At de Lange wrote:
>Me and my friend Ben Goslin have had many discussions on this notion. (Ben
>is fluent in even more than the 11 languages mentioned above. He can be
>contacted at goslin@libarts.up.ac.za). During one discussion on language
>and creativty, he suddenely exclaimed: "Now I understand it - one's mother
>tongue is one's primary creative language." Compare this with what Rick
>said above.
and Rick wrote:
>> Therefore, the principle is that everyone speaks in whatever language
>> they prefer. Others listen and ask for translation if necessary.
I spent a couple of years working in a different country in which I
essentially only spoke that country's language. I found it interesting to
observe how I thought about concepts, once I had made the mental switch to
thinking in that language (as opposed to translating). I would think
naturally about a topic in the language in which I learned it (except for
doing arithmetic, which I found quite hard except in English). That
continued (and, to a small degree, continues to this day) after returning
to an environment in which my native language is the predominant one.
So, I like Rick's encouragement to use whatever language they prefer.
One's language of creativity may _not_ always be one's native language.
Bill
--Bill Harris Hewlett-Packard Co. R&D Productivity Department Lake Stevens Division domain: billh@lsid.hp.com M/S 330 phone: (206) 335-2200 8600 Soper Hill Road fax: (206) 335-2828 Everett, WA 98205-1298
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