Why You Translate Even When You Don’t Notice It
Many English learners believe they only translate when they speak. But that isn't true. In reality, translation often happens long before you open your mouth. It happens while listening. While reading. While thinking. And most people don't even realize they're doing it. Your Brain Is Following an Old Habit From your very first language lessons, you were taught to connect every English word with a word in your native language. English word. Native language. English sentence. Native language sentence. At first, this helps. Later, it becomes the biggest obstacle to fluency. Translation Feels Invisible Ask yourself a simple question. When you hear the word apple , what appears first? An apple? Or the word in your native language? For many learners, the answer is obvious. The native language appears first. Only then comes the image. That extra step costs time. Every Translation Creates Delay One translated word is not a problem. Hundreds of translate...