Being bilingual: is it really an advantage?

If the debate among specialists continues as to the extent to which bilingualism stimulates brain activity in general, two important points now seem to be established:

1. A recent study published in the scientific journal Nature Aging shows that multilingual individuals experience slower cognitive aging than those who speak only one language, and that the more languages a person speaks, the stronger the protective effect appears to be.

2. Children exposed to two languages often demonstrate greater cognitive flexibility and stronger working memory. This significantly facilitates the learning of additional languages. Moreover, speaking two languages helps individuals become aware of different ways of conceiving and expressing facts, feelings, or ideas, thereby highlighting the arbitrary nature of the relationship between the signifier and the signified.*

In conclusion, the aforementioned article states that bilingualism could be an asset in developing the ability to learn throughout one’s life. I believe there is no need to emphasize here the importance of “lifelong learning” in a world that is evolving increasingly rapidly.

To end on a more personal note, I am very happy to have acquired varying degrees of knowledge in German, English, Spanish, Italian, Modern Greek, Latin, and Ancient Greek, which have greatly enriched me intellectually. However, this knowledge was gained through sustained effort, and I sometimes dream of having had the opportunity to learn a language better and more easily if I had been able to do so from early childhood.

The arbitrary nature of the relationship between signifier and signified was very clearly explained by Ferdinand de Saussure in his Course in General Linguistics, published posthumously by two of his students in 1916.

Philippe Du Pasquier
Secretary General
Ecole Lémania