Why do translators have healthier brains?

ABILITY TO SPEAK TWO OR MORE LANGUAGES opens up

opportunities

...that are not possible for those

who are

monolingual.

Research has shown that those who are bilingual may actually

have other advantages over those who aren’t.

A study from the University of

Edinburgh has examined the

impact of bilingualism on

cognitive aging and found that

learning a second language

may slow down the decline.

Further research is required in order to understand why

this is 

whether it is the increased mental stimulation of knowing two languages that

slows down cognitive decline, or

whether it is simply that those with high cognitive performance are more likely to acquire a second language in the first place. 

Bialystock’s research also showed that

bilingualism had a marked effect on fighting the

onset of Alzheimer’s disease..  

“Being bilingual has certain cognitive benefits and boosts the performance of the brain, especially one of the most important areas known as the executive control system.”

Ellen BialystockToronto’s York University Cognitive Development Lab

She conducted a study looking at 211 individuals with Alzheimer’s, which found that those who were bilingual had been diagnosed on average 4.3 years later than

those who were monolingual.

The

bilingual cohort

had also reported

the onset of

symptoms

5.1 years later

than

their

monolingual

counterparts.

Judith Kroll,

a Penn State University

psychologist, sums up the

relationship between bilingualism

and cognitive function.

“The important thing that we have found is that both

languages are open for bilinguals. In other words,

there are alternatives available in both languages.

Even though language choices may be on the tip of

their tongue, bilinguals rarely make a wrong

choice. ”Judith Kroll, a Penn State University psychologist

“The bilingual is somehow

able to negotiate between

the competition of the

languages. The speculation

is that these cognitive skills

come from this juggling of

languages.”Judith Kroll, a Penn State University psychologist

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