Do English Only Laws Promote Senility?

Question

A resent scientific study in Canada says that monolingual persons have a higher incidence of senility than bilingual or multilingual persons. Indeed, the study also showed that being bi-lingual protects the brain and promotes healthy brain function.

It would seem that instead of forcing monolingualism on society, which would increase the chances of senility and other forms of dementia, one would advocate for more bilingualism – but then again, those promoting the English Only Laws are at a mental disadvantage. . .

SOURCE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3794479.stm

A resent scientific study in Canada says that monolingual persons have a higher incidence of senility than bilingual or multilingual persons. Indeed, the study also showed that being bi-lingual protects the brain and promotes healthy brain function.

It would seem that instead of forcing monolingualism on society, which would increase the chances of senility and other forms of dementia, one would advocate for more bilingualism – but then again, those promoting the English Only Laws are at a mental disadvantage. . .

SOURCE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3794479.stm

Research on English acquisition by Hispanic immigrants (legal or otherwise), show that many learn English at a faster rate than non-Hispanic immigrants. In fact, English Language products are a HOT ITEM in the US Hispanic market and also in Mexico. The MYTH that Hispanics refuse to learn English is unfounded. The truth is that in 1890, there was a higher %of non-English speakers (Germans) in the US than today.

Answer 1

i think i already had this on my mind .... yes i do believe than being bilingual does promote a healthy mind and new opportunities for anyone with the opportunity of being so . i also agree than Spanish speakers do in fact want to learn English and i find untruthful what most anti-immigrants say regarding this issue .

it is also of great importance to mention that the USA is the only first world country which does not promote multilingualism which is really a shame and makes even more important today promoting at least being bilingual . so this brings up a question ... why not German or French or anything else besides Spanish ??? and the answer is would be :

- because even when we make bussiness with countries which native languages are those ( languages ) and should learn them too we do not make bussines with them at the magnitude in which we , the USA , make bussiness with Mexico and latinoamerica ... it also essencial to mention that we do not either live close to them or use them as hot spots for our vacations at the magnitude we do with latinoamerica and do not have a high percentage of citizens which speak any of those languages at the magnitude in which spanish is spoken in the USA .

so having make this clear all i have to say is that both englsih speakers and spanish speaker should make the effort to learn each others languages since they seem to attract each other as if the were diferent poles of two magnets . .... i would also like to mention that the USA would not be the only country which would make bussinnes in two languages and would have more opportunities in the world for doing so . most boming economies do it and do it succesfully , both china and india have more than one language and are beocming economical superpowers today .... china in particular has five main languages having two which dominate ( cantonesse and mandarin ) and we know how succesful they are today and will be in the future .


note : learning a new language is one of the most complex things a person can do , so it cannot be compared to learning anything ... yes the brain does die if it not forced to learn new things , being bilingual is not only wise but something which has to be done to keep being competitive in the global market , its not about some crazy science but about how our brains works .

Answer 2

I see nothing wrong with speaking more than one language. What I don't like, is people being forced, shamed or fear being mentally inferior if they don't.

We all know that science has become a god and THAT god apparently has written a new commandment: "thou must be bilingual or your brain will die". Our mental health will be determined by how many different languages we can learn. That is very sad, since that means the majority of the world will be condemned to mental illness by the god of science.

It takes a 'healthy' brain to learn and learning something new everyday feels good mentally, therefore aids in mental health. That means learning most anything would do the job, not just languages.

I have an international family and friends, many of which have college degrees, just about all of them are bilingual. As far as dementia, it's 50-50.

We're gonna hear a lot of propaganda from researchers, scientist, the media, schools and government officials trying to convince us that being bilingual is the only way to go as they promote their global agenda.

Answer 3

whatever.

i have never said people should not be bi-lingual. I HAVE SAID IF THEY WANT TO LIVE IN AN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPEAK ENGLISH. you're splitting hairs, and not very well i might add.

ask yourself, what other countries in the world do business in more than one language. the answer will be ZERO. otherwise, people cannot communicate.

there was a story published the other day about a British school girl, who had been absent from school at a time when her teacher assigned a project. when she came back to school, her teacher told her to join a group of students who could not speak English. when the girl asked for a different group, since she could not work with the students as she didn't know what they were doing and couldn't discuss things with them as the teacher told them to do, the teacher HAD HER ARRESTED. that was ridiculous, but anyway. those students couldn't even do a project together. how do you think a country could run that way?

Answer 4

if you decide to come to an English speaking country you need to speak the language is true... but those in this country would be well served to learn a second language in todays global economy... Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, or Indian would be wise and probably would increase National Security for our children if they learned a second language... not to mention this study

Answer 5

Playing crossword puzzles also helps prevent senility. But crossword puzzles aren't as divisive as the social fracturing caused by the tension of two large different language-speaking groups in one polity. Smarmy nonsense about "diversity" aside, just ask the Quebequois whether they like speaking English.

Answer 6

I do not disagree but who say it should be Spanish there is a lot of other nationality's in America is there not. I took Spanish in high school but the people from Mexico would not understand a word of it.

Answer 7

I speak Spanish and English. When I visit Mexico, I speak Spanish.
However, I think that if someone moves to a country where English is spoken, it behooves them to learn the language of that country, rather than demand that they be catered to.

Answer 8

Bienvenido a América ahora habla inglés.Welcome to America now speak english.

Answer 9

Does being bi-lingual also pay for every service that would had to be render to accommodate them. The Mexicans are costing this country billions of dollars from refusing to learn English.

Answer 10

I would rather be senile than speak Mexican.
And before any of you smart-asses say anything,The Mexicans speak Mexican.If they were to go to Spain,the Spanish would not understand half of that gibberish.