Perception... weird ain't it.

Normally I think the book in the the accent I think the character has and my accent when perceived by someone else is classic British and normally I think in Finnish

 

Depends, I'd say. If I know the accent and am able to imitate it (even if it's only in my mind) or if it is actually written in a dialect, and if it contributes to the story, then yes. For example, if I had to read out a political speech by someone (which doesn't deal with language or dialects), then I wouldn't since it would just make things weird, I guess. But if I had to read out a part of a story set in a specific local or social setting, then I would try to. And I'm not really talking about making that choice rationally, more like, that's my natural approach.

I guess you'd have to ask them, not me?!

I'm not bilingual, but sometimes I catch myself soliloquizing (yeah, I'm a weirdo who talks to themself sometimes... =P) in English...

I have no idea!

Interesting questions, indeed.
I guess it's some sort of dependency on individual perspective and subjectivity.
Like I don't know how others perceive my dialect, I only know my subjective perception of it.
And with colours I think it's even more complicated. I can only name the colour I see based on the knowledge I learned from others. What I mean is: I see a tree and see the colour, and someone points to the tree and says: The leaves of a tree are green.
About the switching between languages: I've thought about that before, too. But I'm afraid I can't offer a psychological or scientific perspective.
I guess it's just that I feel more comfortable about certain topics in one language and about others in another language.
For example: I noticed that whenever I think about LGBT-related stuff I most likely do so in English. And I guess that is because almost everything I've read/heard about LGBT-related stuff was in English. It's somehow harder for me to choose the right words regarding this specific topic in German, despite the fact that it's my mothertongue.
Don't know if any of this makes any sense at all...

 

When you read something and for instance know that the author speaks with a different accent do you read it with your own voice or picture it with their accent?
My own, unless it's written in first person and I know the author's voice very well. When it comes to characters though, I try to imagine their voices.

What does your own accent sound like when perceived by someone else without it?
I'm not sure I understand the question. Normal/none, I guess. "Broadcast American accent" if I had to give it a name.

If you are bilingual what language do you think in?
Your native language, lol. But from experience, it is easy to slip into your second language if you've been practicing intensely with it.

Is my vision of the color red actually what you perceive as blue?
This will likely dog me to the end of my days. Reason says we all see the same red, but the mind-blowing comes from the fact that there is absolutely no way to be sure.

Good post though. I love psychology!

 

I typically read their posts in my own voice. Its just a force of habit.

I don't know how others would perceive my accent. I have a typical Pacific Northwestern accent, but have never given much thought on how it might sound. Been told my natural speaking voice sounds an awful lot like Gene Wilder's though if that helps....

I am bilingual. I speak Spanish but English is my native language and I typically think in English.

The color question is an interesting one.....unless we're speaking of color blindness or Synesthesia I really couldn't say. I have had disagreements with friends before over whether or not a certain shade of color is lighter or darker (is it navy blue or cerulean blue for example?)

 

my first language is english but as I have lot's of finnish friends I speak that more often so think in it as well

 

Lol, his voice is heavenly. I think I'm decent at mentally having him narrate for me. It's more just for kicks, though, and I've never kept it up for long.

 

Even if I know somebody's accent... I'm likely thinking about their text in my own accent. To the uninitiated my accent sounds a little odd and difficult to understand. I was told to use proper English in college. I'm English but I've lived in the Scottish countryside most of my life.

I'm not bilingual but I understand a little of several languages. I dated an exchange student and I ended up thinking in French sometimes. It was disjointing at first. It provided a way to think about things that I can't do so well in English. Roland Barthes ain't the same translated. I usually think in English. Is reality only our perception of it? Sorry, couldn't resist. Great thread.

 

When you read something and for instance know that the author speaks with a different accent do you read it with your own voice or picture it with their accent?

I use my normal voice, whatever accent that may be.

What does your own accent sound like when perceived by someone else without it?

It's a hodgepodge; $20 to whoever can tell me:lol:

If you are bilingual what language do you think in?

I am bilingual and consider both English and Spanish to be my mother tongues by the degree at which I can think independently in both languages. However, for most scientific and day-to-day concepts, I revert to English; it is the one that I am most technically proficient in.

Is my vision of the color red actually what you perceive as blue?

I suppose we are all seeing the same "wavelength" when we say something is "blue," (around the 450nm range) if we're all conditioned to call a certain part of the spectrum "blue" by social standards (we could get a child and raise him to call "yellow," "blue" and "blue," "red" and screw him up for the rest of his life :goodevil. I suppose how it "looks" to us, though, could be different based on certain ophthalmological and neural diseases, but I'm not a doctor :lol:.

 

Still along the lines of perception. What do blind people(blind from birth) see in dreams? Or do they dream in sounds and physical sensations?

 

If I have heard a persons voice, I imagine the sound of their voice as I read.

If I have seen a movie based on a book before reading the book,
I will imagine the actors, actresses are the voices of the people in the book.

I love the human voice, and can eventual imitate some one else's speaking mannerisms after listening to them for about a week or longer.

I can make all kinds of odd noises and voices with my throat,
I just have problems faking emotion or conveying emotion period with my voice and need to work on that.

I would like to be a voice actor, so voices are important to me.

I've got what I call my Inner-Male voice, I think with when I am having a male feeling day, but I don't hardly speak in.
And what I call my Inner-female voice when I feel more female some days that I think with but can't change the tone of my voice to, I can use those speaking mannerisms though.

My normal speaking voice I don't like much, but I don't hardly ever try to fake sounding cooler even though I can.

Lately I have been practicing speaking in British accents and I have been trying to capture, the 11th doctors character and speaking mannerisms so I can buy his suit and go to conventions as the 11th doctor.

Sorry for going off topic. lol

 

My perception tends to change when I get new details about the setting.
If the setting isn't described, I will imagine a voice that fits the character.
Generally, the character will have a nondescript accent.
If the setting is described, I'll adjust my thinking a little bit and imagine an accent that fits the setting. Or, at least, I'll try to.

 

When you read something and for instance know that the author speaks with a different accent do you read it with your own voice or picture it with their accent?
I use my own inner voice which "sounds" different than my projected voice.

What does your own accent sound like when perceived by someone else without it?

Lovely, boring Midwest not really any accent? Apparently when I speak foreign languages, it changes. When I speak Japanese or Korean, I'm told it sounds kind of like (please don't hate on me for saying this, im quoting someone) "A ghetto black person'' if that means anything. And I when I speak French, im told it sounds pretty close to accurate, but you can tell I am American.

If you are bilingual what language do you think in?

I generally think in English, except when it comes to French. When I hear/see it, I often understand what it means fully without having to translate it in my head, or I guess I should say cognitively translate it. However, if asked what it means, it takes me a second or two to have it make sense in English. Sometimes, I forget what words are in one language, yet I can remember them in a foreign one (Example: I can say "chien" (French for dog), yet I cannot remember the word "dog.")

Is my vision of the color red actually what you perceive as blue?

Possibly. Maybe not. Maybe so. That would be a cool study to do on people though once they get the technology to do so.

 

ok...lots of questions. i read in my head in the accent of the character (s). i know a few words in spanish and find myself thinking in spanglish. my accent would most likely be perceived as different, that is how i perceive other's. red is red and blue is blue optically speaking. hope i didn't miss anything.

 

I read John Green's books in his voice.