I've been wondering

[SuperMario128]

Have there been any studies on the psychological effects of moving to, living in, and the speaking the native tounge of another country?

I wonder if those who weren't born in japan, but moved there, had a change in their inner monolouge after living there for a long time.Would you always talk in your head in english, or would maybe it eventually switch to japanese too. Would that even be possible?

[samurai007]

I only lived there 2 years, but I noticed a little bit of that happening... for instance, the ax-hand chopping motion to move through a crowd became almost second nature. I wasn't fluent in Japanese and spent most of my time teaching and speaking English, so the language never really caught on so much for me.

On a broader perspective though, living and working in such a different culture really expands your horizons, gives you confidence, allows you to see many things in a new perspective, and in general is a truly life-changing experience. At least it was for me, and I've been back in the US almost 10 years now. I still am very partial to Japan, Japanese people and culture, I still read manga, hang out on Japan Forums, and help recruit for the JET program at my local university.

[jasonbvr]

Psychological changes? Yes, but I can't really describe what they are very well. Most people living outside of major cities and especially those with lots of Japanese friends become a little Japanese-ified. For example, lots of things are abunai (dangerous) to Japanese people. It rubs off on you and soon enough everything is abunai. Another thing I've noticed, I have been driving in Japan for almost a year now and the other day I was playing a videogame. Suddenly I noticed I was driving on the left side of the road in the game because it seemed natural. Then there is the constant bowing even if it is just with your head. It becomes like a reflex.

As far as language, there are words like onegaishimasu and daijoubu that become regular parts of speech even when speaking to other gaijin. I've also noticed that I have a bad habit of simplifying my English and dropping particles from my speech. Then there are the noises. They really aren't words but for example, when you don't understand something you kinda go "Eehhhh..." And you really want to draw it out when you don't believe someone. Then there are the grunts or going "mhh, mhh" to show you are listening and understand.

Then there is the body language. But I picked this up in the US from Japanese friends and teachers. Tilting the head to the side, exaggerating your facial expressions, pointing to your face rather than a hand to your chest, and so on.

There are more things, but I can't think of them right now.

[Lilongyue]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

Psychological changes? Yes, but I can't really describe what they are very well. Most people living outside of major cities and especially those with lots of Japanese friends become a little Japanese-ified. For example, lots of things are abunai (dangerous) to Japanese people. It rubs off on you and soon enough everything is abunai. Another thing I've noticed, I have been driving in Japan for almost a year now and the other day I was playing a videogame. Suddenly I noticed I was driving on the left side of the road in the game because it seemed natural. Then there is the constant bowing even if it is just with your head. It becomes like a reflex.

As far as language, there are words like onegaishimasu and daijoubu that become regular parts of speech even when speaking to other gaijin. I've also noticed that I have a bad habit of simplifying my English and dropping particles from my speech. Then there are the noises. They really aren't words but for example, when you don't understand something you kinda go "Eehhhh..." And you really want to draw it out when you don't believe someone. Then there are the grunts or going "mhh, mhh" to show you are listening and understand.

Then there is the body language. But I picked this up in the US from Japanese friends and teachers. Tilting the head to the side, exaggerating your facial expressions, pointing to your face rather than a hand to your chest, and so on.

There are more things, but I can't think of them right now.

Haha, well put. I'm China, not Japan, and have been here three years (in Asia 5 years). I'm in Uni studying Chinese, and have noticed all kinds of strange things. The other day I got totally turned around when typing an email. I wanted to say something like "I wound up in _______ (this place ), but it looked wrong. My dictionary gave me the definition of wound, as in a cut or damage to the body. I thought I had a make a mistake, so I thought, "Wound is the past tense of wind . . . " but then I thought I made another mistake, because doesn't w-i-n-d mean wind, as in "the wind was blowing"? Finally I figured out that wind (blowing air) and wind (as in to wind a clock, or to find one's self some place without particularly planning to go there) are spelled the same. It's only the vowels that are pronounced differently. And that the same goes for wound (cuts. abrasions, gun shots, etc.) and wound (past tense of wind, like "Yesterday I wound the clock," or "I wound up in a bad situation").

Ive also picked up body language, certain physical gestures, making "strange" sounds to agree, disagree, show surprise, etc. I've also found myself completely accustomed to things I didn't think I would ever get used to, haha.

[TokyoFerrari]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

Psychological changes? Yes, but I can't really describe what they are very well. Most people living outside of major cities and especially those with lots of Japanese friends become a little Japanese-ified. For example, lots of things are abunai (dangerous) to Japanese people. It rubs off on you and soon enough everything is abunai. Another thing I've noticed, I have been driving in Japan for almost a year now and the other day I was playing a videogame. Suddenly I noticed I was driving on the left side of the road in the game because it seemed natural. Then there is the constant bowing even if it is just with your head. It becomes like a reflex.

As far as language, there are words like onegaishimasu and daijoubu that become regular parts of speech even when speaking to other gaijin. I've also noticed that I have a bad habit of simplifying my English and dropping particles from my speech. Then there are the noises. They really aren't words but for example, when you don't understand something you kinda go "Eehhhh..." And you really want to draw it out when you don't believe someone. Then there are the grunts or going "mhh, mhh" to show you are listening and understand.

Then there is the body language. But I picked this up in the US from Japanese friends and teachers. Tilting the head to the side, exaggerating your facial expressions, pointing to your face rather than a hand to your chest, and so on.

There are more things, but I can't think of them right now.

For me it is nothing. I speak the language but i treat my workers the same as my gaijin staff. I guess it depends on why you are in Japan and your outlook on life there is.