As anyone who speaks more than one language knows, being bi or multilingual has many benefits. It opens doors to new cultures, new people, new ways of thinking, and even new job opportunities. This isn’t all just speculation either – tests have proven that there are certain advantages and benefits of being bilingual…
What Are The Benefits of Being Bilingual?
The benefits of being bilingual are endless. At the very least, speaking a second language puts you in a more competitive position in this global world. For instance, it makes a difference when you apply for a job and is also very useful when you visit a foreign country. The benefits of bilingualism are becoming increasingly more clear – such as with media where reading books or seeing movies in their original language allows you to get a true representation of the original art form. Businesses and individuals are also realizing the importance of being fluent in more than one language. For this reason, more and more people are enrolling in language schools and many students, young and old, are taking language immersion courses.
Early Denial of The Benefits of Being Bilingual
However, it was once frowned upon for parents to raise their children speaking two languages. In fact, educators once believed bilingualism would confuse the children and make it harder for them to learn either language well. They even suggested that bilingual children would have a lower IQ. This theory was proven wrong by a study in 1962 conducted by Elizabeth Peal and Wallace Lambert at McGill University in Montreal. Their findings not only showed that bilingual children did not have lower IQs, but that they performed better than monolingual children in both verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests.
This topic has been the subject of several studies since then, and results have consistently shown that bilingualism actually improves cognitive learning skills. Apparently, this is because a bilingual person has to switch very often between two languages, and this action strengthens the cognitive skills through increased neuronal connections in the brain.
The benefits of bilingualism can also be seen in the elderly. A recent study composed of 44 such Spanish-English bilingual individuals, published by neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan and his team at the University of California found that higher degrees of bilingualism reduced the probability of Alzheimer´s disease and other types of dementia that come with old age.
How Bilingualism Can Open Doors And New Worlds
Being bilingual in today’s global market has also proven to be beneficial, as studies have shown that people prefer to buy when presented with goods and services in their native languages. Therefore, in order to aid international expansion of certain businesses, candidates coming in speaking a second language are in high demand. Bilingualism is also important in government level positions, and of course in the interpreting and translation services industry. A professional translator or professional interpreter needs to be bilingual by nature, and often times many are multilingual. However, it isn’t enough to simply be bilingual in order to be a translator or interpreter – often you must undergo formal education and certification processes in order to begin working. Aside from business, government, translation or interpreting services – pretty much any job you can imagine that would interact with international or multilingual communities will need bilingual individuals.
Apart from the scientifically proven and commercially demanded benefits, learning another language also opens individuals up to a new “world” if you will. With each language comes different words, expressions and sentiments to describe everyday life occurrences – some which you may not have had the words to describe before – take the many different words for snow and sea ice that can be found in various Eskimo dialects, or words that are untranslatable into English like Fernweh (German) which means “feeling homesick for a place you have never been to”. Aside from that, language is a direct insight into how a culture or community thinks and approaches every day life, and in a sense the world. Being able to easily switch between multiple languages gives someone the opportunity to make connections and relationships between cultures and people, where none might have previously existed.
So, what are you waiting for? Start learning a new language today!
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
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