Gus Hansen Thinks In English (PSI Rnd2 Part 2 SPOILER)

[wEbMaStEr]

I just watched the PSI rnd 2 ep 2 with Hansen v Lederer heads up, The final hand where Gus is thinking about whether he should call Howies all in or not.
He's thinking and he's talking to himself, weighing up the odds and stuff, and he's doing it in English?
Now i know he probably speaks English on a daily basis, everyone around him does and it's probably his first language these days, but he's Danish, so wouldn't you imagine that when he's articulating his thought processes he would do so in Danish rather than English?

maybe this is one for the non-native English speakers? i know people who use English every day and they say that sometimes they actually have to think before they speak in their native tongue. It just seems so weird that something that should be so natural as muttering to yourself you would think you would do it in your native tongue?

Just something weird i picked up on

[YoungGun]

Well, I was always under the impression that you must speak english at the table. But I don't know.

[wEbMaStEr]

Yeah this would be the case if he were talking to someone else at the table, i doubt it would apply if you were talking to yourself tho?

*cue rounders quote, Worm to the 2 russians talking "sputnik"

[Guest]

I really would not be surprised if he thinks in English, depending on how long he has lived in English speaking countries.

My experience is that those who are intelligent, young and are living in English speaking countries stop thinking in their native tongue when they reach a certain level of competency in the new language. At the point this happens it actually works as a catalyst in improving the linguistic capabilities close to, or even exceeding, those who speak English as their mothers tongue.

This is obviously dependant on the individuals capabilities (talent, if you wish), effort, exposure and background (scandinavians, the dutch, phillipinos, amongst others, are especially prone to mastering the English language due to a very high level due to the relatively high exposure to English from a young age, whereas other nationalities (German, French, Spanish) will have a harder time mastering both the grammar, but especially the accents due to less exposure caused by less focus in the educational systems and popular forms of entertainment such as TV, movies and the Internet.

Personally, I am a Norwegian born and raised in Norway, however in a relatively short timeframe (10 months in London, 3 months in New Zealand, some assorted travel to the US) my thought process is now fully in English, even when communicating with friends and relatives whom I speak Norwegian with (and yes, this is causing problems).

I hope this clarifies some of your questions.


-- LLien

[Leo]

i almost always think in english. it's american and brittish tv's fault. i've never lived in an english speaking country. i've been to NYC for a week but i doubt that's why, i'm pretty sure i did it before i went there too.
i don't really know why but i often can't find the right words for my thoughts in swedish so i use english or a mix of swedish and english.

danish and swedish are pretty similar(sp?) so i guess that could be an explanation.

[Dave B]

What are these other languages you speak of? Is this that Star Trek stuff or something?

[MasterShake]

I know enough French to get my face slapped.

[Guest]

How about this for a theory:

He was speaking in english. . . FOR THE CAMERAS!

[Guest]

i don't really know why but i often can't find the right words for my thoughts in swedish so i use english or a mix of swedish and english.

Swedlish.

[Kid Krow]

I know enough French to get my face slapped.

"I only know two languages... English and Bad English..."
Quoted from a Guy in some movie.

I know enough Spanish to eigther find or insult ones bathroom. or call them an ugly monkey. thats about it after 3 years of High school spanish. and frankly I'm quite impressed with what I learned from that class due to the fact I only took it to be next to my highschool sweethart. Damn she was hot.