In the essay “Stop Doing That” by Aneta Pavlenko, the author discusses the bilingual or multilingual families and the reason why they speak one language instead of the other ones.
Nowadays in the United States, bilingual households start to become more and more common. Imagining a kid growing up in a family that speaks two different languages, they will have a hard time choosing which and when they speak one rather than the other one. For me, my first language is Chinese. However, after five years of living in united states, I felt like I am getting used to speaking English more. Sometimes when I talk to my mom, I use English words in the Chinese sentence. I feel like it is easier and more precise to use English words to express my thoughts. However, when I am in the mood or when I want to express something thing really quick, I will find it to be more comfortable to use my first my language. Like the author states in the essay, people who “are using the second language reluctantly and are unable to establish an emotional connection with it” (180). Using the first language is more clear and easier for people to express emotional content, but even with that when I try to express my thoughts emotionally with people who do not speak my first language, I would have to get my words organized in Chinese and then translate into English.
Overall, people will choose any languages they feel comfortable with to express themselves and their thoughts. In the most case, they will use their first language to communicate emotionally. People’s brain can respond faster in their first language than the second, and also it is easier for them.
picture cited
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-bilingual-people-true
https://www.aft.org/ae/fall2015/goldenberg_wagner