Do you think in Vietnamese? English? French? German? Australian English? (Krike! Put another schrimp on the barbie!) Or whatever native language of the country in which you reside?

The answer to this question my reveal if you are truly Vietnamese or not!

For the record, I've always thought in (American) English.

I came over to the U.S. at 5, going to be in my mid twenties soon, I still think mostly in Viet, probably because I tend to hang around with other Viets that aren't too americanize and converse mainly in Viet. I guess I'm what they call a fob. And I'm damn proud of it.

Think this in Vietnamese:
"
H2 (g) + Cl2 (g) --> 2 HCL (g)
1 mole of Hydrogen gas + 1 mole of Chlorine gas will yield 2 moles of Gaseous Hydrogen Chloride
"

By the way, this is very simple high school chemistry (first semester)

Blacklight is an idiot. None of his posts makes any sense. He never writes any thoughtful posts but is here only to post random stupid stuff. Blacklight! why don't you wait till you finish 3rd grade then come back here and join us.

your question is rather vague. No wonder you've drawn obscure answers.

The question you should have asked is...
If you are a Vietnamese living/growing in/up in one of those countries mentioned above, do you think in Vietnamese when speaking one of those languages ?
The answer is depending on how long have you been residing in the foreign country. For instance, for those of you growing up in the foreign country, chances are you would not think in Vietnamese as oppose to those who had spent a considerable amount of time in Vietnam before living in a foreign country. Here's why...

Let say if you are a Vietnamese grewing up in, say, US, this is how your brain works...

(a pictorial of a book) <--> a book

Let say if you had lived in Vietnam before and are now in the US, this is how your brain works...

in Vietnam, this is how it works...
(a pictorial of a book) <--> quyễn sách
Now you are living in US learning a new language....
(a pictorial of a book) <--> quyễn sách <===> a book
This is why the initial period when a person learning a new language, s/he tends to think and speak slowly because of this association/translation or as VietGuys7 put it "think" in native language.

For a short period of time during your learning, your brain still relies and depends on this intermediate association but over time and depending how fast a person adjusting to and picking up, s/he will omit the intermediate association. So over time, a foreigner living in the US would think like this...
(a pictorial of a book) <==> a book

I don't believe it has anything to do with being a truly Vietnamese or not. Just how your brain will find a way to adjusting to a new learning curve.

i think in vietnamese but i dream in english.

Well 'scuse me for being ignorant!

Apparently someone didn't see this:



One man's "vague answer" is another man's clever post. HA!

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Of course this is not to say that African Americans are white because they speak a white language. But still, they sure as Hell ain't African either.
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BTW, even though I can't read Vietnamese & I think exclusively in English, I do infact know what a "quyễn sách" is. You see, unlike you Borat , I'm very innalectual!

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Wow, I would have guessed that most people who are born here or came so young (5 years or younger) would think in English. I would have guess that only full grown adults still think in Vietnamese, such as my parents who have to constantly translate their thoughts into English.

The high school experience has a way on changing you to fit into your surroundings...

Dude, read it again! that is why I said it was vague!

If you said whatever native language of the country in which you reside...(given from the above countries)
then your following sentence does not followed or consistent with the next line in which you said..."The answer to this question my reveal if you are truly Vietnamese or not!"....because if someone's native language happene to be French for instance, then your line should have been ....The answer to this question my reveal if you are truly French or not!"....that's inconsistent right there


Again, contradiction!

I think I become addapted to where I live.
When I went back to Vietnam, I spoke only Vietnamese and started thinking in Vietnamese.
When I went back to the US, it was kinda hard for me to listen to people.

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Don't worry blacklight, I know what you're gettin' at.

You know, it's funny but I've actually worked out an explicit & detailed brainstorming algorithm. It's pretty damn good too. In fact, it's quite powerful. I've actually thought about posting it here on AF. But for various reasons decided not to. Besides, if I did, AF members who saw it and faithfully use it would be winning Nobel Prizes left & right! And that would be TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!


BTW, those moles are just down right delicious! .

The blunt fact is that Vietnamese is fine for everyday life, but English will have to be the primary language for us in agriculture, engineering, science, medicine, economics, international and business law. We proceeded in the same way when Imperial China was the world's foremost power and aside from the usual idiots, there is no Vietnamese today who is contesting the wisdom of that earlier approach.

The stakes for us are just as high today as they were for our ancestors: it's do or die time. If we know English even better than the English speaking peoples, and we play a major contributing role in the advancement of science and engineering and we keep growing economically, we will turn into a world class power and our nation will survive. Otherwise, we are so dead.

There's NO contradiction here. Read it again.

By way of analogy.... Black people aren't white just b'coz they speak a white language. But they are not African either. FYI, African immigrants look down on African Americans as slackers and so on. The language you speak brings with it cultural baggage that can (but not always by any means) diametrically set you apart from people who may be genetically identical to you.



None here either. To spell it out explicitly, the intended joke is that I'm so smart that I don't need to speak a language to know the words from it. Capisci?

Amateur! HA!



Well, you're a cheerful person!

BTW, I agree with everything you said, but the last line. That one was a doozy!

Are you smoking somethin' ?


Where have I mention or imply anything about this ? please stick to the matter being discussed, don't get to creative.


Why am I not surprising !? the ego is too big for any room left...

For one thing, we have to fight for our place in the sun, like everyone else. And we have to win.

For another, we have a huge population pressure, which puts us in a very tough race between irreversible environmental degradation and economic growth. And to grow economically in a consistent, systematic way, we may have to solve some very tough scientific and engineering problems along the way - Note how we had to attack the bird flu epidemic almost all by ourselves.

i think in english because if i think in vietnamese i would fail all my classes.

Before I speak, in my mind, I usually articulate Vietnamese words first, then goes to my tongue. Especially when it comes to use "you and me" on speaking to myself, I think of the words, ma`y and tao. But when I think of the swear words, I think of the words, dit me, not du ma, never in English, and I dont know why

i've lived here most of my life and will continue to do so; therefore, i fink in English. however, i'm still as fobbish as you can get. did that make sense?

i do think in Viet

Most of the time I think in human languages (either Viet or English), but sometimes when I got pissed off, I think, talk, and act in animal languages (raging beast in action! ).

I think in Viet.....

I think in chinese, speak in english, dream in vietnamese. write in japanese. read in korean. but I see everything. just for fun.

i don't think you should get caught up in the wording of things too much, cause then you end up confusing yourself. viet guy's post wasn't really vague unless you are gonna overanalyze everything he wrote but i, as did most people, could infer what he was thinking based on context.

and also dont quote things with the intention of taking them out of context.

"None here either. To spell it out explicitly, the intended joke is that I'm so smart that I don't need to speak a language to know the words from it. Capisci?"

you highlighted

"I'm so smart that I don't need to speak a language to know the words from it."

to bring attention to it, thereby showing his supposedly big ego
but you failed to also highlight "the intended joke is that"

the inclusion of which would give a completely different view of viet guy

I know. I felt bad afterward for blasting him yesterday. It was yesterday when he caught me in a bad mood. I'm usually not like that. You probably would face the same fate if you had replied to my post yesterday. It's one of those day.

s'alll good
=)

i just got done with finals so im feeling pretty good
hehe
w00t w00t

Ya, I do think in Vietnamese, its a normal thing to everyone to think in their native language (or the language that he is familiar with since he was small).

I think in Vietnamese when I say Du Ma, Pho, and goto Little Saigon.

Little Saigon has the best French Bread Sandwhiches.

I get Ca Ga...or chicken one?