by Flemming Funch
Mentioned by Allan Karl and by Nick Temple, studies seem to show that people who speak several languages will keep their minds alert and flexible in old age more than those who speak only one language. Article in the Economist.It is certainly useful to be able to speak more than one language. But, according to a paper by Ellen Bialystok, of York University in Canada, and her colleagues, in this month's issue of Psychology and Aging, it is useful not just for the obvious reason that it makes it possible to talk to more people. Dr Bialystok found that "bilinguals"—individuals who grew up speaking two languages and continue to do so—performed significantly better on a variety of simple cognitive tasks than people who speak only one. Furthermore, the differences between the two groups increased with age, leading her to hypothesise that knowing and using two languages inhibits the mind's decline. Seems logical enough, I guess. The mind works to a large degree on recognizing similarities and differences, and if one speaks multiple languages one naturally stays aware of how things are similar and different. Whereas people who speak just one language more easily slip into a habit of thinking that things always mean the same. Of course one can make up for it by many other kinds of familiarity with diversity.
|
|