Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study • Hacker News Board

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#201

Post by decaffjoe » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:31 AM UTC

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you.

If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you're going to come back with a much different understanding of Chinese culture and its people. Who cares if your IQ went up or down half a point on account of learning to speak mandarin- your understanding of the lives of billions of people just increased dramatically. That's why it's good to learn a language- culture, not cognition.

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#202

Post by jasfi » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:32 AM UTC

They're looking at people who likely grew up as bilingual, who they say are not generally smarter than those who only know one language. There should still be cognitive benefits to learning new languages as an adult, just as learning any new skill.

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#203

Post by anon223345 » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:36 AM UTC

“Measure what is measureable”

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#204

Post by emodendroket » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:37 AM UTC

decaffjoe wrote: post #201

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you. If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you'…

That may be so, but if bilingualism is talking to your parents in kitchen Spanish without actually traveling anywhere, rather than learning the language of a culture that's alien to you so that you can spend an extended period of time there, is that just as enriching? Does an anglophone Canadian who learns French really expand their worldview that much? I'm not saying the answers to these questions are obvious "nos" but the assumption could stand some scrutiny.

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#205

Post by routerl » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:40 AM UTC

decaffjoe wrote: post #201

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you. If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you'…

> ...you're going to come back with a much different understanding of Chinese culture and its people

And of American culture and its people. You might re-evaluate some ideas you'd grown up with, becoming a more cosmopolitan/adaptable/understanding person, capable of having deeper relationships with a larger proportion of the Earth's population.

But it probably won't make you better at tests of cognitive capacity.

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#206

Post by koreth1 » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:40 AM UTC

decaffjoe wrote: post #201

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you. If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you'…

Globally, a very small percentage of bilingual people fit the "I decided to learn a different language and then used it to temporarily live in another country very different from my own" model. Much more common is, "I speak my local regional language and also the official national language, and so does everyone else in my community."

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#207

Post by MobiusHorizons » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:45 AM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #204

decaffjoe wrote: post #201

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you. If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you'…

That may be so, but if bilingualism is talking to your parents in kitchen Spanish without actually traveling anywhere, rather than learning the language of a culture that's alien to you so that you can spend an extended period of time there, is that just as enriching? Does an anglophone Canadian who learns French really expand their worldview that much? I'm not saying the answers to these questions are obvious "nos"…

I think the missing piece is engagement with the culture that is unlocked by being bilingual.

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#208

Post by suthakamal » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:45 AM UTC

lol

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#209

Post by lostmsu » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:45 AM UTC

routerl wrote: post #205

decaffjoe wrote: post #201

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you. If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you'…

> ...you're going to come back with a much different understanding of Chinese culture and its people And of American culture and its people. You might re-evaluate some ideas you'd grown up with, becoming a more cosmopolitan/adaptable/understanding person, capable of having deeper relationships with a larger proportion of the Earth's population. But it probably won't make you better at tests of cognitive capacity.

I don't think you really have to learn the destination country's language for that. At least it is unclear that the lack of language would be any kind of major roadblock.

Re: Bilingualism affords no general cognitive advantages: Study

#210

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 5:45 AM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #204

decaffjoe wrote: post #201

This topic misses the forest for the trees. Even if there is a cognitive difference in people who speak multiple languages, the magnitude of the advantage/disadvantage pales in comparison to the far more impactful difference in the understanding of the world that proficiency in another language gives you. If you're a monolingual American born English speaker and you learn Chinese and go live in China for a year, you'…

That may be so, but if bilingualism is talking to your parents in kitchen Spanish without actually traveling anywhere, rather than learning the language of a culture that's alien to you so that you can spend an extended period of time there, is that just as enriching? Does an anglophone Canadian who learns French really expand their worldview that much? I'm not saying the answers to these questions are obvious "nos"…

[deleted]