Missing the joke

Bergen city centre – lost in thought, I walk along the harbour, weaving through the crowds, when something catches my attention. Amidst the mixed voices, one stands out: an Austrian dialect. Instinctively, I move closer, just to listen—it feels a bit like home.

As an international student in Bergen, I mainly use English for studies and Norwegian in daily life, which is great for language learning. Yet, I feel my Austrian humour fades in English, as if part of my personality gets left behind.

Curious if others feel the same, I spoke with three international students about their experiences communicating in English.

Everything becomes different 

Yuzuki Takano is originally from Japan, but studies linguistics in Australia and is now in Bergen for an exchange semester. When she moved to Australia to study, she had some issues, mainly with academic writing, because it’s not a part of the education schedule in Japan. She also experienced some difficulties in making new friendships in her second language.

– I get along with people more easily in Japanese, because I seem to relax a little bit more. When I’m speaking English, in the back of my head I’m worried that I don’t have more words about how I come across. I think I tend to have quicker connections in Japanese, because it seems to take a while for people to know how I’m really like and what kind of person I am in English.

Humour is a big issue

Humor is important for appearing friendly, but more challenging to express in English, according to Yuzuki.

– I think I’m much better at making people laugh in Japanese – that’s one of the harder things becuase humor is such a big part of my personality. I have my own kind of humour, but I can’t really replicate that in English.

Lorenzo Marchesin agrees. The 24-year old mathematics student from Italy has a passion for languages and speaks English fluently.

– It is really tough to develop a sense of humour in a language that isn’t your own. Even if you know the language very well and you know the structure, making jokes is something that comes from having long experience with the language.

Solange Steen-Hansen Saballos is 32 years old and currently taking post studies in Nordic language and literature. Coming from Nicaragua, her first language is Spanish, but she speaks English and Norwegian as well.

– When I’m speaking English, I feel like I have a different sense of humour, and I’m a mix between North American and Latin American culture. I’m much more funny in Spanish though - maybe because English is my business language. I noticed that U.S. people have a humour that is very literal. We Latin Americans rely more on making fun of people. We give you nicknames, or remind you of embarrassing stuff that you did. Just for the laughs.

 Anje Müller Gjesdal, an associate professor at the Department of Foreign Languages at UiB has an opinion on the topic: 

– I'm no expert on humor, but it’s complex because it depends on culture and real-time interaction. Good timing and intercultural skills are essential. 

Switch language and switch body language

You can never really tell if someone is interested in being your friend just by their body language. Solange thinks facial expressions and movement make it hard to know if someone wants to talk to you. 

– In Japan you don’t use any body language while speaking. Maybe that’s another reason why I seem more closed off, because I don’t do much with my hands, says Yuzuki. 

– I feel like I’m not using my body language as much when I’m speaking English. Italians talk more with their hands, and maybe that is something that changes a bit, but it’s not like I’m more reserved. I feel like it’s a different way of expressing myself.

Studying can be harder in English 

Lorenzo and Yuzuki both mention challenges with studying: 

– Even though my master’s is in English, it takes longer time to study in English. I will take notes and listen to my teacher in English, but when I come home, I will study in Italian, and after take the exam in English. For some reason, the notion of learning is way harder for me in English, says the italian. 

 – When I am writing an essay, and I want to build up a structure of my arguments, it's actually easier for me to put it back into Japanese, Yuzuki adds. 

Anja agrees that it is easier to learn new information in your first language: 

– This is because the conceptual understanding is naturally more developed. You could have a good command of your second language on the surface level, but not the same deeper, conceptual understanding that you have in your first language.

Does our personality change when we switch languages? 

When Yuzuki started to learn the language, it did affect her personality, but she eventually discovered that she could choose different ways of speaking. 

– You gain more role models as you interact with more people. The more I learned english, the more i sounded like myself. 

– I may express myself a bit differently, but I am not hiding a part of me. It's maybe just a different part of myself, Lorenzo concludes.

So after all, speaking a different language means adopting new words, structures, intonations, and gestures that are not only linked to the language, but also to the culture and environment. Rather than feeling a personality shift, we can see it as a chance to explore new facets about ourselves.