Blog Post #5

Blog Post #5

Multilingual vs. Monolingual

   As a multilingual myself I do understand most terms such as code-switching or being able to refer to the same object or word in different ways with metaphors, allusions and the synonyms. I found it very interesting how it had to be around 50,000 words in order to be able to speak fluently in a language, which I did not know. As a multilingual I believe that the way this is written makes learning language seem more difficult or near impossible, which in all honesty not difficult at all.

   What I found very interesting is that just by working your brain at a higher level it can prevent or delay mental diseases such as age-related dementia by 4.1 years and "full-blown" Alzheimer's by 5.1 years which is something no one ever thought of when learning a language. Even though learning another language doesn't prevent the mental health issues completely it does, as stated in the article, help cope with it better. Also learned that being a multilingual young-adult I am more privileged due to my exposure of words in many different languages I'm learning which is also relating to my wealth status. As a language lover I do not believe in the phrase "I know this language." No you do not know it completely, you may not know how to write or understand the division of words or you simply do not know all the existing words in the language which would be impossible due to the fact that 500+ words are officially added to the dictionary yearly.

   One of the more interesting facts I found in the article were the speed the multilinguals and the monolinguals thought and reacted especially at the example of entering the color of the specific ink in a computer. It was also really interesting to learn Bialystok's argument over how she expected that the greatest differences would be in the frontal lobes, where higher functions such as decision making and executive control take place unlike the use of thickening of the cortex in two brain regions, most importantly the left inferior parietal helping code for languages and gestures. 

   In my opinion monolingual people are not less smart than multilinguals but unlike monolinguals the multilingual people have opened their brains to a higher function of the language control being able to multifunction all the languages simultaneously together to create a faster, better working network of knowledge for the person, creating the illusion of the multilinguals being "smarter".

Sincerely,

Aurora Sera Unal