People who speak and write more than one language are 'Smarter'

[Marshmallow]

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I can speak 5 languages...and still m not smart at all..true story
tht just made me more confused

thanks for being so honest

[Hindustani]

This is pretty much a given. I never learned Hindi or Urdu, although my mom and dad did speak Hindi at home. The only other language I know is Spanish, but then again I grew up in a Cuban neighborhood before moving to Vegas.

[hunter_hunted]

WTH I can Read/Write/Speak Urdu/Hindi what ever u call it
Can Read/Write/Speak Arabic
Can Read/Write/Speak English

Still im not genius

[SamranAli]

punjabi, urdu, english. Read & write...

[Audio]

For Westerners learning a second language is a big deal, for Indians its second nature.

We learn three languages in school and pick up the rest on the way.

fo' sho, for incredible Indians taking a shit on the street is also second nature. And btw, smartie pants, we learn 2 languages in school by the time we are 18....mandatory, you can take 2nd language additional classes together with the first mandatory one at age 9-10...after elementary school the 2nd foreign mandatory language comes in....

im 5/5 in languages.

Think of languages as tunnels, allowing data to go through. The more tunnels you have the more data you can simultaneously cram through. You will have a higher capacity, allowing you to see more; hear more, learn more and at a faster pace than the average Joe who knows only one language with access to just one tunnel for its data at any given time.

This.

[acid rain]

fo' sho, for incredible Indians taking a shit on the street is also second nature. And btw, smartie pants, we learn 2 languages in school by the time we are 18....mandatory, you can take 2nd language additional classes together with the first mandatory one at age 9-10...after elementary school the 2nd foreign mandatory language comes in....

im 5/5 in languages.

This.

There is poverty in India, and some cannot afford basic needs, u dont have to be a shithead and insult the poor, I mentioned what I did, not to put you down in anyway, we are surrounded with so many languages and it doesnt seem as a big deal learning 4 or 5 languages.

even elementary kids here know at least 3 languages..not the underprivileged ones but most do.

[Developereo]

I would be more interested in comparative analysis of people who learn a second language in childhood v/s adulthood.

It is well known that learning languages is much easier during childhood, while the brain is actually growing, than in later life. Of course, the brain still adapts later in life, but the growth during childhood is phenomenal.

If the bilingual advantage only applies to childhood polyglots and not to those who became so as adults, then the core factor is not bilingualism per se, but brain growth during childhood.

[RayKalm]

You don't necessarily have to be smarter by knowing more than 1 language. As Obambam has said, your brain has more tunnels flowing through because it is open to more stuff by birth (or later on, if you learn languages at an older age). You may already be smarter than those who speak one language, while knowing it not.

[Teeta]

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I can speak English , and English. Oh yeah , I also have some knowledge of English and I want to learn one other language called English.

So basically , being an American sucks when it comes to languages.