![\"\"](\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/other-languages.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Have you ever wondered how the language we speak influences our emotions and the way we perceive reality? According to\u00a0various studies<\/a>\u00a0in psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology and linguistic anthropology, the languages \u200b\u200bwe use not only allow us to communicate, but also shape our perception of the world and ourselves.<\/p>\n Today, more than half of the world’s population uses\u00a0two or more languages<\/a>\u00a0\u200b\u200bin their daily lives. Whether due to education, immigration or family background, bilingualism and multilingualism are increasingly common phenomena in our globalized society.<\/p>\n How does knowing two or more languages \u200b\u200baffect the way we process emotions? Recent research suggests that each language can make speakers\u00a0perceive reality in different ways<\/a>\u00a0. They may even feel that\u00a0they themselves change<\/a>\u00a0when they switch between languages.<\/p>\n Other\u00a0studies<\/a>\u00a0have shown that bilingual individuals may behave differently depending on which language they are using; they are also perceived differently by their interlocutors depending on the language they use.<\/p>\n Bilingual speakers process words that define or describe emotions\u00a0<\/span>differently<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in their native language (or the language that humans learn from childhood and that functions as their instrument of thought and communication) and in their second or target language (the language that has been the objective of learning, in a formal or natural context). The native language usually has an emotional advantage over the second language: bilingual speakers feel greater emotional intensity when using the native language, especially when recalling experiences lived in that language.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, some\u00a0<\/span>studies<\/span><\/a>\u00a0have shown that when reliving childhood memories, people describe them with more detail and emotion if they do so in their native language, since that was the language in which they labeled those experiences. In contrast, the second language can provide a certain emotional distance, allowing speakers to reduce anxiety or embarrassment when communicating in complex situations, such as those involving the expression of anger or apology. In other words, they perceive the native language as more emotionally rich, while they see the second language as more practical, but less expressive. As a result, emotional expression in the native language is perceived more intensely regardless of whether the emotion is positive or negative.<\/span><\/p>\n The choice of language in which bilinguals communicate not only affects emotional intensity, but also the way people perceive themselves and others. Using one language or another can influence the construction of discourse and reveal cultural and social aspects specific to the linguistic communities to which they belong.<\/span><\/p>\n In\u00a0<\/span>a study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of Chinese-English bilingual speakers in the US, participants reported feeling more comfortable expressing emotions in English (their second language) due to fewer social restrictions, but experiencing greater emotional intensity in Mandarin (their native language).<\/span><\/p>\n 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 less emotionally connected language, people can reduce feelings of shame, anxiety or personal involvement. Especially when we speak a mother tongue that belongs to a culture in which greater value is placed on the collective and there is less tradition of sharing feelings.<\/span><\/p>\nThe weight of emotions in languages<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Am I the same person?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Language proficiency and the environment in which we learned it<\/strong><\/h4>\n