associated with music as well as the conventional areas of the brain. The incredible insight that language causes us to use our brains differently is irrefutable evidence in support of the hypothesis. We shall now examine more evidence concerning bilinguals 18 to gain further insight into how languages affect us, as they are gifted with a perspective through two languages. There are many empirically tested cognitive advantages associated with all forms of bilingualism, 19 however, much like the archetypal mad genius these gifts seem to come with the twist of endowing dual personalities. This surprising revelation is attested by both a plethora bilinguals 20 such as Catherine de Lange and a wealth of empirical evidence. David Luna asked English-Spanish bilinguals to watch identical adverts six months apart, one in English and one in Spanish, and rate the personalities of the characters in the advert. In Spanish a woman in the advert was seen as extroverted, while in English she was described as hopeless. A personality test showed different individuals depending on the language in which it was conducted. From these tests, the results showed radically different individuals depending on the language spoken. Given the apparent sole variable of language, this would appear strong evidence in support of the hypothesis. My own hypothesis for this phenomenon works on the fact that the brain consists of two hemispheres, each specialized but nonetheless equipped with its own consciousness, will 21 and personality. 22 This can be seen from studies of split-brain patients. 23 While language is primarily controlled in the left hemisphere of a normal monolingual, there is significantly more activity in the right hemisphere of bilinguals. This activity only arises after acquisition of the second language, suggesting a closer association between that hemisphere and the second language than with the mother tongue. Therefore, while speaking the second language more of the right hemisphere’s personality would be entangled in cognition due to its increased involvement in language production. However, more research would need to be conducted to prove this. Conventional explanations state that many bilinguals are migrant workers, and therefore speaking their native tongue would bring to mind emotions of family and home, while speaking in say English would bring out memories and a mindset associated with work and education. one other important explanation is that even those brought up on two languages (crib bilinguals) have an asymmetric ability in them, and of course superior ability in one language may lead us to feel say more confident or disposed to cracking jokes in that language, again leading to an apparently different personality. We must also consider the issue of biculturalism, whereby a person is not only proficient in the language but the customs and culture of its origin also. The culture associated with this language would ‘prime’ the speaker to behave in certain manners in accordance with custom. For example, in 18 Surprisingly little research has been conducted with bilinguals, despite the significant advantages of doing so. this has led some academics to call for more research in this area. 19 Bilinguals performed better in cognitive tasks and tests, both verbal and non verbal, in social skills, better executive function in the brain including decision-making, and even reducing the likelihood of dementia. This can be explained through the cognitive work-out the brain must undertake to speak two or more languages. A test carried out by Viorica Marian conducted a test where Russian-English bilinguals were asked to select an object from a collection in one language, while the name of the object sounded similar to the name of another present object in the other language. eye tracking showed that the bilinguals looked at both objects before selecting the correct one, showing that a bilingual must constantly select the correct word and suppress the other language. this extends to attention and the ability to block out preexisting knowledge, removing prejudices in social circumstances and thus improving social skills. 20 It is interesting to note it is thought that every baby is born ‘a citizen of the world’, capable of learning any language. this demonstrates not only that crib bilinguals are capable of fluency in any language combination, but also demonstrating that any changes seen in accordance with the hypothesis are not as a result of genetic traits associated with the culture, but of the languages and cultures themselves. 21 This goes to the extent that the halves and limbs controlled by them actually compete for attention and literally attack each other. 22 This has led Marvin Minsky to describe the brain as a ‘society of mind’. 23 This occurs when the corpus callosum is severed, halting communication between the two hemispheres. this leads to each of the hemispheres acting independently without knowledge of each other. each arm, ear and eye half is controlled by the opposite side of the brain, leading to two ‘minds’ with partial control of a body each. Under normal circumstances the halves communicate with and update each other, leading to an illusion of one mind.
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