Bärndütsch and Hrvatski
My anaesthetist friend was born and bred in Bern and speaks perfect Bernese German, otherwise known as Bärndütsch. However, she also communicates in the Croatian language, Hrvatski, at home, which she can speak just as flawlessly as the Bernese dialect. When I asked her whether she changes her personality according to which language she is speaking, she answered,
“Of course I’m still the same person, but it still does something to me. I would probably say that when I speak Croatian, I mutate from being Swiss to being southern European. This has an effect on the pitch and melody of my speech. The volume of my speech and my gestures are also amplified. Bernese German is the language I use on a daily basis and at work. It tends to convey calmness and composure, while Croatian expresses emotion and passion. This means that I automatically switch to Croatian when I’m angry. It’s funny that I dream differently in the German dialect than I do in my other language.”
From Loch Ness to Lake Zurich
My next interviewee is a former businesswoman who grew up in Scotland but has lived in Switzerland for many years. Her family moved to Germany when she was a child, so she was raised bilingual. Later on, she spent several years in London. In addition to English and German, she also speaks French, Russian and Mandarin. When I asked her if she modifies her personality based on the language she speaks, she responded,
“Each language is like a new coat that I put on. Then something wonderful happens. I see completely different images depending on the language. I also adapt to the culture of each country and express the same content in a different way. Although I’ve lived in Switzerland for much longer than I ever lived in the UK, I find that my English self can express things more precisely. There’s no denying that I am different when I speak English than when I converse in dialect or in German. And this applies especially to Mandarin. I change even more noticeably when I speak this language. Still, I wouldn’t say that my multilingualism gives me a split personality,” she adds with a laugh.
A multilingual talent
I found an older video by Luca Lampariello on YouTube. When this video was first uploaded, he spoke Italian, English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Chinese and Japanese – but it’s likely he has an even wider range of languages at his command now. People repeatedly ask the native Italian whether he changes his personality depending on which language he is using. He explains that he doesn’t become a different person, rather he finds himself in a different reality. And because his brain is in sync with each of these realities, he doesn’t feel confused. The way he pronounces words and communicates are just another part of his identity. However, he admits that it would be fair to say that he takes on a different personality each time.
Internal multilingualism
When we think of multilingual individuals, we often picture those who have grown up speaking two native languages such as German and Turkish, English and French, or Swedish and Arabic. But there is also something referred to as ‘internal multilingualism’. This term was first coined by Austrian linguist Mario Wandruszka (1911 to 2004). Internal multilingualism means being proficient in using different dialects within one language. As there is no written language for the Swiss German dialect, we generally learn standard written German from the start of primary school. That’s why, in addition to dialect, we also understand and speak High German, although our German is usually heavily influenced by the dialect we speak. So why is it that we often react so negatively to our northern neighbours who speak German without an accent?
German in its many forms
When the Schengen Area was established, many Germans relocated to Switzerland. Their behaviour can often be annoying and off-putting for many Swiss people. German speakers can find it hard to understand why their demeanour and way of speaking is perceived as arrogant and pretentious.
I wanted to understand why some Germans struggle with Swiss-German friendships while others find happiness in Switzerland. I decided to discuss the subject with a few German people. The answer I received from a computer scientist from Lower Saxony in northern Germany was typical of the answers I received from the other people I asked. As he explained,
“I realised that I needed to modify my language and behaviour to fit the local norms. So I learned Swiss German words and expressions and ensured that my German was closer to Swiss German in tone, style and tempo to avoid being perceived as arrogant. This involved dialling down my volume, speaking in a less abrupt manner, softening my tone and choosing friendlier words. It’s true to say that I strike a completely different tone in Switzerland than in Germany. If I think about it, I can see that I have developed a Swiss personality alongside a German one. Here I wear the red and white jersey, and when I travel to Germany, I change back into black, red and gold.”
Grasping the personality of a language
This last example highlights how important it is to not just master the vocabulary and grammar of a language but to modify your personality too. This applies to completely different languages as well as to dialects within one language. It’s an essential skill if you want to speak a language in a way that takes into account cultural norms.
It doesn’t matter whether you call this a change of personality, mentality or demeanour. Every good translator always undertakes this transformation. This is because you only truly master a language when you can grasp its personality. Subject matter expertise is a basic requirement for any translation project. However, it is impossible to produce an authentic text if you cannot truly relate to the culture in question. This is exactly where the difference between a machine translation and a human translation lies. The machine falls short in areas like emotion, understanding the target audience and achieving the right tone and style. When it comes to human emotions like humour and creativity, the gears of the AI machine tend to overheat, producing responses that are weirdly amusing but not funny, and peculiar instead of clever. That’s why it’s called artificial intelligence. Anything that is artificial can never be authentic. If you were to ask the machine to change personality for each language, it would simply respond, “Which personality?”
