "test" was that 170,000 people took that created this statistic?
    Do people PLUNGE into gloom, or assume an air of it? Too many questions left unanswered in this article...
  • HoldingOn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I did my thesis on the effects of learning a second language, and while I saw no proof for it altering the personality, it's true that people do think/act differently when speaking a different language - you think in the culture that it's spoken. You have to.
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