Have you ever been asked to translate something from Malay to English in particular, and yet take a long time to answer because you feel you know what it is and it's natural for you if you ever come across it but can't seem to recollect until you rack your brain hard? Especially tough words.
I think it's all because of the language your brain uses. Especially when you talk in that language, your brain thinks correspndingly, whether it's a narration to describe a memory or teaching someone a thing or two. You can say "what about interpreters", but since it's their profession they have been trained to think bilingually.
There's a huge example in my part: all my life I learned Japanese in English and I've known for a long time how hard for me to mix Japanese with Malay and even mix them in speech, much less translate. There is this golden question after the inevitable 'apa "i luv u" dlm ckp Jap' that is as annoying as that one, if not more because there is nothing equivalent. There is no "I miss you" in Japanese, and the closest you have is 望む or 憧れる which is more like "want" than "miss", really.
My mom isn't convinced with my Japanese, simply because she never heard me talk using it. Well, above the fact that I can't use it with anyone else at home, I am a bit skeptical with her and others about it because I know people like my mom will ridicule the language and that is very much a pet peeve of mine.
Well I need to gain experience. Maybe someday I'll have a speaking partner. Who knows. Oh Saiful...
