If people speak more than one language is what they know different in each language?

Answer

Opinion varies on this question. Some people believe that the thoughts remain constant and only the words -- the translations -- change. Others argue that language represents culture and that translations cannot capture the "mood" or the cultural overtones of what is spoken or written. An Italian proverb has it (approximately!) that a translation is a polite lie. Thus, we often say that "some meaning is always lost in the translation." (With characteristic irony and punch, Robert Frost said that poetry is what is lost in translation.)

The counter-argument is, of course, that in expert translations, no meaning is lost.

In the early 1900s, Edward Sapir, an anthropologist/linguist, proposed the idea that thought and language are intertwined; that language reflects thoughts that cannot be "translated" into other languages. Some years later, Benjamin Lee Whorf studied the language of the Hopi Indians and concluded that language actually determines thought; that as people learn language, they learn both the culture and the thoughts that are unique to that culture.

As a simple example, one that Whorf did not use, notice the American-English expression, "Take it easy." It reflects a kind of relaxation of spirit, mind, and body that is uniquely American and that is not captured by comparable phrases in other languages. Why? Because other languages reflect other cultures and, therefore, other notions of "relaxation."

Through the 1950s, Whorf's analysis was popular and widely accepted. But his examples and arguments, particularly those based on Eskimo languages, were questioned and discredited, and his theories became less popular. For more on that issue, look for the "Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis."

Certainly, human thoughts have some consistency from culture to culture and from language to language. The belief remains in some expert circles, however, that cultures and languages have thoughts -- points of view, ways of thinking -- that cannot be conveyed precisely to people who do not understand the culture and that cannot be translated precisely into other languages.

actually...

it all depends if the words you are saying in one language can be properly translated into another language. it also depends on what language you are speaking and what language you are trying to speak.

Finally the simple answer is yes.

Every language has its own genius and every language "thinks" differently. Frost's observation is spot on. We might add that humor also cannot be translated.

Another perspective

Let's pretend you know the theory of relativity or string theory or quantum theory and your first language is English. You also speak several other languages but not quite as well. If you cannot express what you know about the theory of relativity or string theory or quantum theory as well in one of those other languages, you still "know" those theories.

The comments above seem to address translations from one language to another. I would think that's different than what you personally "know". I think we have all seen a novice-English-speaking visitor struggle to express herself but not knowing the right words although she knows what she wants to say. Then there is the multi-lingual person who says "I know what I want to say but there is no word in English to say it". If you lose the power to speak completely you still know what you know.

Further comments

One of the answers above states, "Every language has its own genius". Most linguists would find this concept quaint, very oudated, unhelpful and even comical. When pressed, those who claim that every language has its own "genius" can only point to a small ragbag of features and a handful of vocabulary items.

Many of Whorf's concepts are very extreme. For example, the key claim is that one's native language shapes perception and knowledge. If we were really prisoners of our languages, it would be impossible to learn another language beyond a few odd phrases. This is manifestly not the case.

A lot of this discussion has unacknowledged problems. The implication of many of the comments is that multilingual individuals are beset by "identity conflicts" and the like. The evidence for this is nil.

Extra

When you speak different languages, what you know in one language stays with you even if you can't express it into the other languages. A polyglot can understand, think, speak, count and pray in the different languages that s/he speaks. One can express an idea through one language and find it difficult to express it in the others, not for only for lack of equivalent words but for lack of the feelings and tone of the words in the language being translated into. Every language has a feel to it. One can be softer, more romantique, rougher and more direct, only nuances and shades of the word can stand in lieu of a more expressive word. That is the reason, a translator or interpreter's job at times can be verbatim or subjectively done through shades and nuances of approximate words that may mean something similar. Hence, the fact that multilinguals do code switching (using two languages at the same time to express themselves. Complicated stuff.

________

There is an unstated asumption in much of the above that multilingualism is easy to define and of one type. This is not so. (See the link). There are many different kinds of multilingualism and it is rare for a bilingual person to use the two languages interchangeably, 'as the mood takes them', as it were.

This kind of bilingualism is not very common. Often, one language is used for one set of purposes - for example, at school, in public - and the other at home and in the family. In such circumstances, the speakers will use one language when talking about, say scientific and scholarly topics and politics, and the other language for different topics altogether.

So, for example, a person who speaks English and Finnish fluently and lives in England and attends an ordinary English school or college would have to use English at school and would naturally talk about school subjects - everything from maths to history - in English, but talk Finnish at home. He or she might not be used to talking about, say, physics in Finnish and find it hard to talk about personal problems in English. This kind of 'division of function' is a well known feature of many kinds of bilingualism.

First answer by Redbeard. Last edit by Joncey. Contributor trust: 1928 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 46 [recommend question]