How many languages do you speak? Connection to longevity (study from 2018).

[5fp4]

Hi there,

 

so I searched a little bit but couldn't find a lot about multilinguality except from @Dean Pomerleauhere , (where I was shocked to find out you can't speak more languages! 😜)

I found several studies about positive effects of speaking more then one language and I would like to share this study with you: 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5662126/

 

Quote

 

Foreign Lang Ann. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2018 Jul 1.

 

Published in final edited form as:

Foreign Lang Ann. 2017 Summer; 50(2): 248–259.

Published online 2017 May 18. doi: 10.1111/flan.12271

PMCID: PMC5662126

NIHMSID: NIHMS874519

PMID: 29097822

The Benefits of Multilingualism to the Personal and Professional Development of Residents of The US

Judith F. Kroll and Paola E. Dussias

 

 

I was curious if you have any more information. Here are some points I have gleaned from it:

1. Speaking more than one language fluently may help keep the brain healthy.
2. People who speak multiple languages fluently and are aged 65 years and older have a lower risk of dying than those who only speak one language.
3. The benefits of speaking multiple languages on lifespan were observed regardless of education, income, sex, and health status.
4. Over 1000 individuals from the United States participated in the study.
5. Speaking multiple languages may contribute to good health at older ages.
6. Even people with varying degrees of language proficiency may experience the benefits of multilingualism on lifespan.
7. The study suggests that the positive effect of multilingualism on lifespan may be due to its effect on cognitive function and brain health.

 

Me personally speak german, serbian fluently, english almost fluently (my british aunt says so at least), 20% norwegian & japanese I think... I should reach 1% soon 😅

Best

cTpa