THE BILINGUAL BRAIN - Does speaking two or more languages make you smarter? | BENEFITS
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores the concept of bilingualism, highlighting its practical benefits in a globalized world and the psychological and social advantages it offers. It distinguishes between compound bilingualism, where two languages are learned simultaneously, and coordinate bilingualism, where languages are learned separately in different contexts. The script also touches on the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, such as delayed onset of age-related mental issues and enhanced brain connectivity, encouraging viewers to embrace language learning regardless of their background.
Takeaways
- 🌐 Bilingualism is perceived differently, with some considering fluency and others perfect pronunciation as the key criteria.
- 🌍 Speaking multiple languages offers practical benefits in a globalized world, including ease in travel, job opportunities, and business.
- 👶 Compound bilingualism, also known as additive bilingualism, occurs when a child is raised in two languages simultaneously, often leading to code-switching.
- 📚 Coordinate bilingualism, or subtractive bilingualism, is when a person learns and uses two languages separately in different contexts, as the speaker exemplifies with Russian and Portuguese.
- 🏠 Home environment plays a crucial role in language learning, influencing which language is associated with personal and familial contexts.
- 🗺️ Monolingual countries like the US, England, and Australia still have a significant multilingual population, reflecting the global trend towards multilingualism.
- 🧠 Bilingualism may delay the onset of age-related cognitive decline such as dementia and Alzheimer's by up to 4 years.
- 📉 Bilingual adults have denser gray matter in the brain compared to monolingual adults, suggesting a neural advantage.
- 💡 While bilingualism doesn't make one more intelligent, it does enhance cognitive skills and brain connectivity.
- 🚀 Learning a new language at any age is beneficial, acting as a mental workout to improve overall cognitive function.
Q & A
What are the differing opinions on what constitutes bilingualism?
-Opinions vary; some believe bilingualism means speaking two languages fluently with ease, while others require perfect pronunciation and minimal grammatical errors for a person to be considered bilingual.
What are the practical benefits of being able to speak two or more languages in a globalized world?
-Multilingualism offers advantages such as watching movies without subtitles, having fewer issues while traveling, and increasing job or business opportunities, especially in tourist areas.
What are the two types of bilingualism mentioned in the script?
-The two types are compound bilingualism (also known as additive bilingualism) and coordinate bilingualism (also known as subtractive bilingualism).
How does compound bilingualism typically occur?
-Compound bilingualism happens when a child is raised by bilingual parents who use both languages at home, allowing the child to learn and grow into both languages simultaneously in the same environment.
What is the characteristic of language use in compound bilingualism?
-In compound bilingualism, people often do not see the two languages as separate and may use words from different languages in the same sentence to express themselves better.
How does coordinate bilingualism differ from compound bilingualism?
-Coordinate bilingualism involves perceiving the two languages as separate, as the person learns them in different environments and contexts.
Can you give an example of coordinate bilingualism from the script?
-The speaker is an example of coordinate bilingualism, studying in Russian and using it mainly in the college environment, while using Portuguese with friends and family.
What is the significance of the term 'gray matter' in the context of bilingualism?
-Gray matter is a type of brain tissue that is denser in bilingual adults compared to monolingual adults, suggesting that bilingualism may contribute to a healthier brain.
How does bilingualism potentially impact age-related mental issues?
-Bilingualism can slow the advance of age-related mental issues such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease by up to 4 years.
Does speaking more than one language necessarily make a person more intelligent?
-While speaking multiple languages does not necessarily make a person more intelligent, it does stimulate and increase brain connections, improving cognitive skills.
Is it ever too late to start learning a new language, according to the script?
-No, it is never too late to start learning a new language, even if one grew up in a monolingual environment.
