Lost in translation

During lunch at the dining hall a few weeks ago, I found myself sitting with one of my closest Brazilian friends. As we chatted in Portuguese about our daily lives, classes and fall break plans, a mutual friend decided to join us. As he took a seat, my Brazilian friend and I smoothly switched to English since we knew this friend didn’t speak Portuguese. The transition was so natural that it felt almost instinctual. We continued our conversation without missing a beat and carried it on until our English-speaking friend left.

As soon as he walked away, my Brazilian friend turned to me and said: "It's very interesting to see you speak in another language, it's like a little bit of you changes every time you switch languages." When he said that, I looked a little confused, as I didn't exactly understand what he meant by that. Seeing my expression, he started to explain.

He spoke about how he noticed subtle shifts in my demeanor, tone and even body language when I switched from speaking Portuguese to any other language such as English, Chinese, Spanish or German. It was as if, with each language switch, a different aspect of my personality came to the forefront. For example, in Portuguese, I seemed more relaxed and comfortable, freely using colloquial expressions and sharing stories. But when we transitioned to English, I seemed more composed and articulate.

Intrigued by my Brazilian friend's observation, I decided to talk to a Spanish-speaking friend of mine who was also in my Chinese class. After class, I brought my friend’s comment up and she said she, too, had noticed changes in my behavior depending on the language I was speaking. According to her, when I switched to Spanish, my gesticulations became more animated, my voice grew louder, and my words were infused with passion and intensity. It was as though the very act of speaking Spanish awakened a heightened sense of expressiveness within me. On the other hand, she noted that when I spoke Chinese, my gesticulations were more subdued, my voice was calm and I appeared more passive compared to my usual self.

As I walked back to Ryan, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was something common or if I was just weird. As I searched the Internet, I found countless testimonies of other people who had noticed the same thing, as well as several research papers supporting the idea of what is called in psychology, “the cultural accommodation hypothesis.” This theory states that individuals will respond in a manner that favors or accommodates the culture associated with the language of presentation. In other words, our personalities, behavior and communication styles adapt to the cultural norms and expectations of the language we are using if we learn it while being exposed to the culture.

As I delved deeper into my research, reading academic papers and personal testimonies, I couldn't help but look back on situations from my past when I lived in other countries, such as Spain and Taiwan. I thought of moments where I faced challenges and struggled to find solutions, and I often attributed these difficulties to simply "freezing" under pressure. However, this new understanding of the connection between language and culture provided me with a different perspective on these past experiences. It occurred to me that the reason I had struggled to tackle these issues wasn't because I had "frozen." Instead, it was due to the fact that I didn't have the cultural experience necessary to navigate those situations in those particular languages. It was as if I had never been through those scenarios before, even though I had successfully dealt with similar challenges in other languages, such as Portuguese, German, French and English.

This profound connection between language, culture and behavior, which I stumble on through these experiences, underlines the significance of cross-cultural psychology in our world. Cross-cultural psychology, a field dedicated to understanding how cultural norms, values and expectations influence our thoughts, emotions and actions, offers a very valuable perspective on this topic. It reminds us that our cultural contexts shape our problem-solving and decision-making processes. This understanding allows us to act with more empathy and openness, as well as to recognize that people from different cultures may approach challenges and solutions in unique and equally valid ways and help us grow as human beings. 

Lara is a member of the class of 2026 from Taubaté, Brazil with majors in economics and Chinese. When she is not complaining about the weather, you can find her studying in a random room of O'Shaughnessy with her friends or spending all her flex points in Garbanzo. You can contact Lara by email at lvictor@nd.edu.