Poll: If you ever talk aloud when alone, do you use a language other than your mother tongue?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jun 17, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "If you ever talk aloud when alone, do you use a language other than your mother tongue?".

This poll was originally submitted by Peter Simon. View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 15:36
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes, occasionally Jun 17, 2018

I do talk alone to myself quite often (I live alone). When and if something goes wrong I tend to swear in French (I don’t swear in my native language: back in the day when I was a young girl my parents would never allow a bad word to be even whispered…).

Ramona Krankalyte
svetlana cosquéric
Vi Pukite
 
Debora d'Amato (X)
Debora d'Amato (X)  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 16:36
English to Italian
+ ...
May I say more than often? Jun 17, 2018

I love this question. Anyway, I use both Italian and English
It depends on what I'm thinking about.


 
Agneta Pallinder
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:36
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Often Jun 17, 2018

i tend to speak to my horses in my Swedish "mother tongue" (which they understand just as little as they understand English, so I guess this counts as speaking to myself) but otherwise to myself in English, unless I need to tell myself off, which I do in my mother's voice and language. And, yes, I do talk aloud when alone - a sign of madness according to my late father.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 12:36
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
All the time Jun 18, 2018

It's always better to curse and complain in other languages. I have a wealth of unpleasant words in English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic (even Italian sometimes), and I use them all regularly.

EvaVer (X)
 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:36
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
German is useful that way Jun 18, 2018

Someone once told me "Deutsch is eine gute Schimpfsprache", and it does sound particularly expressive to curse in German.

 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:36
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Almost always Jun 18, 2018

When I talk aloud it's usually in the language that first comes to mind in that situation, English, Spanish, Lakota, Italian, Mohawk, seldom German, Swahili and Croatian, sometimes Greek, etc., any word(s) that fits the situation. I just wish I was fluent in all those languages.

 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:36
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Self-talking Jun 18, 2018

I find French is good for expressing exasperation, scorn and disdain.
To tick myself off, it's usually English. "Get on with it, you silly old bag", etc.


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:36
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sometimes Jun 18, 2018

Maybe not full sentences, but I often use Portuguese words here and there when I'm talking to myself. Sometimes French. Spanish not so much: Spanish is my work horse; it accounts for 90% of my volume, but I don't have a personal or emotional history with Spanish.

 


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Poll: If you ever talk aloud when alone, do you use a language other than your mother tongue?






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