Great article. It reminds me of when I was growing up. My parents would often speak to me in Korean. My (english speaking) friends would sometimes ask me "what did she say?" Strangely, though I understood clearly in my mind what my mother said, I could not translate what she said into English. I had to describe what she said instead. This friction never popped up in my head until I was explicitly asked to translate.
As Charlemagne is quoted in the article to say, "to have a second language is to have a second soul." In a weird way, that's true.
* My parents would often speak to me in Korean. My (english speaking) friends would sometimes ask me "what did she say?" Strangely, though I understood clearly in my mind what my mother said, I could not translate what she said into English.*
I'm English-Spanish bilingual and I have the same problem. I can chat along in Spanish and then try to translate what was said into English but it doesn't work. I have to rethink it and say it all over again in English.
Spanish and English are a lot closer than English and Korean. Since it happens in both pairs, it's probably a universal problem. Translating is a different skill from bilingualism.
As Charlemagne is quoted in the article to say, "to have a second language is to have a second soul." In a weird way, that's true.