Speaking in Other Tongues

On languages, aging, and dementia

Recently, I’ve gone down a rabbit hole about languages and aging. I’m someone who has tried to master Spanish ever since my freshman year in high school. Sadly, the best time to learn a language is before age 10, so it is unlikely I will ever be fluent or be able to drop my very American accent.

But I persist! My favorite way to practice is watching The Simpsons on the Spanish (Latin American) audio track. I like picking up the idioms. I’ve also noticed that the Mexican Dr. Nick speaks with an American accent.

My kid’s elementary school had a Spanish program, through a Spanish government exchange program. I’m not sure how deep they went into the grammar, but it was some exposure to the language. During summer breaks, I used to let my kid watch as much Simpsons as he wanted as long as it was on the Spanish track. It’s way more fun than Duolingo, although Duolingo is useful, too. In college, he did a semester abroad in Peru, so clearly I am an expert at teaching children languages.

I jest.

Language and aging intersect in some interesting ways. First of all, learning a language can be fun, and it can make your retirement travel a little easier. If you have time to try something new, why not learn Spanish or French or Mandarin Chinese? It’s easier than it used to be, between Duolingo and everything available online or on streaming.

Speaking a second language proficiently is associated with decreased risk of dementia (UCLA). It’s not entirely clear if this applies to people who study a second language late in life, however (NYTimes gift link). But better safe then sorry, right?

There’s another interesting finding about languages and dementia: people who know more than one language often revert to the first language they learned when they have dementia. In fact, switching back to a mother tongue is often an early sign of a problem. Several studies show that language preferences change with dementia. If your are likely to end up taking care of someone who spoke another language in childhood, that might be the language you should start studying now.

Interesting, huh?

Do you have any great language-learning insights or tips? Please share in the comments.