Outlines
🌐 The Essence of Bilingualism
This paragraph explores the varying perceptions of bilingualism, from effortless fluency in two languages to the ability to speak with perfect pronunciation and minimal grammatical errors. It highlights the practical advantages of multilingualism in a globalized world, including psychological and social benefits such as ease of watching movies without subtitles, traveling, and job opportunities. The speaker introduces two types of bilingualism: compound (additive) and coordinate (subtractive), explaining how they manifest in different linguistic environments and personal experiences.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bilingualism
💡Multilingualism
💡Compound Bilingualism
💡Coordinate Bilingualism
💡Accent
💡Grammatical Errors
💡Globalized World
💡Cognitive Skills
💡Gray Matter
💡Dementia
💡Intelligence
Highlights
Bilingualism is a topic with varying opinions on its definition.
Some define bilingualism as fluently speaking two languages with ease.
Others consider perfect pronunciation and minimal grammatical errors as criteria for bilingualism.
The practical benefits of bilingualism in a globalized world are emphasized.
Multilingualism offers psychological and social advantages.
Examples of advantages include watching movies without subtitles and easier travel.
Bilingualism can also enhance job and business opportunities, especially in tourist areas.
Two types of bilingualism are identified: compound and coordinate.
Compound bilingualism, or additive bilingualism, occurs when a child is raised with two languages at home.
In compound bilingualism, languages are not seen as separate and code-switching is common.
Coordinate bilingualism, or subtractive bilingualism, involves learning and using languages separately.
The speaker provides a personal example of coordinate bilingualism with Russian and Portuguese.
Only a few countries, like the US, England, and Australia, are officially monolingual.
However, even in these countries, a significant number of people are multilingual.
Bilingualism may delay age-related mental issues such as dementia and Alzheimer's by up to 4 years.
Bilingual adults have denser gray matter in the brain compared to monolingual adults.
Speaking multiple languages does not necessarily make one more intelligent but does stimulate brain connections.
Learning a new language is beneficial for cognitive skills at any age.
Transcripts
[Music]
the bilingual
brain people have very different
opinions on what bilingualism really is
for some it means speaking two languages
fluently and with little to no effort
others only consider a person bilingual
if he has perfect pronunciation in both
languages and makes very few grammatical
errors while talking the truth is that
even with a bad accent and making some
mistakes being able to speak in two or
more languages rather than only one has
practical benefits in an increasingly
globalized world multilingualism has
been shown to have many psychological
and social advantages that can go from
something simple as watching movies with
no subtitles to having less problems
traveling and even getting a job or a
business opportunity especially in
tourist
areas it is considered to be two types
of
bilingualism compound biling ISM also
called additive bilingualism happens for
example when a child is raised by
bilingual parents in both languages I
used in home the child grows learning
into two languages simultaneously in the
same
environment with this type of
bilingualism the person does not see the
two languages as separate and it is
common to hear such people using words
of different languages in the same
sentence or using a word of a different
language from the one they talking to
better Express themselves
the second type is coordinate
bilingualism also called subtractive
bilingualism in this type the person
perceives the two languages as separate
because he learns them separately and in
different environments and
contexts I am a living example of
coordinate bilingualism I'm currently
studying in Russian and most of the
times I only talk Russian in the college
environment and with people who only
talk that language I use the language
specifically for those contexts but to
friends and family I usually talk in
Portuguese which is my native language
the language related to my home
environment I see these two languages as
separate since I learned and use them in
completely different
environments only a few countries in the
world including the US England and
Australia are officially monolingual but
even in these countries there's a
considerable percentage of people who
speak and understand more than one
language researchers suggest that
bilingualism can slow the advance of age
related mental issues such as dementia
and Alzheimer by up to 4 years and that
in bilingual adults a brain tissue
called gray matter is dencer compared
with monolingual adults although
speaking more than one language does not
necessarily make you a more intelligent
person it helps stimulate and increase
brain connections learning a new
language is like an exercise to the
brain that will improve your cognitive
skills and even if you grew up in a
monolingual environment it is never too
late to start learning a different
language
[Music]
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