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Bilingualism Delays Onset of Dementia

Posted by kdawson on from the brain-exercise dept.

Dee writes with word of a Canadian study indicating that lifelong bilingualism delays the onset of dementia by 4 years. The scientists were reportedly "dazzled" by the results. From the article: "The researchers determined that the mean age of onset of dementia symptoms in the monolingual group was 71.4 years, while the bilingual group was 75.5 years. This difference remained even after considering the possible effect of cultural differences, immigration, formal education, employment and even gender as influencers in the results. "

6 of 472 comments (clear)

  1. SEND THE ILLIGAL MEXICANS HOME by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    this is no excuse to keep them here

  2. Eh, um, er... by twocoasttb · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    So at what age is dementia onsite likely when one doesn't have fluency in even one language like, say, George W. Bush?

  3. Re:Stands to reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    Don't additional skills usually warrant an increase in paygrade?

    Skills related to the job, yes. If a secretary can fit a pineapple in her vagina, should she receive extra money every month?

    Hmm. Bad example. Okay, if a park ranger excels at Assembly programming, should he/she be paid more?

    The only place I'd really like to see bilinguals rewarded is at fast food restaurants. At least then there's a chance one of em speaks english.

  4. Re:Cause or effect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Maybe being forced to learn other languages and cultures keeps people in "3rd world"

  5. Re:Some people think bilingualism is bad by OverlordQ · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Those kinds of people just get frustrated that [sic]immmigrants don't magically know English upon entering the United States. I wish they'd imagine what it would be like if they went to live in another country with a different language.

    And do tell me how accommodating the Mexicans would be if I went down there and started demanding everything be written in both Spanish and English . . . not gunna happen right?

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  6. Re:Cause or effect? by Eivind · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    It's not difficult to learn other languages, it just requires effort. Problem is, since much of the rest of the world learns English in school, Americans don't feel the need to bother with other languages.

    I think that's precisely it. It requires motivation, and thats lacking in much of the USA.

    Being motivated to learn other languages requires thinking that the rest of the world *matters* that there's something to be had from better understanding it and communicating with it. If you consider yourself on top-of-the-world and everyone else as merely more or less civilized depending on how close to you they are culturally, then there's no point.

    Speaking a "small" language natively helps. As a Norwegian, for example, you don't have the luxury of being able to travel everywhere in the west and make do with your native language. So anyone who wants to travel knows that they *have* to learn atleast one world-language.

    As an American, it's too easy to think: "English works everywhere, so why bother?"