Does our personality change when we speak in another language?

About this episode

When it comes to what proportion of people speak more than one language, estimates vary but the general consensus is that at least half of the world’s population do so. If you're bilingual, you may well have encountered a fascinating phenomenon: that a new personality seems to emerge when you switch languages. In March 2017, Quartz ran an article on the subject, written by Nicola Prentis. Prentis included accounts from a number of multilingual people, including Margarita, a Russian-American immigrant who fled the Soviet Union to escape anti-Semitism at the age of 19. Margarita revealed that when she speaks Russian, she feels 'guarded, reserved and uncomfortable.' How is it possible? And are we necessarily more at ease in our own native language? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: How can you protect yourself from being mugged? How to use less water? How did Covid lead to the emergence of meta cities? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices