Thread: How does language differ in lucid dreams?

Highly impaired

I can't talk in lucid dreams, I always feel like I have constipation but with my speech.

My mother language is Portuguese, but I am extremely fluent in English, and know quite a bit of Spanish. Plus Braille and Morse, but those are not exactly languages.

1. Do you find speaking, reading, or writing more difficult? How about understanding?

Spoken sentences usually will make less sense, although it always seems DCs understand what I say, and I understand what DCs say. The sentences are senseless but I don't realise so and they seem to make perfect sense. It isn't uncommon for me two merge two languages in a single sentence and it sound completely normal. In fact, sometimes I don't even know in which language something was said.

Reading tends to be easier and less ambilingual, but this is not a rule.

I don't ever write much in my dreams. When I do, it's more like I drew what I wanted to say rather than writing it.

2. When you hear a song, which is more salient: the words or its melody?

The melody: I can usually hear the speech but not distinguish any word.

3. Syntax: Is your grammar different? Are words in order?

Sometimes I speak English with portuguese grammar, sometimes the opposite; sometimes it's a very simple, instinctive grammar.

4. Semantics: Is your vocabulary different? What is the relationship between words and meaning? Do you find one without the other?

Regarding semantics, they tend to be quite specific in dreams. It's like when I read/hear a word, an image of it instantly came to my head, so it's quite accurate.

5. Abstract thought: How are your logical and mathematical reasoning abilities? Are sequential thoughts (or actions) more difficult?

I tend to have this very short memory overall, as in, if I think of doing 1+1, I'll forget what I'm doing in the middle of it, and if I try too hard to remember it I'll wake up (much like hypnagogia). This doesn't happen in good lucid dreams though.

Regarding 1-5 above:
-Do you fail to notice irregularities until you awaken?
Yes, it's as if they weren't even there. I understand everythign regardless of reality resemblance. I guess I'm just not much of an auditory thinker.
-Do certain language abilities became easier with practice?
Not forgetting what you were just about to do/say.
-Do you find language differences between lucid and nonlucid dreams?
Lucid dream language tends to be more cohesive and tangible. If I say some random BS in a lucid dream I'll realise it, but this doesn't happen i na non-lucid dream.

On a final note, I'd like to tell that I used to be extremely auditory-thinking, but then I started learning other languages and it kind of became impractical. Right now I'm more of a visual/kinaesthetic thinker (kind of half-half).

i have a few differences between speech in life and dreams:

i have a very very slight stutter in real life (few people can even tell i have one), but anyhoo, i have never recalled stuttering in a dream. there are times when i can't talk but that doesn't have to do with stuttering.

in terms of thinking for verbal commands i often don't say exactly what i want. it is like my mind is too slow to think of the right words. so i yell something that is kind of right but as long as i have the right intention in my mind it often works anyway.

when i sing a song i know in a dream i even know parts that i don't know in real life. so i am pretty much freestyling after awhile. and my freestyling is AWESOME. i don't know if it makes sense, but i easily rhymed when i needed to. in real life i am really bad at it.

whatever i want to say (or don't want to, which occurs more often) comes out naturally. it's only if i concentrate on what i'm going to say that it comes out kind of nonsense

Originally Posted by nothin7

Hey Amethyst Star,

Thank you for the detailed reply. I'm now curious about a couple of the things you said:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Star
4. Semantics: Is your vocabulary different? What is the relationship between words and meaning? Do you find one without the other?

Nope. I actually hardly ever remember what I say or a DC says. It's just not something I pay attention to. Even if they say something, it's possible that they mean something else, and I pick up more on the meaning than on the words.

You don't "pay attention" to DC speech, but you're still getting meaning--can you explain this? What role, if any, do words play? Would it be difficult to focus on remembering the exact phrase someone said?

Well, I can't really think of any examples, but the idea is that it's not so much the words that the DC says (if I can understand them at all in the first place). Instead, I know where the situation is going and my actions are not dependent upon what is spoken.

Words play a small role in my dreams. I am a rather emotion-driven person, so the actions and feelings I see and experience seem to be more easy to remember. On some occasions, I can recall what a DC has said, but yes, it is difficult to recall an exact phrase. In real life sometimes it's difficult for me. What would cause me to recall a specific phrase or conversation is unknown. Sometimes it's just so out of place, and sometimes I think I'm closer to waking up and it's easier for me to remember what is said. Overall, there isn't much dialogue, actually.

Regarding 1-5 above:
-Do you fail to notice irregularities until you awaken?

Absolutely.

Any striking examples of this? (The more detail, the better.)

As far as speech, sometimes what is being said isn't in line with what's going on. In other cases, usually when dealing with a foreign language, I have no idea what's being said. Sometimes, though, when I think a DC is speaking a foreign language, I'll wake up and realize that I don't recognize even part of what they said. Normally I'll understand at least a word here and there.

In general, though, there are a myriad of signs that could point to the fact that I am dreaming that I just don't notice for the life of me. Just last night I dreamed I was going to be on America's Next Top Model (for some reason), and while I was sitting with the other contestants in this ~almost walled off area outside (?), the person who was judging/teaching us was my old Russian professor! I graduated almost a year ago and I don't recognize the area we were in. I could point out a good half-dozen things every night that I could have used to realize that I was dreaming... if I took the time to write them down

Thanks guys, all the stuff you're posting is invaluable to my studies. Keep it coming!

Originally Posted by Jdeadevil

Highly impaired

I can't talk in lucid dreams, I always feel like I have constipation but with my speech.

Jdeadevil,

I have this exact same experience sometimes. It's so bizarre. Can you describe the phenomenon as you experience it in more detail, or perhaps in the context of a dream report?

I don't think I have anything of dreaming speech recorded, but I can explain it a little more. It's like I have to push really hard to even make one word, for example, "I'm dreaming". Let's say an anology to real life would be yelling it really loudly untill I got a head ache and my face was very red. If I felt like I was doing that in a dream, I'd only be able to stutter the words "I'm dreaming" as loud as my normal speech. That's near enough the most detailed way I can put it, sorry.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Jones

whatever i want to say (or don't want to, which occurs more often) comes out naturally. it's only if i concentrate on what i'm going to say that it comes out kind of nonsense

Hey Mrs. Jones, I glanced over this last time I check this post, but this is definitely interesting, and I'd love to hear more detail describing this experience. Also, do you have any relevant dream reports?

i don't remember the spoken dream in detail, but i do remember having the same experience while reading something... i'll see if i have it written down.

...

ok i guess not. i was sure i did though. i'll look again

this is it in a nutshell, until i do find it: i became lucid and decided to do some reading. i settled on a nearby warning label. when i glanced at it, it made sense. then i concentrated on reading individual words, and the letters changed before my eyes. the word would be "quail". then change to "quafa" then "qudjdf", quadk, qk, fjkasafk... then flickered with letters that don't even exist.

sorry to be very vague, this was months ago.

That's so crazy. Why do words do that? Sometimes when I try to read text, wherever I focus my attention I see a small blank circle that repels the surrounding words. One time I was trying to read a crystal ball that had words on it, and the letters were spinning around the surface like electrons around an atom. I couldn't even make out one word. What's even more bizarre is that I recently had a lucid dream where I was able to successfully read and even reread. Who knows what going on up there.

the crystal ball one is weird, makes me think of, when dreaming, i know something for a fact but never really experienced it. like seeing what's upstairs when i'm downstairs. or knowing the color of something without seeing it... that you know they were words without recognizing any of them. pure intuition.

did they make any sense, the words you were able to read?

I think I remember maybe one or two words, max, but that was on a different surface. With the crystal ball it was only letters, and they were moving so fast that I could only get glimpses of the fact that they were in the english alphabet. Some may not have been. Or, I should say, I only saw some of the letters. It doesn't really make sense to talk about what was there, because all that's there is your perception. Crazy stuff..

Dreams are all about knowing things that you haven't perceived. While asleep, your visual perceptions are being fed to you, so why not your understanding or emotional perception as well?

Originally Posted by CDR

I speak like I normally do, but what's weird is that I sometimes speak english (I'm Swedish) maybe it's because english is nearly as natural for me as Swedish...

i was just going to say the same thing.
I'm swedish to and i've been talking english in dreams, and it sounds better in the dreams and better grammar than in waking life XD.

Hey Oros, how can you tell you speak with better English grammar in a lucid dream? Do you know what perfect grammar sounds like in waking life but just can't speak it? Also, do you have any dream reports I can use for evidence?

Just wondering,

I used be able to speak Portuguese fluently when I was young but now have since forgotten it. I wonder whether anyone in my dream world would be able to speak in Portuguese and/or I would be able to speak in it.

Something worth trying next time I think

Originally Posted by nothin7

Hey Oros, how can you tell you speak with better English grammar in a lucid dream? Do you know what perfect grammar sounds like in waking life but just can't speak it? Also, do you have any dream reports I can use for evidence?

I'm not sure if it really is better grammar, but it feels like the grammar is better anyway.
But that might just be some kind of illusion, i've been playing guitar in a dream and i loved my own song. I recalled parts of the song when i woke up and it was horrible.
I'm not 100% about all the grammar. For example one piece of news.
Sometimes i forget the "piece".

What do you mean with reports?
I've been recalling dreaming in english and it felt like better grammar (Not sure if it really was better grammar) in a dream.
I guess you can use that as avidence then.

I mostly think or speak the same way as I do in real life, I think pretty logically. (In my last dream I thought TOO logically =_= I thought that I won't be able to fly, 'cause some people on dreamviews fail to do it...)
Language and speech plays an important role in my dreams, as it sometimes even feels like I'm listening to, or am telling a story. I can clearly remember what I, or my DCs have said.
The music is usually only the melody, but a few times I could hear words too. I can't remember them clearly, but the words were influenced by the music that I listened to before going to sleep.
The words I use don't really change, but when I speak while awake, I don't switch between languages that often

For me, language is normal, but not talking in most dreams (in non-LD)

And, why dont' I see many of these things answered lol

1. Do you find speaking, reading, or writing more difficult? How about understanding? No, only problem would be with times I meet a unknown language (created by my mind) in which case... well, how can I understand? lol

2. When you hear a song, which is more salient: the words or its melody? It depends on the song, of course. Not like I hear that much in both WL or dreams.

3. Syntax: Is your grammar different? Are words in order? Grammar is the same and words are in order, again, exception is the unknown language.

4. Semantics: Is your vocabulary different? What is the relationship between words and meaning? Do you find one without the other? If I say a word, it has to be used properly, otherwise a DC would point out. My vocabulary is different of course, I don't talk much about magic in WL, other than that, some extra formalities.

5. Abstract thought: How are your logical and mathematical reasoning abilities? Are sequential thoughts (or actions) more difficult? Maths and logic is the same, though logic may sometimes fail, and sequency, I dunno, easier?

Regarding 1-5 above:
-Do you fail to notice irregularities until you awaken? Sometimes. I would say half/half.
-Do certain language abilities became easier with practice? Yes.
-Do you find language differences between lucid and nonlucid dreams? From my concious, no, from my subconcious, the unknown ones, of course.

I started answering each question individually, but basically every answer was "the same as real life."

[QUOTE= Also, I learned French for a few years in high school, but I never got very good at it. I hardly remember anything at all anymore, however, in (lucid) dreams, I will remember quite a lot of what I learned.
[/QUOTE] I think I know why. You have more access to memory when you're asleep, so, you have access to the french.