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Children who speak a second or third language may have an
unexpected advantage later in life, a new Tel Aviv University study has
found. Knowing and speaking many languages may protect the brain
against the effects of aging.
Dr. Gitit Kavé, a clinical neuro-psychologist from the Herczeg
Institute on Aging at Tel Aviv University, together with her colleagues
Nitza Eyal, Aviva Shorek, and Jiska Cohen-Manfield, discovered recently
that senior citizens who speak more languages test for better cognitive
functioning. The results of her study were published in the journal
Psychology and Aging.
However, Kavé says that one should approach these findings with
caution. “There is no sure-fire recipe for avoiding the pitfalls of
mental aging. But using a second or third language may help prolong the
good years,” she advises.
Exercising the Brain
A person who speaks more languages is likely to be more clear-minded
at an older age, she says, in effect “exercising” his or her brain more
than those who are monolingual. Languages may create new links in the
brain, contributing to this strengthening effect.
The research was based on a survey taken in 1989 on people between
the ages of 75 and 95. Each person was asked how many languages he or
she knew, what his or her mother tongue was, and which language he or
she spoke best. The researchers compared bilingual speakers to tri- and
multilingual speakers.
Analyzing the results, the researchers found that the more languages a
person spoke, the better his or her cognitive state was. A person’s
level of education was also strongly associated with cognitive state,
but the number of languages contributed to the prediction of cognitive
fitness beyond the effect of education alone.
A Matter of Words, Not Degrees
Although the easiest way to explain the findings was to point out the
relationship between higher education and number of languages, this was
not the whole story. In fact, Dr. Kavé says, “We found that more
languages were most significantly correlated with cognitive state in
those people who had no education at all.” Source: proz.com
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