There is an ever growing curiosity concerning the benefits of multiple languages. The fact that half the world’s population is bilingual is a shocking estimate, even to me. I have been speaking two different languages for as long as I’ve been able to form coherent words.As an adult, I am now faced with a series of silly questions about the pros and cons of speaking more than one language. They say that only 20% of the United States is bilingual and growing up in the American Southwest, I would have disagreed with that number completely. When my classmates were just beginning with a mandated second language in school, I was already fluent in another. Of course, being bilingual, especially from such a young age, can have drawbacks. Here are some of my observations.
I interchange words from one language to another
Polish is my default language. But I feel equally comfortable saying the same about English. The amount I use either language is a toss-up in most circumstances. There have been many times when friends have been privy to a brief but accelerated conversation I had with a family member, in which they can distinctly point out every English word that was exchanged but nothing else. That friend also had eyes the size of saucers and an expression that shouted “How can you switch from one language to another like that and not get lost?” Simple answer: with practice. When my parents immigrated to the U.S., they also didn’t speak English, so they taught my sister and myself the language they did know, Polish. They learned English as we did.
I use foreign expressions when English ones don’t suffice
In heated arguments with my parents, they choose to verbally ‘slap me on the hand’ in Polish. When I argue with my sister, we do so in an elevated tone in English. Other situations call for completely different expressions, and I have three languages to choose from. I also speak German, and often common German expressions with my parents in place of Polish. And, let’s face it, as a multilingual person, sometimes it sounds better to say certain things in a certain language, depending on the context. I think this is something that is difficult for monolinguals to understand (don’t take my word for it). C’est la vie.
I invent new words, sounds and expressions
Sometimes a word, phrase, or idiom in one language cannot be translated into another. This is where my right-brained, creative imagination steps on stage, and I come up with completely new words for the situation. The result is a combination of sounds a word in one language makes and the quick description of the word that I’m trying to describe in the second language. What emerges from my mouth may not make sense to you, but I promise it makes sense to me.
I’m always the new kid/foreigner/stranger in social situations
I’ve graduated high school with the same kids I went to 1st grade with and they still think I’m a foreigner because I speak more languages than they do (or maybe it was because I didn’t talk much in school to begin with). Among other Polish people, I’ve been told that I can’t be Polish, because my Polish has an accent. I’ve also been told by my American friends that my English comes with a non-American accent, and they eye me with suspicion like I might be a spy. It doesn’t matter that I speak French, the French people are kind enough to think I’m a seasoned immigrant and patiently say nothing about my accent but their eye-roll sells them out. Living in Germany was the only time I truly stood out as a foreigner, and the usual giveaway was my confused expression when someone asked me something auf Deutsch.
Subtitles stress me out
When I watch a film in Polish with English subtitles or vice versa, I am always that one person that gets mildly irritated with the poor translations on the bottom of the screen. Jokes and humor are lost, emotion and feeling are poorly timed or the translation misses the premise of the film. Like that one time I thought it a good idea to go to the cinema in Germany thinking the film would be subtitled. I was wrong. I felt like I needed two glühwein’s just to comprehend a James Bond flick.
I never know which sports team I should support
In most countries sports, especially football, are integrated into the culture. There is just one problem: I can’t support just one team. If Poland and the U.S. are playing, that would be the day I refrain from watching the match altogether. When I lived in Germany, it was lucky that my cousin had already initiated me into his family of Borussia Dortmund fans. I couldn’t support any other team. In other words, I am not the best person to take to official sports games with. End of story.
People ask me ridiculous questions
I feel I should write down all the silly questions I get about being multilingual. While some are positively hilarious, I’ve trained my facial muscles to keep neutral while I laugh a little on the inside. There are also some pretty legit questions I’ve received as well as being asked to translate foreign films, being invited to watch foreign films with the line ‘but you speak half of the world’s languages anyways so it should be easy for you’. Not fun. It’s also not fun when my date asks me if I’m a spy. It’s uncertain whether or not they believe me when I say that I just have a knack for learning new things.
In response to a common question: Yes. I do get confused sometimes but I catch on quickly and readjust.
Living as a multilingual is quite normal, or at least I think it is. I find myself asking bilingual friends how they feel, if their experiences are similar, and the honest response is that it has just always been a part of their life.
