According to studies in psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology and linguistic anthropology, the different languages we are able to speak not only allow us to communicate, but also shape our perception of the world and ourselves.
Have you ever wondered how the language we speak influences our emotions and the way we perceive reality?
Currently, more than half of the world’s population uses two or more languages in their daily lives. Whether for reasons of education, immigration or family background, bilingualism and multilingualism are increasingly common in our globalized society.
But how does knowing two or more languages affect the way we process emotions? Recent studies suggest that each language can lead speakers to perceive reality in different ways. They may even feel that they themselves change when they switch between languages.
Other studies have shown that bilingual individuals may behave differently depending on the language they are using.
Furthermore, also are perceived differently by their interlocutors depending on the language they use.
The weight of emotions on languages
Bilingual speakers process words that define or describe emotions differently in their mother tongue (or the language that humans learn from childhood and which serves as their instrument of thought and communication) and in their second or target language. (the language that was the object of learning, in a formal or natural context).
The mother tongue often has an emotional advantage over the second language: bilingual speakers feel a greater emotional intensity when using the mother tongueespecially when they recall experiences in that language.
For example, some studies have shown that when recalling childhood memories, people describe them with more detail and emotion if they do so in their mother tongue, since that was the language in which they labeled these experiences.
On the other hand, the second language can facilitate a certain emotional distanceallowing speakers to reduce anxiety or embarrassment when communicating in complex situations, such as those involving the expression of anger or apology.
In other words, speakers consider their mother tongue to be more emotionally rich, while their second language is more practical but less expressive. As a consequence, emotional expression in the mother tongue is perceived more intensely, regardless of whether the emotion is positive or negative.
“Am I the same person?”
The choice of language in which bilinguals communicate not only affects emotional intensity, but also the way people perceive themselves and others. The use of one language or another can influence the construction of discourse and reveal cultural and social aspects of the linguistic communities to which they belong.
In a study of bilingual Chinese-English speakers in the US, participants indicated that they felt more comfortable expressing your emotions in English (their second language) due to fewer social constraints, but they felt greater emotional intensity in Mandarin (their mother tongue).
Thus, the second language can offer some advantages in contexts where speakers prefer to maintain emotional distance, both for personal and sociocultural reasons.
By expressing emotions in a language that is less emotionally attached, people can reduce feelings of embarrassment, anxiety, or personal involvement. Especially when you speak a mother tongue that belongs to a culture where the collective is given more value and there is less tradition of sharing feelings.
Language proficiency and learning environment
The level of proficiency in the second language is also very influential: parents prefer the mother tongue to express emotions when speaking to their children – for example, for a reprimand – if this is the language they speak best; however, if they have a second language that they also speak, they can choose it for the emotional content.
Furthermore, the environment in which the second language was learned can be a determining factor. In cases where learning took place in a formal or academic context rather than a familiar context, speakers report more anxiety when communicating in public despite being proficient.
Emotion, identity and language learning
Our life experiences, age of language acquisition and context of use influence the way we process and express our emotions in different languages.
Understanding these dynamics not only enriches our knowledge of language and the human mind, but also helps us improve intercultural communication and emotional understanding in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.
The implications for teaching a second language are also important.
Whether or not learners feel happy and satisfied with the perception they have of themselves in the language they are learning, that is, with the identity constructed in that language, will be fundamental to knowing whether they feel strange or different when speaking in that language. language. The teacher’s role will be, in any case, to help learners feel less strange in the language they are learning.
The attitude towards the language being learned is, therefore, a determining factor: it influences how we evaluate our experiences with language, which impacts how we deal with challenges, how we see ourselves and how we think others see us.
The better the attitude, the greater the satisfaction in the process and the better the emotional connection to the language. The result will be a stronger identity in the new language and, therefore, deeper and more effective learning.
