Vynertje wrote:
Because it's a pretty cool language to be able to speak, and is also incredibly useful as I'm studying to become some kind of an east-asia expert (or at least that's the idea)
also basically this:
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning
The_Nameless_Bard wrote:
It's one of the most spoken languages in the world anyways.
The other side of the coin is that it's only spoken in China, however. It's usefulness is very limited unless you're really planning to do something in China.
Janitsu wrote:
Yes, that's a nice side effect :)
Too lazy to read the entire thing, but are the actual benefits? I saw and already knew that it increases brain size, but does it do anything else? IIRC Albert Einstein's brain was no bigger than the average human's so I was under the impression that brain size is actually irrelevant. Are there any actual benefits to the changes your brain undergoes when learning another language, or is it just a "wow cool my brain is bigger!" kinda thing?
Vapora Dark wrote:
Too lazy to read the entire thing, but are the actual benefits? I saw and already knew that it increases brain size, but does it do anything else? IIRC Albert Einstein's brain was no bigger than the average human's so I was under the impression that brain size is actually irrelevant. Are there any actual benefits to the changes your brain undergoes when learning another language, or is it just a "wow cool my brain is bigger!" kinda thing?
If memory serves, it also increases the amount of synapses in the brain (or actually regenerates those which were lost when you didn't learn the language as the child) and increases the folding of the brain. Both increase reaction timing and folding is linked to cognitive skills and actual intelligence. The absolute size of the brain has been proven to have correlation with intelligence.
If I recall, your brain basically has all the neurons and synapses needed for any action humanly possible as a child. Then you have "critical periods" (straight translation from Finnish) when you have to learn it (speaking at the age of 3-5, driving a bike at ages 5-7, writing and reading 5-8) or the synapses and neurons that aren't needed will just simply face apoptosis. It's harder to learn those outside of the critical periods because the brain has to create them again from a scratch.
i highly recommend studying languages as it really helps you to become a more well-rounded knowledgeable person on different cultures. props to you for learning chinese (mandarin).
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm fluent and willing to help
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm fluent and willing to help
Quoted:
Not worth it man, languages suck. Ich spreche drei Sprachen и мрзим сва три.
Yup. The only reason to ever learn a new language is if you plan on living in a country where it is spoken.
If not: just get really good at English (including grammar), and your native language (if not English). That's all you'll ever really have much use of.
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Because it's a pretty cool language to be able to speak, and is also incredibly useful as I'm studying to become some kind of an east-asia expert (or at least that's the idea)