I've lived lives where I've spoken languages that I no longer speak, and some languages I spoke which no longer exist. In this life I am bilingual - I speak English and Russian fluently. I have an interest in linguistics and have studied a variety of languages, some in more depth than others, including immersive German learning while living there.
I get memories of past lives where I did not speak English. A prominent example in my mind at the moment is Frodo - we spoke Westron in the Shire, a language which no longer exists in any meaningful way, other than a few select words and phrases from Tolkien's works.
Yet, despite this, I understand the memories. They automatically translate in my mind, and the meaning in English rings through my head clearly. Despite this, I know it wasn't English I spoke. There is a faint hint of Westron sounds in the background, but my brain doesn't interpret them - it interprets and focuses on my main language in this life.
I wondered for a long while what this meant in regards to the validity of my memories. Wasn't I meant to remember the language, the exact words spoken in Westron, and be confused by them, or only after translate them into English?
I thought back to my experience learning German. At a certain point in my learning I reached a point where instead of thinking of a phrase in English and then translating it to German, the thoughts began to come to me in German. This was an interesting shift because I noticed that the two languages would be floating across my mind at the same time, to express the same thought. This of course caused some disturbances in my thinking and phrasing of things to myself, since languages cannot always be perfectly translated. Sentence structures may have to be changed, and the time taken to pronounce the things in my own head were different.
I do not have this with Russian, as it is a language I was raised with from birth. When I think in Russian, the thought stays Russian, and is comprehended through the lens of a Russian speaker, instead of being involuntarily compared to English again.
Neither of these experiences fully described how I experienced non-English memories.
However, last night I was reflecting on language, and a memory from this life came to me. I was talking with my older sister, and I distinctly remember the conversation being in Russian.
However, for some reason, my brain interpreted the memory in English, with the Russian sounds running in the background. It was exactly what I had experienced with memories in Westron.
Why was this the case? I believe it is because most of my thoughts today are in English. I do not often think in Russian, unless I have just spent time speaking it or engaging with Russian music, shows, books and whatnot. When I am thinking in Russian, the memories that I think about come to me in Russian, and are perceived in Russian without English influence.
It was my current head-voice language which affected how I experienced my memories.
This was an interesting revelation, and has eased my thoughts about not being able to remember exact Westron significantly. It is amusing to find how memories in different languages are really quite similar across different lives.
I get memories of past lives where I did not speak English. A prominent example in my mind at the moment is Frodo - we spoke Westron in the Shire, a language which no longer exists in any meaningful way, other than a few select words and phrases from Tolkien's works.
Yet, despite this, I understand the memories. They automatically translate in my mind, and the meaning in English rings through my head clearly. Despite this, I know it wasn't English I spoke. There is a faint hint of Westron sounds in the background, but my brain doesn't interpret them - it interprets and focuses on my main language in this life.
I wondered for a long while what this meant in regards to the validity of my memories. Wasn't I meant to remember the language, the exact words spoken in Westron, and be confused by them, or only after translate them into English?
I thought back to my experience learning German. At a certain point in my learning I reached a point where instead of thinking of a phrase in English and then translating it to German, the thoughts began to come to me in German. This was an interesting shift because I noticed that the two languages would be floating across my mind at the same time, to express the same thought. This of course caused some disturbances in my thinking and phrasing of things to myself, since languages cannot always be perfectly translated. Sentence structures may have to be changed, and the time taken to pronounce the things in my own head were different.
I do not have this with Russian, as it is a language I was raised with from birth. When I think in Russian, the thought stays Russian, and is comprehended through the lens of a Russian speaker, instead of being involuntarily compared to English again.
Neither of these experiences fully described how I experienced non-English memories.
However, last night I was reflecting on language, and a memory from this life came to me. I was talking with my older sister, and I distinctly remember the conversation being in Russian.
However, for some reason, my brain interpreted the memory in English, with the Russian sounds running in the background. It was exactly what I had experienced with memories in Westron.
Why was this the case? I believe it is because most of my thoughts today are in English. I do not often think in Russian, unless I have just spent time speaking it or engaging with Russian music, shows, books and whatnot. When I am thinking in Russian, the memories that I think about come to me in Russian, and are perceived in Russian without English influence.
It was my current head-voice language which affected how I experienced my memories.
This was an interesting revelation, and has eased my thoughts about not being able to remember exact Westron significantly. It is amusing to find how memories in different languages are really quite similar across different lives.
