First of all, I would like to say that bilinguals or multilinguals are considered to be those who can use and understand several languages to some extent. A lot of people believe that in order to be like this, you must have been born and grown up in a multilingual environment, but that’s not quite true. After all, there are actually three types of bilinguals.
Compound bilinguals – These are people who can perceive and understand several languages from early childhood. These people have been studying two linguistic codes simultaneously throughout the process of understanding the world they live in. There is practically no difference for them when speaking, reading, or writing different languages. With respect to each concept, they can use different words from several languages simultaneously.
Coordinate (mixed) bilinguals – These are people who use two different languages correspondingly to two different conceptual areas of their lives (which they have studied in different languages). It sounds a little complicated, but it’s actually quite simple. Everyone lives simultaneously in different social circles: at home, at training courses, at work, at school, and more. Therefore, in each certain environment we use different concepts, and communicate with others in different ways. The ones who communicate in English at work but in Russian at home, for example, use two languages, but it seems like they “switch” between them depending on the situation. In this example, a coordinate bilingual may use English words and phrases to describe their working day, even if they are at home at that moment. Sometimes, several contexts may become mixed and cause difficulties in the selection of language for communication.
Subordinate bilinguals usually study a second language by passing it through their native language. One might say that such people tie new terms in their second language not to an object or concept, but to the word from their first language. Often, these are people who master their second language as an adult.
Since each of these types outwardly appear to speak multiple languages freely, it may be nearly impossible to see these differences. Recent studies have shown that all bilingual and multilingual people, regardless of which type they are or when they learn their second language, have several advantages over monolingual people.
- The density of grey substance (which contains the majority of neurons) in the brains of multilingual people is higher on average.
- The average age of the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease is 5 years later for multilinguals.
- Using multiple languages develops the brain area which primarily performs so-called “executive functions”. These include creative problem solving, multi-tasking, focusing, and filtering information.
- Cognitive function (the ability to externally perceive information and mentally process it) is more developed within multilingual people.
Additionally, let’s not forget about the more mundane benefits of speaking multiple languages. For example, communication with a larger number of people, more useable sources of information, easier travelling, the ability to watch movies in their original language, and an advantage when seeking a new job. In general, there are only benefits to speaking multiple languages.