Brains are complicated and odd things. Take new research from Bangor University in the UK. Researchers have found that an unconscious brain quirk dampens down people’s responses to negative words in their non-native language. Bilingual people thus respond less emotionally to words like ‘failure’ in their second language. Similarly they are less shocked to hear(…)

Thinking in a foreign language leads people to make more rational decisions, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. Featured in the current issue of Psychological Science, the study found that people have less emotional ties to a foreign language, meaning they have a more rational thought process. Their emotional ties to their native(…)

Most of the time it’s seen as desirable to speak more than one language. When isn’t it? When you’re hoping to become President of the United States. An interesting article at The New Republic explores the reasons why bilingualism becomes an issue in presidential campaigns: In 2004, it was John Kerry who was derided by(…)