Bilingual Brainiacs

The article, "Bilingual Mind: Understanding how the Brain Speaks Two Languages," essentially elucidates on the complexities of the process of language acquisition. The casual conversational tone employed by the author allows the general reader to follow through the article without having to dodge labyrinths of esoteric vocabulary that would otherwise be comprehended only by psychologists or neuroscientists. Accordingly, the author sheds light on the fact that the process of attaining the fundamentals of any language culminates with the acquisition of about 50,000 words and the complimentary syntax and tenses principles of the language. I was already blown away with that statistic in the first paragraph of the article. However, what I found even more astounding was the fact that this was only the process for monolinguals. For those individuals who are bilingual/ trilingual or have knowledge of even more languages, the process of acquiring an additional language is equivalent to repeating the primary process for the complimentary number of times!

To a mono-lingual, this may sound exceedingly absurd. However, as an individual who speaks multiples languages, I find this fact even more absurd than a monolingual would! The sole reason being, I grew up speaking two language simultaneously, however I never actually reflected on how complex the process of language acquisition could have been. Nevertheless, my dilemma is quantified in the succeeding paragraphs where the author explains how the learning of two languages at a time is "work young children are not aware they are doing". This was probably why I was so oblivious to the noteworthy trait of multilingualism I possess. 

The article goes on to reveal how statistically, multilinguals outperform monolinguals at the Stroop Test due to the rapid code-switching they are accustomed to. Furthermore, potential differences in the structural development of a brain, based on language absorbing capabilities, is a wide-spread field of exploration that researchers are depending on to synthesize further analysis. While majority of the article is informational and allows the reader to comprehend the concept of bilingualism, the end of the article accents to the reader the pros and cons of bilingualism. The former comprising of rapid cognitive synthesis and stronger resistance to neurodegenerative diseases whilst the latter signifying the absence of large banks of solidified vocabulary at a younger age. 

All in all, the key ideas presented in this article unified to convey the complexities of language acquisition. Subsequently, this article certainly evoked a better sense of understanding of my own grasp over languages. To me, the acquisition of languages is an art; an art so abstract, the beauty of it lies in its abstruse intricacies. 

Thank you for reading!

P.S. Two posts in a day? I really am on a roll.