2 Jan /13

What have you done for your hippocampus lately?

hippocampus and learningDon’t be surprised if someone you know takes up gym membership on 1 January. And don’t be surprised if they cancel it by February. It’s a time of year when many peoples’ thoughts turn to improving physical fitness, often only briefly. But what about improving our mental alertness?

Where other species communicate through ritualised and repetitive calls or gestures, we humans have developed linguistic systems to give voice to infinite distinct thoughts. Developing those linguistic systems further can be the key to keeping our brains in better condition for longer.

Recent research on young adults who spent three months learning a language of which they had no prior knowledge showed that their brains were stimulated in a way that general learning didn’t accomplish. Learning a new language generated significant growth in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that forms, organises and retrieves memories. This won’t surprise people who speak more than one language fluently. The simple act of speaking one language while juggling with the instincts of a second requires a multitasking ability beyond the reach of many well educated professionals.

With language learning offering such clear advantages to students, it’s surprising to find that the subject is a matter of debate and even controversy among decision makers. Campaigns have been launched this year to introduce compulsory language learning for British schoolchildren from the age of seven. Those in favour point out that this country is directly competing with others whose future generations are equipped to take on the world by speaking to the world in a variety of tongues. In parts of Spain and Belgium, children begin learning a second language from the age of three. It’s a skill gap that needs to be addressed. There’s surely no such thing as “too employable”, and parents seeking to build a bridge to the job market for their children might be well advised to start with language skills, and start young.

It could also be argued that there’s no such thing as “too engaged” or “too interested in other cultures”. Young people learning Spanish, for example, will automatically find doors open to them in the 21 countries where Spanish is an official language, and instantly find common ground with almost half a billion people who speak it. Of course the next step for the language student is to become a specialist. EVS Translations works with experts whose understanding of a language is finely tuned not only to countries but to regions within them. For example, with a population of 112 million covering a geographical area of almost 2 million square kilometres, there’s no such thing as a homogenous Spanish translation for Mexico. The dialects used in the Yucatan Peninsula and the northern, western or coastal areas might vary considerably, and the country’s vast border with the United States and the prominence of American tourists has led to many “English-isms” permeating northern Mexican language. Words such as “birra” for “beer” or “carro” for “car” are commonly used in border areas. All these things need to be factored into a project, and when we entrust an assignment to a Spanish translator we do it safe in the knowledge that their skills are localised precisely to a client’s target market. We also know we’re working with a professional who started on this career path by making a good decision, perhaps at a very early age. By committing themselves to the mastery of a second language they did their hippocampus a big favour. Why not do one for yours?