Thread: Do you dream in another language besides native language?

Greetings!

For those of you who already know the drill… you can skip to the next paragraph… for those who don’t, well… At the request of my almost teenage daughter I am writing a fictional novel. I have finished 19 chapters with each chapter around 8,000 words. The main male character, Dmitri, is Russian and I am here on Master Russian to learn more about Russian characteristics, life, the language and much more... so that I can have the best Dmitri possible.

Today’s questions… I am asking these questions of people on the forum who started out life in one language and [s:3a9t7kag]are now fluent in[/s:3a9t7kag] now know at least one other language. I know that I have corrupted my husband as his native language is Spanish yet he now dreams in English. We just can’t remember when it happened.

Do you dream in another language besides your native language? If this is not yes.. well then, you don't need to worry about the rest of these questions....

What is your native Language?

What other languages [s:3a9t7kag]are you fluent in[/s:3a9t7kag] do you know?

What languages do you dream in (and if more than one, please also tell me which one do you dream in the most)?

When did you start to dream in another language?

How many years had you been studying or speaking the other language before you started to dream in that language?

Do you ever revert back to dreaming in your native language and if so, do you know what causes it?

You are welcome to send me your answers by PM if you don’t want to share any of them with the rest of the Forum!
Thanks again for your assistance!!!
RockzMom

My dreams are typically silent, though I've conversed with a babushka on a bus in Russian during some kind of Armageddon.

i do all the time, it depends on who's in the dream. if there are russians there that i know, ill be speaking in russian. if my english or american friends, then in english!

to the qs:

english

russian

english and russian

no idea

no idea

yes, depending on who im interacting with in my dream

What is your native Language?
Polish

What other languages are you fluent in?
English

What languages do you dream in (and if more than one, please also tell me which one do you dream in the most)?
usually Polish, sometimes English

When did you start to dream in another language?
Can't remember exactly. I'd usually dream in English if I was thinking or talking a lot in that language, or for example, if I was reading a book in Eng. before going to sleep,
I dreamt a lot in English when I lived in Scotland, as I was, obviously, pretty much exposed to the language most of the time, ergo I was thinking in English a lot. Now that I'm back in Poland it doesn't happen that often.

How many years had you been studying or speaking the other language before you started to dream in that language?
7-8 maybe?

Do you ever revert back to dreaming in your native language and if so, do you know what causes it?
Do you mean like in the middle of the dream, or generally?
I noticed that sometimes I'd dream some of the dream in Polish, and the rest in English. Also, sometimes the English sentences would have a typically Polish structure, if you know what I mean.

I heard a theory saying once you start dreaming in a language that's not native to you, it means you've become more or less fluent, as it's a sign you have been thinking in that language at some point.

My native language is Russian, and I can remember a few occasions when I was speaking other languages in my dreams. I am more or less fluent in English, but I had started having dreams in English long before I became fluent. That was a time when I was studying it intensively, and, apparently, that reflected in my dreams.
I had a similar experience with French. There was a short period when I was studying it for several hours every day, and that's when I had a few dreams about speaking with people in French and understanding them perfectly . (I have never become fluent in French, by the way. I can understand/read it fairly well, but I struggle with speaking and writing. Never mastered the grammar.)
A month or so ago, I started studying Spanish. Unfortunately, due to real life issues, I have no time to go all-out on it, or I would expect to have a couple of dreams in Spanish before very long.

I occassionally dream in Russian if I've been using it a lot, and I'm a long, long way from fluent.

Originally Posted by scotcher

I occassionally dream in Russian if I've been using it a lot, and I'm a long, long way from fluent.

Scotcher... You not fluent ???
Well, for you, I will always make an exception as you seem to be an overachiever... even in your dreams.

Well i had a dream that i was helping an American Indian woman get over some crisis and we were conversing in her native tongue. When i woke up i realized that we were speaking Russian. I don't speak any Indian tongues. I hardly speak Russian!

