These studies always miss the obvious cultural point to me, [1] which is that knowing more than one language usually means you deeply understand more than one culture. This by default makes one a bit more capable of nuance, seeing other perspectives, etc. Languages are not just interchangeable collections of words, but are whole worldviews. Language in this sense is a kind of knowledge and not a different brain state, akin to reading books about history to understand a conflict better.
1. Maybe that’s not their fault, as they are ostensibly interested only in the biology. But it still seems like a major hole when discussing the benefits of being bilingual.
100%. Just knowing how other countries value different things, work and succeed in different ways, and what concepts they find important enough to give words to when we don't - all of this has been super interesting.
It's probably why I was able to get proficient in Japanese but more Anglosphere-adjacent languages felt boring.
In terms of the knowledge sense I mean, I think it is logical that the more distant the worldviews of the languages, the greater the effect. Even more so if they both have a large media / cultural sphere.
I think so, yes. My daughter speaks English and German fluently and I can see she has deep insights into these cultures. (She also speaks 2 other languages)
She once told me that she likes to read conversational books like “Greg’s Tagebuch” in German while “Harry Potter” type books in English.
Could it also be because translations are never as good as the originals? One thing that comes to mind is translated songs, they usually sound off and forced to my ear. On the other hand I never read the same material in two languages so it's hard to really have an opinion but I did CS in another language than English and can say very confidently say that it was a huge pain to discuss with professors CS terms that were force translated into my native tongue, it was unnecessary and even though it's been many years since I graduated I still have those terms imprinted into my mind.
I was born in a trilingual home and couldn't agree more.
(I then added English)
Languages are (metaphorically) the key to a culture which can configure your thinking. Some words that are obscure or technical in one language are used more commonly in others. A little example is that in Spain it's common to use the jugular vein for a number of idioms. I know for a fact most French speakers have never heard of it and I think it's also not that common for English speakers.
1. Maybe that’s not their fault, as they are ostensibly interested only in the biology. But it still seems like a major hole when discussing the benefits of being bilingual.