The Language We Think In/ Communication

In order that we express our thoughts clearly, it is essential that we are able to think naturally in the language we are communicating in. In most business environments, we need to communicate in English. However, there is no unique method to start thinking in English, the process of thinking in any particular language is common to all other languages. Understanding the process a little, may help.

Let’s focus on what happens during a conversation; someone speaks, we listen, comprehend, gather our thoughts as best as we can, think of the possible responses and finally decide upon which of the points we need to share and how. This is in an ideal situation. Some of the possible things that come in the way of our response being less than ideal are:

What is being said to us is not delivered effectively.

We are preoccupied and thus do not listen properly.

We are not sure about the response we need to make.

We feel nervous about speaking.

We do not put too much thought into the matter and thus blurt out something or the other.

We are unable to think in the language the conversation is held in.

This last point was one that I mentioned in my previous post. When we think in another language, we translate whatever is being said to us into the language we actually think in,  to fully comprehend the matter. We then frame our response in the same other language, translate it and then we speak. All this happens in a fraction of a second.
It is no wonder then, that so many sentences are disjointed, poorly constructed, are open to misinterpretation or simply make little if any sense. At times we are not even aware of the fact that we have not made much sense. Since we mentally frame sentences in some other language, the written word is not much better too. In any case, most written communication is composed hastily and that in itself is a problem.

Why do people find themselves unable to think in the language they may be communicating in? The main reason is the environment. The language that is used at home is the first language we pick up and always retain the ability to think in. In a country such as India, with a large number of languages which in turn may have several dialects, it is hard to identify which language and dialect one has learnt first of all. It depends on the community one belongs to, the geographic location and a few other factors. 

If the educational institutes one attends, deliver the lessons in a particular language, that too  becomes a language we can naturally  think in Again, in a country such as ours, books written in English are taught in the vernacular. I have even heard of people graduating with English as their major having been taught English in the vernacular too. 

The language used in the workplace makes a great deal of difference to the ability of employees to conduct business communication effectively. The number of organisations that carry out regular conversations, casual or otherwise, in the vernacular is astonishing. To then expect the employees to be perfect at business communication, which remains English to this day, is unfair to say the least. The personnel in such organisations are encouraged to think in whichever language is commonly used there, and then expected to have complete command over the language of business, which is a different one. I know of some organisations that even conduct meetings in the vernacular. There are of course, certain roles that demand that the communication is in a local language; for instance when dealing with labourers or certain vendors or personnel from certain agencies or back offices.

There are enough people who do communicate in English frequently and picking up the language by being in frequent touch with them or listening carefully to them as often as we can is one way to acquire the skill of thinking in English. Unfortunately, so many errors are made by a number of such people that one may not pick up the correct form. A small example of that is how often people use the term ‘last to last’ or how people say ‘Sachurday’ in one region of our country and ‘Shaturday’ in another.

All this would imply that communicating effectively is quite impossible for most of us. This is not the case. There is enough evidence of people rising above all challenges and becoming masters in English. In my opinion,  it is a question of motivation, need, self-respect and determination. I think for adults, motivation and need are pretty much one and the same thing and it is mostly based on the desire to progress. Self-respect comes into play as no one really wishes to make a poor impression. Well expressed words create a good impression and similarly poorly expressed ones can mar ones image. Lastly, it is imperative that one is undeterred in ones effort to pick up and internalise any language. . It requires determination to work towards creating (or even insisting on) an environment that facilitates the ability to think in English.

It is up to each individual to work towards acquiring this skill.