blunder_child

I think a good bunch of Indians fall in this category. I understand English + 4 Indian languages very well and know bits and bobs of 3 other languages due to lack of practice (Gujarati, French and Arabic).

I can speak, read and write 4 languages fluently because of my background (my parents are ethnically from two different states that don't share a common language but they're second-gen Mumbaikars so they speak English, Hindi, and Marathi as a common language.) So as a third-gen Mumbaikar I've grown up learning all 3 + Goan Konkani in order to communicate with my father's parents. What I feel this does for me is that I find myself speaking in atleast 3 languages when I'm speaking to a person. I find certain languages best to convey specific emotions/expressions so I switch accordingly (English + Hindi for formal conversation, Hindi and Urdu for metaphors/idioms, Marathi for sarcasm, Gujarati for more lighthearted expressions/compliments)

Yet, for a multilingual person, I find myself "thinking" in English, so when I'm giving a talk or presenting ideas I primarily speak in English. I also find that Urdu breaks my brain since it's sounds a lot like Hindi but uses Arabic script for writing. I've studied both Hindi and Arabic at school so my brain doesn't reconcile written Urdu. In all these languages, I haven't learnt my mother's native language because it has a very different from all the other languages I know and is harder for me to learn.

Oh I see! Mum always told me it was Sanskrit derived, as there are certain words that directly pick up from Sanskrit (like Namaskaram for greetings). I've never noticed the Portuguese influence on the language, I'd be really fascinated to know how Portuguese shapes the language since my other native language (Goan Konkani) has a lot of Portuguese loanwords.

Thanks, this is great! I recognize some Portuguese words that are also used in Konkani. Didn't know my parents' languages shared similarities, I've never needed to learn Malayalam as my Mum doesn't speak the language much and I've only been to Kerala once in my life and found the place overwhelming.

Malayalam. The language derives from Sanskrit so I understand a few words but I absolutely cannot read or write because of how different the script is. I've also had no practice.

I live in a largely monolingual country now so I understand where you're coming from. Use of multiple languages was common for me in India, many major Indian cities have people that speak atleast three languages. Now I primarily speak in English but I do like to use "Indianisms" in speech sometimes. Indian English has evolved to be a lot more colourful because the language can directly translate some Hindi expressions, to the amusement of people around me. I do find myself struggling to describe a situation in English where I could easily use a Hindi idiom/metaphor so it sounds funny when I'm trying to explain what I'm thinking to an English-speaking person.

The thing I described about using multiple languages in different situations is now portrayed in Indian web series set in major cities (Mumbai/Delhi) where these shows are almost billingual, sometimes trilingual and multilingual too. An example is the show "Scam 1992" which documents the Bombay Stock Exchange crash and the person behind it. The show uses three languages - Hindi, English, Gujarati and you might hear scattered Marathi (if I remember correctly) since it's based in Mumbai. Great show too.