Approximately one-fifth of all Americans speak two or more languages. In fact, you most likely know a couple of bilingual individuals yourself. You may even be one! Learning a new tongue not only allows you to communicate with more people, but it also exposes you to a unique culture. While sentences can often be translated, whole languages can not. The only way to truly comprehend one is by submerging yourself into the culture and discovering the context behind the phrases you learn.

Recent research has revealed that knowing multiples languages decreases one’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s and other memory-debilitating diseases later in life. The reason behind this phenomenon remains unknown, but scientists are actively working towards the answer. The left hemisphere of bilingual brains is also significantly denser than those of monolingual individuals. This is due to the fact that this hemisphere is the prominent language processing sector of the brain. The density reveals that this region is increasingly active.

Concerns have frequently arisen regarding the mental development of young children that are exposed to more than one language while growing up. Parents fear that their kids will progress slower in both languages, but research has since disproven this theory. Bilingual children have even shown signs of greater concentration than others their age.

Today, it is considered impressive to speak more than one language. Knowing one language is enough of a struggle! Surprisingly enough, professors of the 19th and 20th centuries looked down upon bilingualism, claiming that it hindered mental capacity. It would certainly be interesting to see their reactions today, in a world where the known advantages of being bilingual are ever-evolving!

Sources:

https://www.brainfacts.org/archives/2008/the-bilingual-brain

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/02/the-battle-over-bilingualism/462114/