You say something to someone (or heard something) but don't remember what language it was in because you were only focused on the meaning.
You start a sentence in one language and finish in another or you intermingle phrases and words from both within a sentence or a story (code-switching).
You have dreams in both languages.
You find it hard to answer the question "Which language do you prefer?"
These are only a few of the things that I could come up with. I invite all my readers to add to these or suggest variations on the ones I have put here.
I 'm looking forward to your comments!
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You don't relate at all to monolingual people when they feel threatened when other people are speaking another language in front of them!
ReplyDelete* When you can't come up with a word in your native language, but you can come up with it in your second language and you end up having to circumlocute in your native language.
ReplyDeletewhen you code-switch without realizing it.
ReplyDeleteOr your very close friends and relatives, whether they wanted to or not, have learned a significant amount of a language they may not be natives at speaking.
* When a cultural reference is made that monolinguals simply don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this Post. It was less serious, but quite engaging :)
Looking forward to the next one,
--AL
It's said that your real native language is revealed when you are thrown into a life-threatening crisis.
ReplyDeleteI do agree, Chris. I'd add that being able speak your second language under conditions of stress and fatigue is a skill of a level 4 speaker (near-native).
ReplyDelete