Originally Posted by translationsnmru

but I had started having dreams in English long before I became fluent.
I had a similar experience with French.

Thanks! Due to both your response and Scotcher's, I have edited my original post to make note that you need not be fluent to chime in and provide me with these wonderful responses!!!!

Thanks again translationsnmru & scotcher for letting me know this!!!

Originally Posted by rockzmom

Originally Posted by scotcher

I occassionally dream in Russian if I've been using it a lot, and I'm a long, long way from fluent.

Scotcher... You not fluent ???
Well, for you, I will always make an exception as you seem to be an overachiever... even in your dreams.

I'm nowhere near fluent. I'm barely even at an intermediate level.

Maybe my situation is unusual. I've been "learning" Russian for a long time and you'd expect someone who'd been at it as long as me to be a lot better than I am, but I put "learning" in scare quotes because I've really never put much effort into it. I don't particularly have an academic interest in the language, I just need to be able to get by once or twice a year when I visit Mrs Scotcher's family in Russia so I just tend to keep myself ticking-over by listening to my wife and reading sites like this one. I haven't done anything approaching "study" in years though. As a result while my vocabulary is really limited what I do know is pretty much effortless, and I certainly think in Russian when I'm just making chit-chat.

Originally Posted by kamka

I noticed that sometimes I'd dream some of the dream in Polish, and the rest in English. Also, sometimes the English sentences would have a typically Polish structure, if you know what I mean.

Kamka,

Thank you for this great response! I had not heard of someone having a dream with two languages or the structure of their speaking being their native language. This is extremely helpful to me.

Has anyone else had this same type of experience???

RockzMom

Do you dream in another language besides your native language? If this is not yes.. well then, you don't need to worry about the rest of these questions....

sometimes in English, but that is rather rare (After watching a movie in English or after comunicating wth someone in English).

What is your native Language?

Russian

What other languages are you fluent in do you know?

English, Ukrainian

What languages do you dream in (and if more than one, please also tell me which one do you dream in the most)?

Mostly Russian. Sometimes English. Sometimes Ukrainian extremley rare though.

When did you start to dream in another language?

I guess I was around 12

How many years had you been studying or speaking the other language before you started to dream in that language?

5-6 years

Do you ever revert back to dreaming in your native language and if so, do you know what causes it?

Well I dream in my native language most of the time.

I usually dream in Arabic or English. Sometimes French and Spanish, occasionally Russian, but mostly Arabic and English.

What is your native Language? American English

What other languages are you fluent in do you know? Near fluency: Spanish & Russian, advanced proficiency: Mandarin Chinese, Intermediate: Ukrainian

What languages do you dream in (and if more than one, please also tell me which one do you dream in the most)? Most of my dreams are in Russian, even more than my native language of English. One thing that is weird is that I often have dreams in Polish. And the crazy thing is is that I don't know Polish really! I can understand some, I grew up in an area with a large Polish population (Philadelphia, PA), so I guess I just hear it a lot.

When did you start to dream in another language? I was surrounded by many languages as a child, but I started to pick up Russian/Ukrainian from family and friends.

How many years had you been studying or speaking the other language before you started to dream in that language? I dreamt in Spanish after learning it for 3 years, and about the same for Russian.

Do you ever revert back to dreaming in your native language and if so, do you know what causes it? i think that since I like languages so much, I prefer my dreams to be in other languages other than my native language

_

What is your native Language? english

What other languages are you fluent in do you know? spanish

What languages do you dream in (and if more than one, please also tell me which one do you dream in the most)? english and spanish

When did you start to dream in another language? one year ago almost

How many years had you been studying or speaking the other language before you started to dream in that language? 7 years

Do you ever revert back to dreaming in your native language and if so, do you know what causes it? it goes back and forth and I have no clue what causes it. I talk in my sleep too sometimes and my roommate will tell me that I was speaking in spanish. I don't even remember what I say.