Bilingual children are less easily confused and are less likely to develop Alzheimer's when they grow up.
These are just some of the claims to emerge from recent studies on bilingualism which the American scientist and author Jared Diamond has reviewed for an article in the journal Science.
Read full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11534481
I heard Mr. Diamond giving an interview on BBC where he stated that children who are exposed to a second language can delay the onset of Alzheimer's for five years. He said that in America, people thought learning another language would not allow one to learn any language properly. But, he found that children who spoke one language developed a vocabulary of 3300 words in that language. Those who learned two languages developed a vocabulary of 3000 words in one language and 3000 words in the other one, as well.
After reading the article, I thought it would be a public service if I introduce another language on the blog. So, let's begin with a few words in Yiddish.
For those who are more advanced, here's a Yiddish joke. I'll loosely translate it in the comments section.
Rifkeleh is a five-year-old girl. She is sitting on a chair in her room writing something.
ReplyDeleteHer mother enters the room and asks, "Rifkeleh, what are you doing?"
Rifkeleh answers, "I am writing a letter to my friend, Sureleh."
"Writing?" her mother asks. "But you don't know how to write."
"It doesn't matter," she answers. "Anyway, my friend, Sureleh, can't read."