Introduction

A few years ago I had a conversation with my father. He unexpectedly said to me: “How strange! We are speaking in Spanish”. Having only ever spoken in Spanish with my father, really astonished, I responded: “Strange? We always speak in Spanish. What do you mean?”, to which he replied: “I speak in Valencian with the people I love, and I love you, so it is strange that we’re speaking in Spanish”. My father had never used Valencian, his mother tongue, in the home, except to call his parents and siblings on the phone. He speaks native-like Spanish and it had never occurred to me that he may feel strange speaking in Spanish with me. This event led me to the realisation that languages are associated with feelings and emotions. It made me wonder whether my father would have found it easier to share his emotions and his culture, his heritage, and whatever is meaningful to him, had I spoken his language.

I have since completed a dissertation on the topic: "The Impact of Language on Relationships: The Case of the Interlingual Couple". However, I would like to research the topic of multilingualism and emotions further. I will post some of my thoughts regarding this topic and perhaps you can provide feedback.