Long live bilingualism

In addition to undeniable cultural openness, it will be largely protected from the decline of neurodegenerative diseases. This is the conclusion of a study conducted in India on 1,234 participants from the Bangalore region who spoke one or more languages, including Hindi, English, Tamil, and Marathi.

For the purposes of this study, the participants, all aged over 60, were administered cognitive tests measuring general cognitive abilities, including memory skills, and diagnostic scales for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. At the same time, their proficiency in one or more languages was assessed.

The results revealed a powerful effect of bilingualism on the risk of dementia. While this risk is generally 5% among people who only speak one language, it falls to 0.4% among bilinguals as well as among those who speak three or more languages, a risk that is almost zero.

Speaking multiple languages is said to create cognitive reserve. A synaptic capital that protects against the phenomena of neuronal death that occur with age. This is partly due to the increased connection created to communicate in different languages, but more importantly, due to the mental flexibility it provides.

Switching from one language to another requires a whole host of brain gymnastics. It requires activating a set of neurons accustomed to speaking one language while keeping the others silent. This mechanism, called cognitive inhibition, engages the part of the brain responsible for so-called executive functions, which tend to decline with age.

We age less when we juggle languages. Giving children the opportunity to acquire this skill is a major health benefit to their brains and an incentive to continue learning to speak multiple languages at a time when instant translation apps promise to connect, via smartphone, with passersby in any city in the world.

Source: Cerveau & Psycho Magazine – n° 165 – May 2024