When a person learns a foreign language they actually develop a second personality, which takes over when they’re speaking that language. In Japanese, I’m a very different person, so much so that I’m often surprised myself. Japanese people tend to be humble, and when I’m speaking the language I’m able to sincerely humility in ways that I couldn’t be if I were speaking English, and yes, I do bow while speaking on the phone. My wife on the other hand is much more assertive in English than in Japanese, since English is just built that way — you always say the subject of sentences and use “yes” or “no” to clearly indicate your opinion, unlike in Japanese where meanings are often more vague and nuanced. It’s always enjoyable to observe how this “English personality” works in my kids when I take them to the U.S. In English, my daughter is cute and feminine since she usually plays with other girls in the States, but in Japanese, she’s a pure tomboy, even using the male first person pronoun (boku) the one that girls should use (atashi).
