I was walking to class alongside my roommate when I received a call from my parents. I quickly picked up the phone and began to talk about how I was doing and how my classes were going. We spoke about what my plans were for the day, yet without even realizing it, I had been switching between English and Spanish within the same sentence. I was used to speaking this way, yet it did not come to my attention just how uncommon this was for many people. For me, I commonly used “Spanglish” in my daily life when on the phone with my parents or brother. Growing up as a native speaker of both English and Spanish, it was rather easy to switch languages so fast as my brain naturally adjusted to the switch. For an outsider, this was eye-opening and seen as overwhelming.
I have always carried a deep passion for languages that I attribute to growing up bilingual. Early in elementary school, I began to study Arabic and even gained the ability to read it fluently. After bringing my Arabic studies to a halt, I picked up French. I have continued to study French on and off since sixth grade, and am now reaching proficiency. Despite this, being fluent in two languages deeply shaped my thoughts and subconsciously changed my understanding of the world.
English is a very practical language as it has become the Lingua Franca around the world. It is widely used in politics, diplomacy, and business between nations, and many people strive to learn English for these reasons. For me, it is the language that I learned at an American school, grew up perfecting, and fulfilled my studies in. It is a very structured language that I attribute the dedicated and more serious side of me to. I have developed a large passion for writing and reading in English, becoming a very expressive and articulative individual through writing. Not only have I honed my skills over the years, but excelled in many areas. On the other hand, when speaking Spanish, I am automatically much more expressive and the sentiment carried with this language is far larger. When I speak Spanish, I instinctively feel largely more connected to my culture and my family. Spanish is a largely emotional language with many ways to amplify feelings with more “descriptive and emotional words.” Switching languages has allowed me to convey other parts of me that may be hidden inside of one language.
Furthermore, as I’ve grown up, I have discovered that the world is my passion. From my travels and culturally diverse background to my studies in International Affairs, I want to continue learning as much as possible about different cultures and history. Being able to expand my language skills and pick up new languages is deeply enticing and rooted in the ability to speak to people all over the world of different backgrounds. Intercultural communication largely excites me, and as I continue to dive deeper into my field, expanding on my language skills will only be more and more useful. I believe that it is truly a gift to be able to speak to strangers and learn from those short interactions.
Being bilingual also has many positive cognitive impacts. An article written by Viorica Marian and Anthony Shook at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University goes into the many benefits of knowing multiple languages on the human brain. One of the most important being that the bilingual brain has been proven to have a greater attention span and multitasking abilities than the monolingual brain. For me personally, I am an avid multi-tasker, always finding ways to complete multiple tasks simultaneously in order to save time. These are tools that have proven to be very useful academically in application throughout my education. Additionally, research has proven that when a bilingual person utilizes one language, the other is activated at the same time. Language co-activation is largely present, and has been studied in many measures thoroughly proven by a variety of researchers. Language co-activation is highly important as it reveals a constant interaction between the two languages in the bilingual brain as it positively impacts high-order cognitive functions. These are the skills that are applied in high order thinking and the different skills derived and applied into critical thinking.
Aside from cognitive benefits, being bilingual has had a large cultural impact on my person. It has allowed me to connect directly with a whole new “world” of art, culture, music, and food. Spanish is widely used around the world, specifically in North and South America, Europe, and parts of Africa. Speaking the native language of nations allows you to connect with the people of that nation and appreciate the culture to a greater extent. I am an avid consumer of Hispanic food from all countries and deeply enjoy music in my native language. From reggaeton to salsa, it is on repeat in my headphones and too much of my money has been allotted to seeing these artists in concert.
Growing up I didn’t understand the importance of speaking multiple languages. My mom had to ban English in my household in order to get me to practice my Spanish. But now, I see bilinguality as one of my greatest assets. It has shaped me as an individual and changed the way I think completely. We are constantly surrounded by different languages and utilize them to “communicate our thoughts and feelings, to connect with others and identify with our culture, and to understand the world around us.” I now pride myself in the interest that I’ve taken over the years in languages and hope that I only continue to build upon it. Without even knowing it, my bilinguality has strengthened my mind, and the constant switch between languages solidified my cognitive functions.
Going back to 4-year-old me starting preschool in Texas, only knowing Spanish, I thank my mom for enforcing the importance of being bilingual. Because as I grew in my Spanish at home, I picked up English quickly at school, and now feel strongly about my skills in both languages. I now reflect on the many benefits that I have gained over the years from my ability to speak multiple languages. Being bilingual and learning new languages has forced me to think in new ways, further shaping my perceptions. The advantages it has had on me both cognitively and culturally are substantial, completely changing the way I think and shaping me into the person I am.