講外語7大優勢，動動大腦更健康

7 Reasons Why It's Good To Speak Another Language

It's one of life's truths: Being bilingual or multilingual can only be considered a good thing. The ability to travel seamlessly in another country; to interact with people you wouldn't otherwise be able to communicate with; to really understand and immerse yourself in another culture, whether it be your own or another's; and on the most trivial level, to order off a menu and truly know what you're ordering.
生活的真相是：會講兩種或多種語言只會有益。可以無障礙地去另外一個國家旅行；和那些如果你不會講外語就無法與其溝通的人互動；真正地品讀和沉浸在另外一個文化裏，無論是你自己的或者他人的；還有最微不足道的好處，可以自己點餐同時知道自己點的是啥。

But aside from all these reasons, there is a multitude of research showing how speaking more than one language is also good for your health -- particularly, the health of your brain. Here's where the bilingual among us have an advantage:
但是，除這些原因以外，大批研究表明會講外語對你的健康——尤其是大腦的健康也很有益。以下就是我們中會講外語的人佔據優勢的原因：

They have better "cognitive flexibility".
他們有更好的“認知靈活性”。

Older adults who have spoken two languages since childhood seem to have better cognitive flexibility -- meaning, they are better able to go with the flow in the face of a new or unexpected circumstance -- than adults who only speak one language, according to a Journal of Neuroscience study. The study involved having participants complete a cognitive flexibility task; while monolingual and bilingual adults were both able to complete the task, the bilingual adults did it more quickly and certain parts of their brains used less energy to do so.
根據一則神經系統科學的期刊研究，年紀大的人中，從孩提開始就會講兩種語言的人似乎有更好的認知靈活性，也就是說，和只會講一種語言的成人相比，他們在新的或者預期之外的情況下，表現得更加順其自然。在這一研究中，兩類人羣都被要求完成一項考驗認知靈活性的任務。雖然他們都可以完成，但會講外語的人們完成得更快，而且他們大腦中的特定區域消耗了更少的能量。

Their brains stay sharper in old age.
他們年紀大時，腦袋更靈光。

And this is true even for people who learned a second language later in life, according to a recent study in the Annals of Neurology. The study involved following native English speakers who took an intelligence test when they were age 11, and then again when they were in their early 70s. People who spoke two or more languages had greater cognitive abilities -- particularly in general intelligence and reading -- from their baseline, compared with those who only spoke one language.
根據一則神經病學年鑑的研究， 甚至對於長大後晚些學外語的人，這一點也是適用的。研究追蹤了母語爲英語的人，他們11歲時做了智力測試的，到70多歲早期時又測一次。和只會講一種語言的人相比，會講兩種及以上語言的人有更好的認知能力——尤其在廣義的智力和閱讀部分。

They look at certain words in a different way than their monolingual counterparts.
和只會一種語言的人相比，他們會用不同視角去看待特定詞語。

People who speak two languages may process certain words faster, particularly if the word has the same meaning in both languages, according to a Psychological Science study. Using eye-movement technology, researchers found that bilingual people spend less time looking at "cognate words" -- words that have the same meaning in two languages, such as the word "sport" for both English and Dutch -- which suggests their brains need less time to process the word, Scientific American reported.
一則心理科學研究表明，會講兩種語言的人處理特定詞語會更快，尤其當此詞在兩種語言中有相同意思時。《美國科學》報道，採用眼動技術，研究人員發現會講兩種語言的人用了更少的時間看“同源詞語”——在兩種語言中意思相同的詞語。比如“運動”一詞在英語和荷蘭語中就是如此——這說明他們的大腦處理此詞所需時間更少。

While not immune to Alzheimer's, they may experience a delay in developing the condition.
也許不能完全免疫，可他們的老年癡呆症狀會延遲。

Alzheimer’s can strike anyone, but people who are bilingual may develop the condition four to five years later than people who only speak one language, according to findings presented at a 2011 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The study included 450 Alzheimer’s patients, half of whom had been bilingual for most of their lives.
根據在2011年美國科學發展協會會議上提出的發現，任何人都可以得老年癡呆症，但是會講兩種語言的人，比起只會一種的人，可能會晚4-5年纔開始出現症狀。這項研究包括了450個老年癡呆症患者，其中一半在他們人生的大多數時期都會講兩種語言。

As kids, they have a leg up on problem-solving skills.
還是小孩時，他們在解決問題的技巧上佔優勢。

Bilingual kids seem to do better on tasks examining problem-solving skills and creativity, according to a study in the International Journal of Bilingualism. The study included 121 children, about half of whom were bilingual, who were asked to complete tasks involving repeating number series, solving math problems mentally, and reproducing color block patterns, HealthDay reported.
根據《國際雙語雜誌》的一項研究，會講兩種語言的孩子似乎能更好地完成考察解決問題的技巧和創造力的任務。這項研究包括了121個孩子，其中大約一般都會講兩種語言。孩子們被要求去完成涉及重複數字系列，心算數學題目，以及重現彩色版塊模式的任務。

Their brains are better switchers.
他們大腦轉換得更快。

Bilingual kids may be speedier at switching between tasks, according to a Child Development study. The study involved having bilingual and monolingual children look at images of animals or depictions of colors on a computer screen. When the children were asked to press a button to switch between images of animals to images of colors, the bilingual children did this faster than the monolingual children.
根據一項《兒童發展》的研究，會講兩種語言的小孩可能可以更快地轉換任務。研究中，會講兩種語言和只會講一種語言的孩子看着電腦屏幕上動物的圖片或者彩色的描繪。當孩子們被要求按下按鈕在動物圖片和彩繪圖片中切換時，和只會一種語言的孩子相比，會講兩種語言的孩子們完成得更快。

They can use their ability to think in another language to make better decisions.
他們可以應用自己用另外一種語言思考的能力，做出更好的決定。

When people think in another language, they are more likely to make rational decisions in a problem scenario, a 2012 Psychological Study showed. Because people are naturally averse to loss, they tend to make decisions that minimize loss, even if the odds are in their favor.
一項2012年的心理學研究表明，用另外一種語言思考，人們更傾向於做出理性的決定。因爲人類天生不喜歡失去，即使擁有很大勝算，也會傾向於做讓損失最小化的決定 。

But University of Chicago researchers found that when people think in a foreign language, it provides distancing -- which could help them make more deliberate, less emotion-based decisions. "Perhaps the most important mechanism for the effect is that a foreign language has less emotional resonance than a native tongue,” study researcher Sayuri Hayakawa said in a statement. “An emotional reaction could lead to decisions that are motivated more by fear than by hope, even when the odds are highly favorable.”
但是，芝加哥大學的研究人員發現，當人們用外語思考時，會有一種距離感，——這會幫助他們做出更深思熟慮的，更少情緒化的決定。“也許這種效應裏面最重要的原理是，和母語相比，外語能觸動的情感上的共鳴更少，”研究人員早川小百合在一項陳述中講道。“任何情緒化的反應都可以產生更多是出於恐懼而非希望做出的決定，甚至在勝算極大的情形下。”