• Question: does being bilingual have any affect on the way our cognitive processes work?

    Asked by anon-282519 to Alex on 5 Mar 2021.
    • Photo: Alex Baxendale

      Alex Baxendale answered on 5 Mar 2021:

      Hello!
      I don’t work too much with Bilingualism but I do know a little so I can tell you what I do know!
      People who know multiple languages have to use mental resources to ‘translate’ language they read and hear – If your first language is English and you also know French then you will have to translate the French in to English so that you can understand it. This means that people who are bilingual are extra good at paying attention (you have to pay attention to the language and figure out what is being said) as well as a cognitive function called ‘task switching’ which is our ability to change between multiple rules, or tasks (switching from English to French, then French back to English).

      So basically, our ability to listen to, translate, and understand multiple languages helps us to practice a number of cognitive abilities that are useful throughout our lives – it’s like constantly playing a super hard brain training game!

      I hope this helps!

Comments

  • Photo: Dennis

    Dennis commented on :

    I can only speak from experience. I speak more than one language and this sometimes interferes with my thought process. For instance, when I open the fridge and I’m looking for an onion – my brain also translates it to the languages I speak. Also, when I have the ‘tip of the tongue’ experience, I find annoying if I can’t recall the words in the languages I speak.