Group items tagged

"It is often claimed that people who are bilingual are better than monolinguals at learning languages. Now, the first study to examine bilingual and monolingual brains as they learn an additional language offers new evidence that supports this hypothesis, researchers say. The study, conducted at Georgetown University Medical Center and published in the journal Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, suggests that early bilingualism helps with learning languages later in life."

Wheeler reports on findings that "Speaking two languages confers lifelong cognitive rewards that spread far beyond the improved ability to communicate" (¶1), and "The chief benefit of being bilingual is stronger 'executive control,' ... the chief building block of higher thought" (¶5). Wheeler, David L. (2011). Being bilingual: beneficial workout for the brain. Chronicle of Higher Education, Research: February 20, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011. from http://chronicle.com/article/Being-Bilingual-Beneficial/126462/

Being bilingual. Nice article and infographic.

More on the same topic: www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/bilingual-brain-cognitive-flexibility_n_2432948.html

"IT'S an excellent party trick: un, two, trois, four, cinq, six, sept … counting while switching languages. It has also been the subject of plenty of serious research in the past decade - how the bilingual brain stores multiple languages, and retrieves the information without confusing cross-talk."

In bilingual societies, people frequently switch between languages, particularly in emotional situations. Thus, the language that a person chooses to express a particular concept can help to provide cues that reveal his or her emotional state.

Supporting bilinguism

" Multilingualism is an undeniably powerful tool in today's world-in more ways than one. Not only can the knowledge of one or more foreign languages assist in boosting one's resume, it also opens communication with an entirely new world."

"Traditional song from the Ionian Islands (Adriatica). Here, one stanza has been skipped: see http://kanellatou.gr/en/music-archive/lyrics/item/202-kefalonia-gialo-gialo.html (the transcript I used) and http://www.allthelyrics.com/forum/greek-lyrics-translation/72431-translation-from-greek-to-english.html for a bilingual version"

Free French bilingual dictionaries